REUTERS/Lucas JacksonDemocratic Governor Andrew Cuomo embraces his father Mario after being re-election at the U.S. midterm race in New York, November 4, 2014.Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo died Thursday at the age of 82, according to various news sources including the The New York Daily News and the Wall Street Journal.
The former governor - who served three terms as governor and considered a presidential run - died six hours after his son, Andrew, was sworn in for a second term as governor of New York.
"He couldn't be here physically today ... but my father is in this room," Andrew Cuomo said in his inaugural address, according to the Daily News
"He's in the heart and mind of every person who is here. His inspiration and his legacy and his spirit is what has brought this day to this point."
The elder Cuomo was hospitalized in November for a heart problem but was released the next month.
Cuomo, a liberal, lost his race for a fourth term to George Patacki in 1994. Cuomo led the Empire State at a particularly difficult time between 1983 and 1984, as The New York Times noted in its obituary.