Gotham Gazette

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Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino formally accepted the New York Republican Party's unanimous nomination for governor Thursday during the party's convention. In his acceptance speech, the second-term executive portrayed the state as burdened by soaring taxes, a slumping economy, and incompetent leadership. He vowed to repeal the gun controls that Gov. Andrew Cuomo pushed through the Legislature and to allow fracking in the state. He also called for term limits on the governor's office and doing away with Common Core, the controversial education standards. Allies to Cuomo have been digging into the county executive for a while now. The "Astorino Truth Squad" was launched by Westchester's Democratic Party chairman back when Astorino announced his candidacy in March. And the state Democratic Party has already released three television commercials attacking him. Chemung County Sheriff Christopher Moss was also officially nominated by the GOP for lieutenant governor.

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