1990 New York gubernatorial election
The 1990 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo won a third term in office, making him the first Democrat elected to three terms as Governor of New York since Herbert H. Lehman.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
County results Cuomo: 30–40% 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Rinfret: 30–40% 40–50% London: 30–40% 40–50% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in New York State |
|---|
Though the Republican Party and Conservative Party had run the same candidate through fusion voting since 1974, the parties diverged in 1990. The Republican Party nominated Pierre "Pete" Rinfret, a former presidential advisor who became a millionaire in the financial sector. The Conservative Party nominated Herbert London, the dean of NYU Gallatin. While Rinfret was a relative moderate who supported abortion rights, London was known as a staunch social and fiscal conservative.
Cuomo won with an absolute majority of the vote, meaning that Rinfret and London's combined performance would not have been enough for a unified right flank to win. Had London received just 38,334 more votes, the Conservative Party would have secured Line B on all ballots in New York through the 1994 New York gubernatorial election. Additionally, the party would have been entitled to take over privileges designated for the two major parties, including authority over state and county Boards of Elections.
This election remains the best performance of the Conservative Party, both in terms of number of votes and percentage, for a gubernatorial election.