Astorino, stumping upstate, says race is winnable

BRUNSWICK -- From the start, upstate communities like this Rensselaer County town hugged by hills between the Hudson River and Vermont were expected to be a battleground that Republicans hoped would help Rob Astorino pull off a historic upset over Democrat Andrew M. Cuomo in the governor's race.

With three days to go, and despite polls that have shown him trailing by double digits, Astorino said it can be done.

"We are poised to win this!" Astorino said Saturday outside an Elks Club in the rural area east of Albany popular for hunting and fishing. "It's the perfect storm," he told the chilled but cheering crowd.

Astorino's plan has been to win or get a draw upstate, benefit from an expected low turnout in Democratic-dominated New York City, then take Cuomo on with a suburban strategy -- in Westchester, where he is county executive, and on Long Island.

"The wind is at our backs," and Cuomo's heavy use of negative TV ads proves it, he said. "This is the sign of a desperate, panicked politician who feels it slipping away," Astorino said during a swing that started in suburban Buffalo.

Astorino's common theme in every region was that Cuomo failed to curb corruption in Albany or revive the economy, leaving New York last or near last among states in several economic indicators and forecasts.

He has also vowed to end the Cuomo-backed Common Core curriculum in public schools, which has angered many parents and teachers and is a top issue for McKenzie Ryan, 18, a college freshman from Brunswick.

"That's just ridiculous to have to learn one way," she said at the rally of more than 200 people. "I also think he is just a good person," she said.

She worries about job opportunities under a Cuomo second term, saying she hopes to build a career in New York "if I can."

Ed Zamjohn, 81, came from Cobleskill, about 100 miles away, for Astorino. "The economy of New York, especially upstate," was one reason. "And, of course, the gun control law. That's a really bad thing." he added. Several in the crowd wore "Common Core Warrior" shirts and gun rights baseball caps.

Campaigning in New York City, Cuomo touted a law he pushed through -- and Astorino opposes -- that now bars about 34,000 people deemed mentally ill from owning guns. "To me, if you want to repeal that law, you should be on the list," Cuomo said.

Astorino trailed Cuomo by 20 percentage points statewide and 9 points upstate in an Oct. 22 Siena College Research Institute poll. Cuomo had a 56 percent-30 percent lead in Friday's Marist College-Wall Street Journal-WNBC poll.

But Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said Astorino has "narrowed the gap" over the summer and fall. His poll also showed Cuomo's job performance rating at a low point and a favorability rating that has continued to drop.

"Astorino is now more known statewide than he's ever been, but unfortunately for him, while a quarter of voters still don't know enough about him to have an opinion, nearly as many voters view Astorino unfavorably as view Cuomo unfavorably," Greenberg said.

With Matthew Chayes

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.