Marc Molinaro Launches GOP Campaign For Governor

TIVOLI, NY — Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro said earlier this year he wasn't mulling a gubernatorial bid. But on a snowy Monday morning in Tivoli, he announced just that — a Republican campaign challenge to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Molinaro, 42, of Red Hook, said his campaign is on an unlikely path the Poughkeepsie Journal reported.

"I wasn’t born with a famous name," he said.

Molinaro, who said farmers, small business owners, seniors and individuals living with disabilities inspired him, said New York has lost faith in its government and that he hopes to make it more "accessible," the newspaper said.

"We will end the way we do business in Albany," he said.

Molinaro has been the county's executive for six years. He previously served half a decade as a state lawmaker in Albany, and also served as the mayor of Tivoli.

State Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, a Republican of Canandaigua, recently endorsed Molinaro, saying Molinaro was everything that Albany was not.

The Manhattan GOP also endorsed Molinaro and gave him slightly more than 50 percent of support needed to win the nomination at the GOP convention.

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— Marc Molinaro (@marcmolinaro) April 2, 2018

.@marcmolinaro calls Albany government "inaccessible and inexcusable," slamming corruption in #Albany, likening it to a tax on NY residents. pic.twitter.com/ZMEMggxKoG
— Jesse McKinley (@jessemckinley) April 2, 2018

Photo credit: Dutchess County