Carl Paladino
Carl Pasquale Paladino (born August 24, 1946) is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York. Paladino is the founder and chairman of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate development company he founded in 1973. Paladino ran for Governor of New York in the 2010 election. He pulled off an upset by winning the Republican primary over Rick Lazio, but lost in a landslide to Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the general election - 63% to 33%. Paladino's candidacy was supported by the Tea Party movement and by unusually strong support in his native Western New York; his campaign platform emphasized fiscal reform and improvement of the state's educational system.