Maria Cuomo Cole and Kenneth Cole. (Photo: Patrick McMullan)

Gov. Andrew Cuomo may have his eye on the White House, but it looks his sister may be gunning for the opposite team.

Mr. Cuomo’s sister, film producer Maria Cuomo-Cole, took to Twitter Friday morning to publicly support an EMILY’s List campaign to put a woman in the White House—a campaign that isn't shy about its support for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, widely considered Mr. Cuomo's biggest barrier to the Democratic nomination.

“In honor of my daughters, I'm supporting #MPOTUS. Help all of our daughters realize there is no limit to their dreams,” Ms. Cuomo-Cole tweeted, with a link to the group’s “Madam President” campaign.

“The 2012 election was a mandate for women's leadership. The country is ready for a woman president. And Madam President is ready to harness that energy to put the first woman in the White House. It's our time. And we're ready,” the group's website reads.

While the campaign is dedicating to electing female candidates generally, EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock has made clear that Ms. Clinton is the obvious choice.

“I have to say, there is one name that seems to be getting mentioned more than others,” she told Politico.“We do not know if Hillary is going to run, but we are hopeful that she may.”

The group’s first ad also includes a scene featuring a woman who looks uncannily like Ms. Clinton being sworn into office.

It has long been speculated that Mr. Cuomo has been eyeing a run for the White House, but has been cautious about discussing his plans. This week he shot down a report that he has been telling confidants he is resigned to the fact that there's no way he can run if Ms. Clinton does.

“There is no truth to the assertion that I’m talking presidential politics and strategy and what Hillary Clinton should do or shouldn’t do or what I’m doing presidentially,” he said during a radio appearance.

“As you know, I go to great lengths not to engage in politics writ large, but especially not presidential politics,” he added. “Hillary Clinton is gonna do whatever Hillary Clinton’s going to do and I’m doing what I’m doing and I’m focusing on running this state and doing it the best I can. And that’s all there is to that."

Ms. Cuomo-Cole did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

Governor Andrew Cuomo is writing a book about himself. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

It's become standard practice for presidential candidates to release personal memoirs outlining their governmental philosophy, and although Governor Andrew Cuomo insists he's focused on New York, he's soon to follow down that well-tread electoral path. The book, like Hillary Clinton's--another prominent potential White House contender--is slated to emerge next year.

“This is a private book. It’s not a government book," he told reporters during an unrelated press conference in Albany. It doesn't yet have a name, but as Mr. Cuomo described it, the memoir will be sure to address how he approaches government and tout his accomplishments.

"It's going to be a book about my experiences, my thoughts, my thoughts about government and the role of government," he added, explaining that it would also include some of the lessons he’s learned leading the state. "Some of the things that we've worked on.”

Mr. Cuomo had previously been cooperating on a separate book by Albany radio host and New York Post writer Fred Dicker, who was once seen as a mouthpiece for the governor. But their relationship has soured in recent months as Mr. Cuomo’s agenda has shifted to the left.

A HarperCollins spokeswoman said the host is still under contract for his book, but its status and the question of Mr. Cu0mo's participation remain unclear.

On his radio show Tuesday, Mr. Dicker insisted their fallout had nothing to do with the Governor's decision to choose to write a book himself.

"In fact, as I’m sure the governor would concede if he talks about it at all, it had nothing at all to do with the things that have transpired,” he said. “Completely separate and not even relevant in discussion of it. At some point, maybe I’ll say more, but right now that’s all I can say.”

He will receive an advance from the publisher, but said the amount has not yet been set.

“We’re working through some of the details of the contract still,” he said.

Here's more from Harper Collins:

Governor Cuomo’s book will be a full and frank look at his public and private life—from his formative years in Queens, New York, his long record of fighting for justice and championing government reform, his commitment to public service, and his election and service as the 56th Governor of New York State.  He will reveal the story of his history and will share personal and private moments that shaped his life: his father’s legacy, his personal trials and tribulations, and his role as a father to his three girls, twins Mariah and Cara and his youngest Michaela.

Prior to his election as Governor, Andrew Cuomo served four years as New York’s Attorney General. As the state’s top legal officer, he brought national reform to the student loan industry, uncovered fraud within the largest health insurers in the country, protected investors from abuses on Wall Street, and made the Internet safer for children nationwide. His groundbreaking investigations into the state pension system ended decades of government corruption in New York and set a model for public pension funds across the country.

Governor Cuomo’s book will also chronicle his years as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Clinton where he brought dramatic reforms to make government efficient and competent while saving taxpayers millions of dollars.

In addition, Cuomo established Housing Enterprise for Less Privileged (HELP) in 1986, which became the nation’s largest private provider of transitional housing for the homeless. Based on his pioneering work through HELP, Cuomo was appointed by New York City Mayor David Dinkins in 1991 to lead the New York City Commission on the Homeless.

Governor Cuomo will discuss the many profound moments in his first term as governor—from signing same-sex marriage legislation to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and his subsequent work with President Obama to help those who were ravaged by the storm.   Most recently, in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Governor Cuomo signed a groundbreaking gun control policy called the NY SAFE Act into law.

The deal was negotiated by Senior Vice President and Publisher, Jonathan Burnham and Robert B. Barnett of Williams & Connolly. Claire Wachtel Senior Vice President and Executive Editor, Harper, will edit the book, which is scheduled to be published in 2014.

(Photo: Getty)

Congressman Pete King was not pleased with his fellow Republicans who opposed the federal Hurricane Sandy relief package. Accordingly, Mr. King told us he was shocked to learn that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who's widely seen as a potential 2016 presidential contender, has been raising cash on Wall Street after voting against the Sandy bill.

"Being from New York we're not supposed to be suckers," Mr. King told Politicker this morning. "It's bad enough that these guys voted against it, that's inexcusable enough. But to have the balls to come in and say, 'We screwed you now make us president?'"

Mr. King went on to urge Empire State donors to cut off Mr. Rubio and any other member of Congress who "threw a knife in the back in New York" by voting "no" on the bill.

"Rubio and these other Republican candidates are coming to New York to raise money," he said. "I don't think any senator or congressman who voted against aid for Sandy should get one nickel from New York."

Mr. King, of course, wasn't the only Republican to criticize House Republicans for initially blocking the aid. Notably, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared that the cynicism involved was "why the American people hate Congress." In his conversation with Politicker, Mr. King connected the Conservative Political Action Conference's recent snub of Mr. Christie to the Sandy vote.

"They are more and more taking on this anti-Northeast attitude," Mr. King said of his party. "We say fine, if you want to be anti-Northeast, then the Northeast is going to be anti-them."

(Photo: Getty)

For a good portion of the day, outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been testifying before Congress about federal government's response to the September 11th attacks against the American diplomatic mission in Libya, but that doesn't mean presidential politics have completely left the room.

Indeed, in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this afternoon, Ms. Clinton faced at least two questioners dropping not-so-subtle suggestions regarding her hypothetical campaign for the White House in 2016. Notably, Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, who represents the Miami suburbs, expressed hope he'll be seeing Ms. Clinton politicking in his swing state in the future.

"Secretary of Clinton, first I'd like to thank you for the truly remarkable job that you've done as Secretary of State,"  Mr. Deutch began. "You have represented the interests of this nation magnificently. I for one hope that, after a bit of rest, you will consider a return to public service. Should that return take you to Florida, I will look forward to welcoming you there."

It was not only Democrats noting Ms. Clinton's possible presidential campaign, however. Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican hailing from Ohio, placed himself in a similar situation.

"Madam Secretary, first let me thank you for your service. I wish you the best in your future endeavors," he said, pausing before delivering his punchline. "Mostly."

Ms. Clinton heartily laughed at Mr. Chabot's remark but otherwise didn't address the speculation.

Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo marching in the 2006 Columbus Day Parade. (Photo: Getty)

With both Hillary Clinton and Governor Andrew Cuomo considered potential 2016 presidential candidates, the latest poll from the Siena Research Institute contains several numbers that will be of interest to early watchers of their potential bids. Siena polled favorability ratings for both Ms. Clinton and Mr. Cuomo and asked New Yorkers whether they'd like to see either run for president four years from now. 

The poll found Mr. Cuomo has a favorable rating of 72 percent among New York voters and Ms. Clinton's favorability was at 75 percent. Though Ms. Clinton's numbers were slightly higher, Mr. Cuomo has more bipartisan support. Ms. Clinton scored favorability ratings of 90 percent among Democrats and 50 percent with Republicans while Mr. Cuomo scored relatively high among both groups with 76 percent of Democrats and 66 percent of Republicans saying they have a favorable impression of the governor.

A majority of New York voters, 54 percent, said they'd like to see Ms. Clinton run for president in 2016. However, just 39 percent said they wanted to see Mr. Cuomo run for president in four years. Though New Yorkers didn't exactly seem enthused about the prospect of Mr. Cuomo making a White House bid, 62 percent said they'd like to see him run for re-election as governor.

Along with Mr. Cuomo and Ms. Clinton, Siena polled New Yorkers on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who's also viewed as a potential 2016 contender. The poll found 63 percent have a favorable impression of Mr. Christie with more than 60 percent of both Democrats and Republicans saying they had a positive view of the Garden State Governor.

Click to enlarge. (Photo: Facebook)

As rumors mount that outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may run for president in 2016, the former First Lady took steps to solidify her relationships with some Democrats by sending hand-signed notes to candidates who got bested in close congressional races. For example, Nate Shinagawa, who narrowly lost his challenge to GOP Rep. Tom Reed in Western New York, received a missive from Ms. Clinton two days after his defeat. In her letter, Ms. Clinton offered some supportive words and encouragement for Mr. Shinagawa's future political endeavors.

"You should be proud of your campaign and the dialogue you had with voters about the values we hold dear as Democrats," Ms. Clinton wrote. "Thank you for accepting the challenge of seeking public office and for your commitment to creating a better future for the American people."

Ms. Clinton's letter to Mr. Shinagawa was not an isolated incident. Sources with at least two other losing Democratic congressional campaigns told Politicker their candidates received similar letters.

"I hope you will find some time now for some well deserved rest and relaxation; we will continue needing your voice in the public square in the years to come," she continued in her letter to Mr. Shinagawa, who posted it on his social media accounts last week. "In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, 'The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.' Onward!"

Multiple sources who have worked with Ms. Clinton during her lengthy political career told us they were unaware of her sending similar letters in the past. With speculation she may be considering a White House bid in 2016 reaching a fever pitch, almost any partisan behavior by Ms. Clinton will unavoidably be seen as a piece of a potential presidential campaign. Of course, consolation letters are not necessarily evidence that she intends to run for office again, but it's clear Ms. Clinton, who's soon leaving her job in President Barack Obama's administration, seems to be interested in keeping her political support alive.

We reached out to Philippe Reines, Ms. Clinton's spokesperson at the State Department, to see if he could shed any light on the motivation behind the letters. He responded with a rather cryptic one line email:

"Well, 'When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best,' but Hallmark doesn't have a card suitable to the occasion..."

Another one of Mr. Biden's fans from a few days ago. (Photo: Getty)

Vice President Joe Biden, fresh off voting for himself in Delaware, returned to the pivotal battleground state of Ohio this afternoon to do a final round of campaign stops before polls close. And, true to form, Mr. Biden seemed to be having fun.

Approaching a booth at a Greek diner in Cleveland, Mr. Biden apologized for causing a commotion, jesting diners just came to get some spaghetti, "and Joe Biden shows up."

Next, the vice president met, according to a pool report, "the number one Biden superfan." The supporter, "struggling to contain excitement," offered Mr. Biden her food before chanting, “Biden! Biden!"

Another women walked up to him to inquire if he might run for the White House himself in four years, a possibility Mr. Biden seemingly hinted at after voting in Delaware earlier today when he said he didn't expect it would be the last time he cast a ballot for himself.

"I'm going to ask you one question, Mr. Biden. After Obama wins this election, are you going to run?" she asked.

This time, Mr. Biden downplayed speculation he might mount a presidential bid in 2016.

"Oh, I'm going to go back home and run for county council or something," he quipped.

Joe Biden on the campaign trail in Wisconsin. (Photo: Getty)

Vice President Joe Biden traveled to his home state of Delaware to vote for himself today. After he emerged from the voting booth, reporters asked the vice president if he thought it would be his final time casting a ballot for himself.

"No, I don't think so," Mr. Biden said with a grin.

Win or lose, this will be be Mr. Biden's last chance to vote for himself as President Barack Obama's running mate. His comments could indicate he's planning a White House bid of his own four years from now or a potential return to the Senate. On the other hand, they could also be another one of his infamous campaign trail quips.

Like many voters, Mr. Biden experienced a wait when he showed up to vote at Alexis I. DuPont high school in Wilmington. However, his delay was just about 11 minutes. Once he got into the voting booth, according to the White House press pool report,  Mr. Biden took "no longer than 20 seconds" to cast his ballot.

President Obama will not be voting today. He voted in Chicago last month, becoming the first president to vote early.

(Photo: C-SPAN)

Governor Andrew Cuomo is widely talked about as a potential presidential candidate in the next election and he consistently dismisses the speculation by insisting he’s purely focused on the job of governing the State of New York. Let’s just say the featured guests at tonight’s Alfred E. Smith Memorial Dinner didn’t exactly help dampen the chatter surrounding the governor's future.

“I’m pleased to once again to see Governor Cuomo, who’s already being talked about for higher office,” former Governor Mitt Romney said as he was introducing the distinguished guests in the room. “A very impressive fellow, but he may be getting a little ahead of himself. Let me get this straight, he’s had one term as a governor, he had a father who happened to be a governor, and he thinks that’s enough to run for president?”

Of course, Mr. Romney and Mr. Cuomo are both sons of governors who had one term running their respective states, but if Mr. Cuomo does indeed run in 2016–possibly against Mr. Romney, should he win this year–it’d technically be with two terms under his belt.

For his part, President Barack Obama went to almost the exact same joke when he thanked Mr. Cuomo for his attendance at the charity dinner known for its self-deprecation and humor.

"Tonight I am here with a man who's the father of a popular governor, and who knows what it's like to run a major Northeastern state, and who very well could be president someday," Mr. Obama quipped. "I'm hoping it is Andrew Cuomo."

Illustration: Philip Burke

As governor of a high-profile state with an almost astronomical approval rating and proven bipartisan appeal, Andrew Cuomo would seem a powerfully effective campaign-trail surrogate for President Barack Obama. However, though last night's presidential debate was held in his beloved home state, the governor's name did not appear on the list of spin room surrogates distributed by the Obama campaign yesterday morning. Fellow governors Martin O’Malley of Maryland and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, had signed up to give their post-game assessments to throngs of national media, as had local New York politicians Senator Chuck Schumer and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. But not Andy.

Though he wasn't part of the Obama campaign's official post-debate presence, however, Governor Cuomo, whose office had been made aware Politicker was working on a story that included discussion of his relationship with the Obama campaign, strolled onto spin alley a short time after the sanctioned surrogates had begun speaking to the assembled reporters.

“I didn’t know you had to sign up for an official surrogate,” he told us when we asked why he wasn't on the Obama campaign's list of spin alley representatives.

We pointed out that the other, official surrogates stood in front of tall signs that marked their presence in the crowd.

“Yeah, I didn’t sign up for a sign,” he responded.

Reporters began to shift the discussion to other topics, but the governor paused for several seconds, musing over his unique status.

“I’ve been in the spin room many times, I don’t think I’ve ever had a sign, as a matter of fact,” he said, staring at another surrogate’s sign in front of him. “I wonder if that means something?”

Mr. Cuomo isn't the only one wondering.

His surprise debate appearance was just the latest example of the governor’s maverick, relatively under-the-radar presence on the campaign trail. Both Mr. Cuomo and Mr. O’Malley are widely touted as possible candidates for the 2016 presidential election, but when it comes to their forays into the national political arena this time around, the two men are pursuing divergent strategies. Since June, Mr. O’Malley has eagerly taken a public role in the president’s re-election campaign at least 17 times, releasing multiple statements on behalf of Mr. Obama, appearing on both cable and network news to discuss the election, participating in Obama campaign conference calls, and offering the administration’s take at the Republican National Convention, the Democratic National Convention and the two presidential debates held so far. Mr. Cuomo, by contrast, has marched to the beat of his own drum and kept his focus squarely on his home state, burnishing a carefully controlled brand as the brash, bipartisan reformer who finally parted the clouds in Albany, ushering in an era of relative peace and prosperity after years of darkness and dysfunction. Meanwhile, he has kept even the local press at arm’s length, doing regular interviews only with a pair of preferred radio reporters, rarely holding briefings and, according to multiple Albany journalists, cutting off access to reporters whose coverage is deemed unflattering by the governor’s office.

At last night's debate, we asked Mr. O'Malley why he thought Mr. Cuomo hasn't take a more public role pushing for President Obama's re-election effort and why the New York governor wasn't with him on the official surrogate list.

"You know, surrogates and governors do, I'm sure, all that they can to help the campaign," Mr. O'Malley said. "Everybody has demanding schedules. Deval Patrick was here tonight, he's not able to make each of these. And so, we all do as much as we can whenever we can I think. And I think that's true of Governor Cuomo."

Indeed, Mr. Cuomo was elected to be a governor, not a TV talking head, and his success in Albany is attributable precisely to the intensity he’s brought to the task at hand. But, perhaps ironically, the same aloofness from the national campaign that has fueled his popularity—leading to all that speculation about a White House bid—has also created some friction among top Democrats whom he will need to turn into allies if he does indeed mount a national campaign.

“The truth is that this is someone who is perceived to be about one thing, and that’s Andrew Cuomo,” complained one well-placed national Democratic operative. “That is all he cares about. He has not lifted a finger to help the president.”

When asked to comment on the state of his relationship with the president’s re-election campaign, the governor's office pointed to Mr. Cuomo's attendance at several private fundraisers and his trip to the Democratic National Convention last month.

While Mr. O’Malley and other local politicians have eagerly pitched in to publicly bolster Team Obama, Mr. Cuomo has taken a far more low-profile role. For instance, the governor has participated in several private fund-raisers for the president’s re-election effort, according to his office. Although he did make the trip to the convention last month, it raised eyebrows among prominent Democrats that he stayed clear of the official proceedings, declining to make his schedule known until the last minute and then delivering a single speech before the New York delegation—at a hotel six miles from the convention center. In the speech, the governor made sure to “thank President Barack Obama for what he has done for our state” and stressed the importance of the election, but the gesture struck some observers as decidedly ambivalent: The off-site address came off largely as a victory lap for Mr. Cuomo’s signature achievements during the first half of his term in New York, which include legalizing same-sex marriage and reforming the state tax code and the pension system.

His eagerness to characterize his administration as a successful laboratory for liberal policies was underscored by a sign that hung behind him as he spoke and by buttons handed out to guests, which boldly declared in all-capital letters, “NEW YORK STATE PROGRESSIVE CAPITAL OF THE NATION.” While he praised the president’s political “philosophy,” he described the Empire State as a shining example that Mr. Obama has followed.

“We know the president is right, and we know he can do these things, because we are doing these things in New York!” he said. “We know we can find savings in Medicaid and still give people the health care they need, because we’re doing it in New York! We know you can tax people fairly, not a flat tax, not everyone-pays-the-same-tax rate, which is what we had in New York, but a simple premise that says this: the more you make, the more you should pay. That’s fair, that’s progressive, the tax code that we just put into place in New York.”

Gov. Cuomo’s conspicuous avoidance of this year’s presidential campaign might just be a reflection of his unstinting commitment to the job he was elected to do—being an effective and resourceful chief executive of the Empire State: he’s simply too busy working day and night on the issues that matter most to New York residents to get swept up in the national race.

Or maybe, as a number of sources suggested, there’s more to it: a carefully crafted political strategy to cement his brand as a bipartisan reformer without getting tarnished by the ideological back-and-forth of a contentious national campaign. When Mr. Cuomo took office in January 2011, Albany was still reeling from the impact of Eliot Spitzer’s sex scandal, the somewhat hapless performance of Mr. Spitzer’s successor, David Paterson, an array of corruption cases and the endless legislative squabbling that had led to late budgets for five years in a row prior to his arrival.

“In large part, when Andrew first came in, he did everything in his power to operate sort of above politics, and that was what he tried to demonstrate and what he’s tried to make his brand henceforth,” one Albany insider told Politicker. “He was trying to show that he was not engaged in day-to-day politics. He was sort of this knight riding into Albany on top of all this dysfunction. He was going to fix everything and, therefore, there was no room to be seen as a political actor. He was sort of a fixer.”

Though he has traveled thousands of miles within New York’s borders, Mr. Cuomo’s brief appearance at the DNC was one of only two times he has left the state since his election as governor. His only other such foray was to Puerto Rico to attend the SOMOS conference, which, despite its foreign locale, is an advocacy group that works on behalf of Hispanic New Yorkers.

While he has kept his distance from the national party, he has been more eager to lend a hand in local races. According to Congressman Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Gov. Cuomo has provided instrumental support for House candidates in New York, which naturally has an impact on the presidential race.

“Gov. Cuomo has been very engaged in working with us to help our House Democratic candidates,” Mr. Israel said. “The contrast between Obama-Cuomo and Romney-Ryan will be a big advantage for us in November, and New York voters will be well aware of that contrast by election day.”

Though this New York-centric strategy may have led to tension between the governor and national Democrats, it has paid off in many ways here at home. During his first 21 months in office, Mr. Cuomo passed pension reform popular among conservatives and tax reform that earned points with liberals, presided over two on-time budgets, legalized same-sex marriage and earned respect from many Empire State Republicans. Siena Research Institute regularly surveys New York voters on the governor’s performance. The group’s most recent poll on Mr. Cuomo, which was conducted in mid-July, found that 69 percent of voters in the state have a favorable impression of the governor, compared with just 22 percent who have an unfavorable opinion of him. The same poll found that the majority of New Yorkers, 54 percent, see Mr. Cuomo as a “moderate,” compared with 27 percent who view him as a “liberal” and 10 percent who would describe him as “conservative.”

Mr. Cuomo has been coy about his intentions so far, dismissing any discussion of a potential White House bid without ever explicitly denying presidential ambitions. When we asked the governor’s office to comment on the widespread presidential speculation, Matthew Wing, a press aide for Mr. Cuomo, emphasized the governor’s focus on New York.

“As we have stated countless times, the governor is focused on doing his job and working for the people of New York—that’s the job he was elected to do, and the results speak for themselves,” Mr. Wing said.

Indeed they do. Should the governor decide to run for higher office, his impressive achievements in New York will no doubt form the basis of his candidacy. Still, some observers question the wisdom of expending so much energy on a state that is always staunchly blue in presidential elections anyway.

“If this is a campaign for president,” said the Albany insider, “it is a brilliant one from a New York standpoint, but let’s be honest, how important is New York?”

Additionally, Mr. O’Malley isn’t the only potential rival Mr. Cuomo may encounter if he mounts a bid for the White House—nor is he the only possible opponent who has worked hard at building bridges to the national Democratic Party. Secretary of State (and former New York senator) Hillary Clinton is another widely touted potential presidential hopeful. Multiple sources we spoke with said Mr. Cuomo’s somewhat strained relationship with national Democrats has increased Ms. Clinton’s appeal among influential political figures and donors in New York and beyond.

“If Hillary Clinton decides to run, whenever she decides to run, he will have no New York Democrat support,” the national operative we talked to declared of Mr. Cuomo. “He will have no national Democratic support. None. Zero. There is nothing there.”

A Democratic congressional operative agreed with this assessment, noting, “I think the perception in Washington is that, if Hillary wants to go, it’s kind of a done deal.”

Part of Mr. Cuomo’s careful branding strategy has involved cultivating a distanced and, at times, contentious relationship with the Albany press corps. The governor generally favors broadcast interviews with two Albany radio hosts—Susan Arbetter and New York Post columnist Fred Dicker, who has a notoriously cozy relationship with Mr. Cuomo and is working on an authorized biography of the governor.

Update (3:31 p.m.): This story originally said the governor holds "official press briefings relatively rarely." The governor's office responded by noting the governor has attended over fifty public events around the state in the past six months.

However, there have been recent signs that Mr. Cuomo is increasingly opening up and engaging with the local media. Late last month, the governor and his aides took reporters on a trip to the Adirondacks, where they spent over three hours canoeing, fishing and holding extensive off-the-record fireside chats. In another recent off-the-record event, Mr. Cuomo held a reception at the Governor’s Mansion in Albany, where he spent about two hours speaking with local journalists.

But although he has increased his engagement with the Albany press corps, the governor has still largely eschewed the national press and has avoided appearances on the Sunday talk shows and the cable news circuit. For now, it seems doubtful his glasnost will extend to national media and political issues. One reporter who has covered the state capitol told Politicker it’s clear the governor has relinquished some of the tight control over his narrative, but said it is not clear whether this new approach will last.

“The governor and his communications staff seemed to have a really difficult relationship with the press for his first year and a half in office, but recently his staff have seemed more open and relaxed,” the reporter said. “There seems to be slightly less paranoia on both sides. Of course, that can change in an instant.”

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story written prior to the presidential debates appeared in this week's print edition of the New York Observer.