Cuomo to Announce N.Y. Governor Run in May

New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo is expected to confirm a foregone conclusion next month and announce that he will seek the Democratic nomination for governor.

According to NY1 News, Cuomo will time the announcement to coincide with the state party convention in Westchester in late May.

"The attorney general is expected to launch his campaign before the three-day Democratic convention starts in the Rye Town Hilton on May 25," reports NY1.

"Aides learned from Cuomo over the weekend that initial plans to announce the gubernatorial run were put off, after the attorney general launched a high-profile criminal probe against State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada."

Cuomo, who supports gay rights including marriage equality, enjoys a solid, if not ecstatic, following among LGBT Democrats. In March, he drew the ire of some LGBT activists when he headlined a fundraiser in Albany for state Sen. Carl Kruger, one of eight senate Democrats who voted against the marriage equality bill that failed in the senate last year.

Governor David Paterson, a Democrat, announced earlier this year that he would not seek election to a full term.

The news of Cuomo's announcement arrives one day after former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 in the wake of a prostitution scandal, appeared cold toward Cuomo in an interview with The New York Times. If elected, Cuomo would be only the second person, after Spitzer, to serve as governor following a stint as the state's top prosecutor.

"This statement could be misinterpreted," Spitzer told the Times when asked whether he would vote for Cuomo. "I don't know who the candidates are going to be. I think it's fair to presume he will be the Democratic nominee. I do want to see who else will be in the race. I don't say that to slight him. He hasn't answered the hard questions yet about how he will govern the state, so I think it's fair to say, 'Let's wait and see.' "

Democratic leaders rallied around Cuomo Monday and urged Spitzer to tone down the remarks.