New York state Democrats saved a big-gun endorsement for Gov. Andrew Cuomo until the last minute, with a robocall from Hillary Clinton going out to voters just ahead of Tuesday's primaries.
But Clinton – considered a likely entry for a White House run in 2016 – spends more time touting Cuomo's running mate, former Rep. Kathy Hochul, than the governor as the ticket faces fierce challenges from the left.
"As a New Yorker, I'd be proud to have Kathy fighting for our state," Clinton says in the robocall, according to a script provided to several media outlets by state Democrats.
"When she was in Congress, Kathy showed she knows how to find common ground but also stand her ground for what's right. As our lieutenant governor, she'll never, ever give up on New York's families."
In Tuesday's primary, Hochul is up against liberal Columbia Law School professor Tim Wu, who's snagged an endorsement from
The New York Times.
Cuomo's leading challenger is Fordham Law professor
Zephyr Teachout, whom Cuomo tried and failed to get tossed off the ballot.
The Times
declined to endorse Cuomo — saying he hadn't done enough to clean up Albany — or Teachout.
Teachout told
MSNBC she isn't intimidated by the Clinton endorsement – "It shows that he's scared," she said of her opponent — and expects "the upset of the century on Tuesday."
"There’s something that’s happening in those polls that’s making him calling in all his chips," said Teachout, referring to internal surveys for the governor, MSNBC reported.
The Clinton call mentions Hochul three times as often as the governor,
Capital New York reported.
Clinton's endorsement follows a string of other high-profile supporters of the Cuomo-Hochul campaign, including former President Bill Clinton – who was Cuomo's boss when he served as housing secretary – and New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand,
The Daily News reported.