Cuomo wins governor's race, but most local counties go for Molinaro

PHOTOGRAPHER: The New York Times

Marc Molinaro is seen at the New York State Republican Convention in May with his son, Elias, and daughter, Abigail.

Though Gov. Andrew Cuomo was elected to a third term in a landslide Tuesday night, many upstate counties showed themselves to be solidly in support of his Republican opponent, Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro.

Statewide, Cuomo beat Molinaro by a margin of 68 percent to 28.5 percent.

Tuesday’s vote mirrored Cuomo’s past elections, with the governor sweeping most downstate counties and a handful of upstate counties.

But Molinaro’s message of abolishing corruption in Albany and his preference for small government resonated with a majority of upstate voters.

Information Graphics In Fulton County, Molinaro beat Cuomo 11,260 to 3,687. Molinaro also beat Cuomo in Schoharie County 7,729 to 2,771.

The 43-year-old Molinaro also won in Montgomery County (9,647 to 4,017), Saratoga County (49,839 to 34,427) and Schenectady County (26,250 to 22,262).

Albany County went to Cuomo, with a tighter count of 54,266 to 43,038. Rensselaer County was another close race, which ultimately went to Molinaro, 30,815 to 21,981.

Cuomo, 60, saw a similar re-election pattern in 2014, when most upstate counties went for Republican Rob Astorino.

Locally, voters said they believed their votes mattered and turned out in droves.

The full numbers: How local counties voted in the governor’s race, Nov. 7, 2018

Inside the Saratoga Springs City Center, voters trickled in and out steadily all evening. Many families brought their children and explained the ins-and-outs of voting as they left the polls.

For Anna Finlay and Alyssa Menshausen, voting was a responsibility, not a choice.

The two women, Saratoga Springs residents who stopped by the City Center to vote at around 5 p.m., didn’t disclose their choices but noted that not showing up to the polls wasn’t an option, and that their votes matter.

“Why did we come to vote? I don’t know. … How can you not?” Finlay said.

“Yeah, you’ve got to vote, right?” Menshausen said.