Albany Times Union, May 2, 2018

ALBANY — While Democrats and Republicans continue to be the dominant party designations in New York, third parties also play a pivotal role in the state's political structure.

Actress and activist Cynthia Nixon has been nominated by the Working Families Party and is seeking the Democratic line this fall, while Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro is the Conservative Party's pick and appears close to clinching the Republican nod. The grassroots Green Party has tapped Howie Hawkins as their candidate for governor for the third time.

While Nixon and Molinaro were competing for headlines and Hawkins was in the news after he was arrested protesting a gas storage facility on Seneca Lake, a number of intriguing figures seeking to unseat Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo have slipped under the radar, getting little or no press coverage so far in this election cycle....