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1986 New York gubernatorial election
	County results ; Cuomo: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; O'Rourke: 40–50% 50–60%
Governor before election; Mario Cuomo; Democratic	Elected Governor ; Mario Cuomo; Democratic

The 1986 New York gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New York. Incumbent Democratic governor Mario Cuomo defeated Republican Andrew O'Rourke, the County Executive of Westchester County in a landslide. Cuomo carried all but 5 counties.

Republican nomination

Candidates

Andrew P. O'Rourke, Westchester County Executive

Declined

James L. Emery, nominee for lieutenant governor in 1982^[1]
Rudy Giuliani, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York^[2]
Roy M. Goodman, State Senator from Manhattan^[3]^[2]
Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State
Lewis Lehrman, banker and nominee for governor in 1982

Lewis Lehrman, the 1982 Republican nominee for governor, decided early on not to mount another candidacy versus Cuomo. Lehrman's decision to forgo a candidacy was seen as a blow to state Republican leaders, given his strong performance in 1982 and wide fundraising capacity.^[2] Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger considered running for governor and was deemed an "able" challenger,^[4] and decision to ultimately pass on a candidacy also led to a leadership vacuum.^[1]

In the end, O'Rourke secured the Republican nomination, and was praised as an "extremely credible candidate" by White House official Bill Lacy.^[1] His running mate was E. Michael Kavanagh, who served as District Attorney of Ulster County.^[5]

Results

New York gubernatorial election, 1986
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Mario Cuomo	2,654,754	61.83%
	Liberal	Mario Cuomo	120,291	2.80%
	Total	Mario Cuomo (incumbent)	2,775,045	64.63%	+13.72%
	Republican	Andrew O'Rourke	1,211,662	28.22%
	Conservative	Andrew O'Rourke	152,306	3.55%
	Total	Andrew O'Rourke	1,363,968	31.77%	−15.71%
	Right to Life	Denis Dillon	130,827	3.05%	+2.05%
	New Alliance	Lenora Fulani	24,135	0.56%	+0.46%
Majority			1,411,077	32.86%	+29.43%
Turnout			4,293,975
	Democratic hold