Gov. Cuomo has his work cut out for him if he intends to boot Democratic rival Zephyr Teachout from the primary ballot.
The lefty Fordham university professor’s campaign said Wednesday it has collected about 46,000 signatures on nominating petitions– more than triple the 15,000 required to take on Cuomo in the September primary.
Most experts say a candidate with at least three times the minimum signatures has a good chance of withstanding a petition challenge. The deadline for handing in the petitions is Thursday.
“We have 43,000 signatures on hand and are expecting another 3,000 from the field. People have been walking in all day with them,” said Teachout campaign manager Mike Boland.
The campaign allowed supporters to download petitions from its website and more than 1,000 signatures came via the mail, Boland said.
He said he’s confident the petitions will withstand any challenge from the Cuomo camp.
A Cuomo campaign spokesman wouldn’t say if the governor will try to knock out Teachout at the Board of Elections, which has to certify that she’s met the minimum signature requirement.