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The 1986 NY State Comptroler Election, a contest between incumbent Comptroler Ned Regan and former Representative and Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo resulted in the former's win in a smashing landslide victory.
Enphasizing his independence from the Republican party, outrasing Mr. Badillo, and criticisim of the Koch Mayoral administration of the NYC Fiscal crisis, Regan—Along with one term Senator Al D'Amato—sought to win despite Mario Cuomo and Attorney General Robert Abram's presense at the top of the ticket.
However, still, Herman Badillo—A Caguas PR native who hadn't held elected office since 1977—was facing steep headwinds due to the popular Comptroller's financial advantage, a sleugh of Enemies in NYC Politics (Including Mayor Ed Koch, Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins & Congressman Charles Rangel),
and a failed attempt to become the anti-Koch minority candidate in 1985. Still, asserting that Regan's audits were useless, Badillo hopped to count on his strength with Unions, and Governor Cuomo's coattails to oust Regan.
Despite this, Regan—in a public display at Badillo's Mid-town campaign headquarters—challenged his dealings with a formerly Puerto Rican hotel that was Purchased by Horizon Hotel Corporations while Badillo was both its legal council and chairman of the NY state mortgage agency, seeking answers to alleged impropriety
Further, Badillo also failed to win the support of the premire NY-Puerto Rican Newspaper El Diario for the first time in his political career, with the paper charging that Badillo's candidacy did "not benefit our community but enhances the chances for the top of the Democratic ticket to obtain Hispanic votes"
Badillo's campaign charged the assertion as ludicrus, but combined with Regan's financial advantage, public displays, and popularity still won a landslide 17% win over Badillo.
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/29/nyregion/comptroller-swimming-against-a-political-tide.html?searchResultPosition=22
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/30/nyregion/badillo-in-uphill-race-for-comptroller.html?searchResultPosition=21
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/01/nyregion/badillo-asserts-regan-s-audits-totally-useless.html?searchResultPosition=20
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/01/nyregion/excerpts-from-debate-of-comptroller-candidates.html?searchResultPosition=19
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/12/weekinreview/badillo-s-run-highlights-lack-of-hispanic-gains.html?searchResultPosition=4
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/16/nyregion/badillo-calls-for-retraction-of-statements-by-governor.html?searchResultPosition=16
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/17/nyregion/cuomo-clarifies-ethnic-remark-in-an-apology.html?searchResultPosition=15
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/19/nyregion/regan-challenges-badillo-s-dealings-with-puerto-rican-hotel.html?searchResultPosition=3
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/19/nyregion/liberals-starting-advertising-drive.html?searchResultPosition=13
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/01/nyregion/el-diario-is-supporting-regan-over-badillo-in-state-contest.html?searchResultPosition=2
- https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/06/nyregion/democrats-rejoice-55-45-senate-margin-but-still-seek-agenda-counter-reagan-many.html
- Data from Harvard_ROAD
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