Cuomo Defeats a Liberal Rival in the Primary

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo defeated a left-leaning primary challenger on Tuesday, fending off a surprisingly potent liberal revolt that had threatened to humiliate him.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, now heads into the November election in strong position, facing a little-known conservative opponent in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two to one.

With 43 percent of precincts reporting on Tuesday night, Mr. Cuomo had 60.4 percent of the vote, compared with 35.5 percent for Zephyr Teachout, a law professor who ran a long-shot campaign that served as a megaphone for liberal complaints about the governor's time in office.

Mr. Cuomo's running mate for lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, also defeated Ms. Teachout's running mate, Tim Wu, another law professor.

In a show of confidence heading into the campaign season, Mr. Cuomo largely avoided doing the things that candidates do - debating, pressing the flesh, and pointing out his opponent's flaws. Instead he made his case through television commercials, mailers and surrogates like former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.

But that strategy may have misfired. The apparently strong performance by Ms. Teachout, a legal scholar of political corruption who had never run for office, was an embarrassing rebuke to Mr. Cuomo from his party's liberal wing, and could put a sizeable dent in whatever national aspirations he may hold.

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