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Andrew Cuomo's attendance at dinner stirs speculation about 2020 ambitions

N.Y. Gov. Cuomo DNC address
N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo addresses DNC 15:24

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo attended a private dinner Friday in Washington that could stir speculation about whether he might decide to run for president in 2020.

“We need to win back the middle-class while pushing progressive values,” Cuomo said at a private dinner, a person who attended the event told Politico.

Democratic Govs. Dannel Malloy of Connecticut, Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, Jay Inslee of Washington state and John Hickenlooper of Colorado were among those who attended the dinner, according to the report, which came during the National Governors Association’s winter meeting.

For the last six years, Cuomo hadn’t attended the event, Politico said, and after doing so, he returned home to New York in the same day.

Cuomo, 59, has repeatedly denied that he has 2020 ambitions. He has served as governor of New York since 2011. Previously, he served as the state’s attorney general and served in the Clinton administration as secretary of housing and urban development.

His father, Mario Cuomo, was also governor of New York and had been considered a possible presidential candidate, but never launched a bid.

In a recent interview with NY1 News, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, called Cuomo a “great candidate” for 2020.

“He’s done great things in our state. I love the fact that he’s focused on paid leave and marriage equality, so he’s a terrific governor,” she said, Politico noted.

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