Green gov candidate Howie Hawkins of Syracuse: I'm only progressive running

The Green Party's Howie Hawkins bills himself as the last progressive standing in the New York governor's race. Hawkins is running to the left of heavy-favorite Gov. Andrew Cuomo at a time when liberal Democrats are signaling dissatisfaction with the governor. While a surprisingly strong primary challenge from college professor Zephyr Teachout fell short this month, voters stirred up this summer are still out there and Hawkins is working to get them. "He knows he's vulnerable on his left, I mean seriously vulnerable," Hawkins said of Cuomo at an event in Albany this past week.

Hawkins: stop fracking, promote clean energy, adjust the state tax rates

In 2010, Howie Hawkins succeeded in getting 50,000 votes in the governor’s race, which qualified the Green Party for official ballot status in New York for four years. This year, making a repeat run, his goal is not just to qualify for ballot status, but to get 250,000 votes, about 5 percent of the total vote.

Primary results a referendum on fracking

With Cuomo still on the fence about fracking and his Republican challenger Rob Astorino firmly in favor of fracking, the anti-fracking position come November will be left to Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate for governor. Whether or not Hawkins can capitalize on the no-fracking momentum Teachout built remains to be seen.

Cuomo leads Astorino by 12 points in Syracuse, Central New York area

Howie Hawkins, the Green Party candidate from Syracuse, would get 15 percent of the vote in the district, the poll found.