Andrew Cuomo suggests Bill de Blasio role in possible Cynthia Nixon governor bid

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Wednesday suggested that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio may be behind a potential gubernatorial bid by actress Cynthia Nixon and belittled the “Sex and the City” star’s level of celebrity.

The broadside set off yet another round of insults between de Blasio and Cuomo, two Democrats who battled this time over who had the flimsier progressive credentials.

Nixon has been in talks with campaign operatives about challenging Cuomo for the Democratic nomination in September, multiple news outlets reported Tuesday. A run by Nixon, an education activist and de Blasio ally, would be seen as testing Cuomo from the political left.

Asked Wednesday in a conference call with reporters if he thought the mayor, a Democratic rival, was playing a role in Nixon’s potential bid, Cuomo remarked: “I think it was probably either the mayor of New York or Vladimir Putin . . . I’m going to leave it to you great investigative reporters to follow the facts” and find the truth.

Then, he added: “Russian interference?” and dissolved into a long laugh.

Asked later whether Nixon’s name recognition could affect the race, Cuomo compared her unfavorably with bigger stars.

“Normally, name recognition is relevant when it has some connection to the endeavor,” said Cuomo, whose entree into politics was preceded by his father, Mario Cuomo. “But if it’s just about name recognition, I’m hoping that Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and Billy Joel don’t get into the race. If it’s just about name recognition, that would really be a problem.”

That was just the start.

At a midday news conference, de Blasio didn’t answer directly when asked if he encouraged Nixon, but said they had a “wonderful” relationship and said that progressives in the Democrat Party want change.

“There’s a reckoning occurring all over this nation in our party,” de Blasio said. “It’s time for Democrats to be Democrats.”

The mayor repeated his criticism that Cuomo hasn’t done enough to end Republican control of the State Senate.

Soon after, Cuomo trashed the mayor’s credentials in a live interview on NY-1, saying his rival was all talk, little action.

“I don’t think progressive politics is a function of rhetoric and words, I think it’s a function of results,” Cuomo said, calling parts of de Blasio’s record “repugnant” and claiming of himself: “I have accomplished more progressive results in this state than have been accomplished by any administration.”

The latest Cuomo-de Blasio spat broke out a day after news broke that Nixon has taken steps toward a run by consulting with Democratic strategists who are aligned with the party’s left flank and are former de Blasio advisers.

Cuomo faced a challenge in 2014 from the left when a then-unknown Fordham University professor, Zephyr Teachout, garnered 34 percent in the Democratic primary even though she ran a bare-bones campaign.