Politics on the Hudson

State Democrats are meeting in Buffalo today for their fall meeting, and the focus will be on the reception and speeches from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Gov. David Paterson—who may be after the same job.

In western New York yesterday, Paterson again pledged that he’s running for election next year.

“I am a candidate for governor,” he said. “I think there are a bunch of tough candidates who are used to never having the state Senate, never having the executive mansion, never having sway in local governments, who have been winning in the past few years, because they were tough and because they didn’t give up just because the polls were against them, just because the numbers were against them and just because the money was against them.”

Cuomo, meanwhile, was in Syracuse and, as usual, downplayed any run for governor, saying he’s focused on his job as attorney general.

In Buffalo, Cuomo is holding a breakfast reception for Democrats, while Paterson is addressing the conference at its luncheon.

“You know, to the extent that the president has voiced opinions, the governor has voiced political opinions. They are all entitled to their own political opinions,” Cuomo said yesterday. “Next year, there will be elections, and we will all have a whole great discussion about it. But from my point of view, the attorney general’s point of view, focusing on the work of the office, the important work of the office is what the people of the State of New York expect and deserve.”