Gentile On Outside Support



Democratic candidate Vincent Gentile has received little outside support so far as he campaigns toward a May 5th special election.  The 11th Congressional District seat he’s seeking is widely regarded as likely to stay Republican despite former Rep. Michael Grimm’s guilty plea to federal tax evasion and subsequent resignation.  Democrats have had some recent success there, however, with Andrew Cuomo winning the district this past November and Barack Obama winning Staten Island (which comprises most of the district) in his 2012 reelection.  Neither has given any visible support to Gentile.

With Cuomo’s significant 2014 margin of victory in the district his support could be meaningful for Gentile.  In February, on the day that Cuomo set the election date and before Gentile was selected as the Democratic candidate, Cuomo suggested that he would not get involved in the race and offered kind words about Republican Dan Donovan.

I asked Gentile about the absence of significant outside Democratic support and whether he plans to ask Governor Cuomo for his endorsement.  Here’s what he had to say: