Is truth stranger than fiction? Usually not, if the author of fiction tries to write something strange. However, the second paragraph of this report by my conservative cousin from New York is both true and stranger than fiction:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has apparently become unhinged by the primary challenge from the Left of “Sex and the City” co-star Cynthia Nixon. In an effort to get to the Left of Nixon, Cuomo has descended into a bizarre fantasy world.

To stop the Interior Department’s approval of offshore drilling, he vows “to commission a citizen fleet from throughout the state to go out and interfere with their federal [drilling] effort just as Winston Churchill did in Dunkirk…If you think I’m kidding, I’m not and I’m going to lead that citizen fleet.”

Perhaps a Staten Island Ferry can be commandeered to serve as a fleet command vessel for Admiral Cuomo’s strike force. . . .

Striking a macho pose the Governor informs us that he’s “a big tough Italian guy.” He claims to have demonstrated this fact by shoveling 600 lbs. of snow in an hour. I can think of something else he’s shoveling and it smells a lot worse than snow. Moreover, isn’t that kind of rhetoric what the Left labels as “toxic masculinity” when Donald Trump brags about his physical fitness?

In the real world times are tough for many New Yorkers The poverty rate is 18.5%, well above the national average of 11.3%. The Governor’s ban on fracking and support for the recently enacted $15/hour minimum wage are job killers that target people seeking to rise out of poverty. Cuomo has squandered billions in phony job development that enriched his supporters and offered few opportunities for residents of depressed areas Upstate.

The betting is that Cuomo will be reelected but it’s somewhat less certain than it was earlier. A Quinnipiac University poll of primary voters shows Cuomo leading Nixon 50-27%. But that’s down from an earlier poll that had Nixon behind by 31%.

[The polls] ignore voter intensity. Past Democratic primaries often featured high voter turnout in wealthy liberal bastions like the Upper West Side, Park Slope and leafy Westchester suburbs. The many “Sex and the City’ fans who populate these precincts could well rally for Nixon.

After a spirited contest, Cuomo lost the endorsement fight for the nomination of the far-left Working Families Party to Nixon. (New York allows cross party endorsements.) That likely means Cuomo will face a three-way race against both Nixon and a Republican challenger.

An attractive GOP challenger, Duchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, has emerged as a front runner for the party’s nomination. The odds of a Republican winning in New York are daunting. The Quinnipiac poll for a three-way race has it at Cuomo 40%, Molinaro 23% and Nixon running on the Working Families line at 20%. It’s early and as Molinaro gains name recognition GOP poll numbers will in all likelihood rise. And if Nixon scores an upset win in the Democratic primary all bets are off. So there’s some small grounds for optimism that New Yorkers won’t have to endure four more dismal Cuomo years.

I’d say all political bets are off until we know the outcome of Admiral Cuomo’s naval expedition.