Paladino Remains a Confident Underdog

Link

Brighton, N.Y. --- In the last two weeks alone various polls have showed Republican Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino trailing Democrat Andrew Cuomo by as many as 37 points and as few as 13 points.  But how the race for New York Governor pans out is anyone’s guess and this year, perhaps more than any other, is one in which polls never appear to tell the real story.

On Monday, Paladino stopped by his Brighton campaign office to rally supporters on the eve of this 2010 Election.  When asked about recent polls by one reporter, the Republican candidate literally laughed through his answer.

"Are you in a different world than I am?  What happened in the primary?” Paladino asked.  “They had me down one point two days before the primary, we won by 26 points!  They were 27 points off!”

While Paladino’s math is slightly off (he defeated Rick Lazio by 24 points, 62-38, in the GOP Primary) his confidence is evident.  So to is the confidence of his running-mate, Lieutenant Governor Candidate and Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards.  Edwards even offered a suggestion for Monroe County voters who support Cuomo’s running-mate, Rochester Mayor Bob Duffy.

"I think Mayor Duffy has made a great mayor,” Edwards said.  “If they (voters) want to keep him as mayor they know how they need to vote.”

In Buffalo Monday Cuomo dissected his opponent’s strategy at a rally of his own.

“Use the fear, use the anger, divide & conquer, it's the oldest strategy, divide and conquer," Cuomo said of Paladino’s campaign message.  “Our campaign is the exact opposite and what tomorrow is all about is the exact opposite."

While nobody disputes that Cuomo remains the front-runner heading into the final hours before the polls open; it’s also clear that Paladino remains a confident underdog.

"We're going to be a people's government,” Paladino said before leaving Brighton.  “We're going to be there for the people, not the special interests, not the friends and family club, not the pay-to-play club.  We're going there and this culture of corruption that exists in Albany today is going to be gone."