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Andrew Cuomo touts progressive policies at Democratic convention

Gov. Andrew Cuomo ripped against the policies in Washington and touted his record Thursday as he accepted the Democratic nomination for a third term.

HEMPSTEAD -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo ripped against the policies in Washington and touted his record Thursday as he accepted the Democratic nomination for a third term.

The two-day convention on Long Island has been more of a coronation than a contested contest for the party's nod.

On Wednesday, Cuomo won 95 percent of the delegates' vote against primary foe Cynthia Nixon, the Sex and the City star.

So he used his speech to party faithful to rail against Repulicans and the Trump administration, challenging Democrats to lead the state and the nation.

"We are about to embark on the most consequential campaign in our lifetime," Cuomo said.

"We are at a political crossroad and our decisions and actions are going to define the soul of this state and the soul of this nation."

More: Marc Molinaro gets GOP nod for governor, vows to cut taxes

More: Hillary Clinton vows 'best days' ahead for New York, country as she endorses Cuomo

More: Cynthia Nixon throws barbs at Cuomo, who cruises to Democratic nomination

Cuomo, who was first elected in 2011, has continued to face pushback from the liberal wing of the party -- and he countered by repeatedly highlighting his record over the past eight years.

"No state in the nation has accomplished more for its people in a shorter period of time than the great state of New York," Cuomo said.

"You are the Democratic Party at its best."

Primary ahead

The Working Families Party backed Nixon at its convention earlier this month, and Nixon has labeled Cuomo as being more aligned with Republican policies than progressives.

"The truth is the governor isn’t a progressive, and he knows it," Nixon said outside a Long Island train station on Wednesday.

"That’s why he and his allies have bullied progressive community groups and rallied the full force of the big money establishment."

Because she didn't get 25 percent of the delegates' vote, she did not get a speaking opportunity on the convention. She left the event before the votes were cast.

"I won't be scared out of the room," Nixon said Wednesday morning. "New Yorkers deserve a choice. And that’s why I’m here."

Top surrogates

Cuomo, 60, goes into his re-election bid as a heavy favorite, polls have shown, and he had $30 million in his campaign coffers in January — the most of any Democratic governor in the country.

Cuomo is a potential 2020 presidential candidate, and he brought big national names to endorse him: Hillary Clinton spoke on his behalf Wednesday, and former Vice President Joe Biden did the same Thursday.

Biden said Cuomo has followed the correct path of progressive Democrats: balancing his political philosophy with the needs of New Yorkers.

"Andrew Cuomo has never backed away from his progressive principles. Not once," Biden said.

"At the same time, he has focused on the needs of high-school educated, hard-working people."

Tom Perez, head of the Democratic National Committee, praised Cuomo and running mate Kathy Hochul as "charter members of the accomplishment wing of the Democratic Party."

Hochul faces her own primary challenge: Jumaane Williams, a New York City Council member, is running against her.

Indeed, Cuomo has sought to be a major foe to the Trump administration, battling Washington over immigration, tax policy, gun control and environmental regulations.

He reiterated Thursday he would ban off-shore drilling in New York and fight against the federal government's tax reforms -- which he said would largely benefit the rich.

And he vowed to invest billions of dollars into the state's economy and fight Trump's efforts to deport undocumented immigrants.

Cuomo said he will counter "the fool’s gold sold by Trump" and campaign against New York's Republican House members in the November elections.

He ripped the federal government's response to last fall's hurricane that tore through Puerto Rico -- where Cuomo has visited repeatedly and sent aid.

"Our challenge is twofold: First, we must continue to move our state forward as the progressive capital of the United States of America," Cuomo said.

"And at the same time, we must overcome the national extreme conservative movement that is threatening this nation."

Joe Biden praises Andrew and Mario Cuomo at the Democratic convention on Thursday, May 24, 2018 as he introduced the younger Cuomo. Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau Chief

Making the case

Cuomo, 60, has dismissed his critics within the Democratic Party, telling reporters on Wednesday he has enacted "the greatest record of accomplishment of progressive values in the country."

He and his supporters touted the state's laws that legalized same-sex marriage, installed paid-family leave, raised the minimum wage, made SUNY tuition free for income-eligible New Yorkers and strengthened gun-control laws.

Democrats are on verge of winning control of the state Senate for the first time since 2010, said Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers. It needs to secure one more seat to have a majority.

"We have some much to do, and we are this close," she told the convention crowd.

"That’s why we have to be together."

The winner of the Democratic primary Sept. 13 will face Republican nominee Marc Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, in the general election. Molinaro won his party's nomination Wednesday.

Molinaro has taken Cuomo to task for the state's high taxes and a stagnant upstate economy.

"If taxing and spending were the best way to lift families out of poverty, we'd have the best government in the country - and I wouldn't be running for governor," Molinaro said.

"Over-taxing and overspending is a dream killer; a job depriver. It robs working people of the ability to save."

On Wednesday, Democrats passed a resolution in support of the legalization of marijuana — a position Cuomo has yet to support, but backed by Nixon.

The party also passed a resolution to kick Democratic Sen. Simcha Felder, who sits with Republicans, out of the party. Felder's support of Republicans is keeping Democrats from holding a Senate majority, but the resolution was merely ceremonial.

Cuomo ended his roughly 45- minute speech with: "New York is the alternative state to Trump's America."

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