Less than a week after declaring he would seek a full four-year term, Governor David A. Paterson abruptly dropped his election bid Friday under pressure from Democrats concerned about his faltering agenda and criticism of his handling of a domestic abuse case involving a trusted aide. At a Manhattan news conference, Mr. Paterson cited an accumulation of distractions, but said he had never abused his office. “But I am being realistic about politics,” he said. “It hasn’t been the latest distraction… It’s been an accumulation of obstacles that have obfuscated me from bringing my message to the public.” Mr. Paterson insisted that he would not resign and said he would serve out his term “fighting for the state of New York.”
Mr. Paterson became governor in 2008, when former Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. His decision to abandon the race paves the way for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to make an unimpeded run for the Democratic nomination. Mr. Cuomo, son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, has already built a campaign fund five times larger than Mr. Paterson’s and consistently outpolls Mr. Paterson among New York Democrats, who hold a 2-to-1 edge over Republicans statewide. Several candidates are jockeying to succeed Mr. Cuomo as attorney general (NYLJ, Jan. 19).
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