NY Democratic Convention Starts Today, Could Bring Few Surprises

The New York Democratic Convention begins today, and though current New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is widely expected to receive the nomination for governor, other big choices loom for lieutenant governor and the Attorney General nomination.

The decision for lieutenant governor could come as early as today, Newsday reports.  Cuomo is considering Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president Shirley Ann Jackson, and former federal prosecutor Denise O'Donnell.State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers, the newspaper said.

Current Nasau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice leads the other four candidates for Attorney General, according  a Siena Research Institute Poll released yesterday, but experts predict that both she and state Sen. Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan will receive the 25% vote necessary for a place on the ticket this fall.

Cuomo is said to favor Rice as his successor for Attorney General because her gender and Long Island roots.

Despite these predictions, the Attorney General candidates and choice for lieutenant governor will still be "the real surprises" at the convention, CUNY Hunter College political scientist Kenneth Sherrill told Newsday.

The Democratic Convention is expected to endorse both incumbent U.S. Senators Kristin Gillibrand and Charles Schumer.  In the Siena Poll yesterday, Cuomo,  who announced his candidacy for governor on May 22, beat each of the Republican opposing candidates by more than 40 percent.

The convention takes place in Rye Brook, New York, and will continue through Thursday.

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