Cuomo stares down the third-term curse
New York’s history books are replete with tales from other third-term crypts.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at a news conference. | Byron Smith/Getty Images
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Terry Golway is a senior editor at POLITICO responsible for New York state political coverage out of Albany. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Frank and Al: FDR, Al Smith, and the Unlikely Alliance That Created the Modern Democratic Party.
Hugh Leo Carey was the 51st governor of New York state and arguably was among the smartest of the bunch. That’s not to suggest he had better grades than, say, noted polymath Theodore Roosevelt, or that he could match credentials with the likes of John Jay. But on a cold January day in Albany in 1982, Carey showed just how smart he was by announcing that he would retire after two remarkable terms as the state’s chief executive.