Suozzi has a natural base in the suburbs, which aren’t dominant factors in a New York Democratic primary but could increase in importance with more candidates in the race, Levy said.
He might be able to pick up “tight moderates” in New York City who voted for Adams and Western New Yorkers who haven’t quite adopted upstate’s favorite daughter, Levy suggested.
Suozzi said he learned from the 2006 quixotic run. With Spitzer already a national figure, Suozzi had to made it on the primary ballot through the petitioning process, an exercise he said he’s planning to undertake again.
In order to avoid having to petition his way on the ballot, Suozzi would need 25 percent of the vote at the party convention next month in Manhattan.
Suozzi said he had both good ideas and gumption during his 2006 bid, but lacked a knowledge of what it would take to win a statewide race, including building a solid team, campaign infrastructure and relationships with state media.
In that race, he was not afraid to mix it up with Spitzer, then known as the “Sheriff of Wall Street” for his crusades against financial corruption as attorney general. Most memorably, Suozzi confronted Spitzer at a Long Island train station with reporters in tow, leading to a nose-to-nose debate over property taxes.
The race was a drubbing: Spitzer won 82 percent to 18 percent.
But therein lies the rub for Suozzi’s strategy now 16 years later from his last run.
The way long-shot statewide races are often won is with money and manpower, both of which Suozzi lacks relative to Hochul. Suozzi reported about $5 million in the bank in his campaign filings earlier this month — not nothing, but probabbly not enough.
There’s no question he needs to increase that amount, he said, but his plans to do so are vague.
Some of his historic relationships have come through, though not all publicly, he said. And he gains more volunteers and backers after each town hall event, he contended.
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