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- Outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's team considered a longshot strategy to keep him in power.
- Some aides pitched running "a series of person-on-the-street" ads, according to the New York Times.
- Cuomo was also reportedly ready to resign almost a full week before Tuesday's announcement.
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In a desperate attempt to stave off impeachment, outgoing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo reportedly weighed running "person-on-the-street" ads featuring voters boasting about his record, according to a new report.
The nearly three-term governor, who announced his plans to resign on Tuesday, was looking for a way to turn the tides against an increasingly inevitable impeachment trial following the bombshell report from New York Attorney General Letitia James corroborating accounts from 11 women who accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct.
According to The New York Times, Cuomo advisers looked into "preparing and running a series of person-on-the-street television advertisements featuring New Yorkers who thought he was doing a great job, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions."
The idea was ultimately scrapped, according to the Times.
When Cuomo officially steps down in two weeks, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul of Buffalo will become the first female governor in the history of the Empire State.
Once feared by Democrats in the state legislature, Cuomo's staff determined that just 12 lawmakers in the Assembly were still in his corner following the AG report, the Times reported.
He was also ready to resign as early as last Wednesday, but ultimately changed his mind after lunch that day, according to the report.