Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro will formally announce his intention to join the Republican primary for governor of New York on April 2.
Molinaro joins the race, after initially deciding against a run in January, joining a three-person field that includes State Senator John DeFrancisco of Syracuse and former Governor Pataki aide Joseph Holland.
Molinaro cited Tuesday’s felony corruption conviction of Joseph Percoco, a longtime aide and confidant of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s, as the deciding factor in his decision to run.
Molinaro called the guilty verdict an “indictment, not just of one of man, but of the cynical systematic corruption within in a state government that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has led. New Yorkers deserve better.”
Molinaro has successfully earned the support of several key party bosses recently, culminating in a straw poll of Republican leaders earlier this month in which he received 55 of 83 votes, despite not having formally announced his candidacy. DeFrancisco earned 23 votes, and Holland received 5.
Molinaro, 42, was first elected to office at age 18 when he was elected to the Village of Tivoli Board of Trustees. He would later serve as mayor of Tivoli.
Molinaro became Dutchess County Executive in 2011, and was re-elected in 2015.
Should he secure the nomination and end up in a campaign against Cuomo, Molinaro will focus on corruption in Albany, the state’s financial situation in which it is running a budegt deficit in excess of $4 billion, and transportation policy, which are seen as three areas of weaknesses for the governor.
Cuomo is seeking his third term in office, and may face a primary challenge from progressive Democrat actress, activist and Mayor Bill de Blasio ally, Cynthia Nixon.
Both the Republican and Democratic primary will take place on September 13.
