Over the last several weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has sought to reunite Democrats in the state Senate, grant parolees the right to vote and move forward with a possible legalization of recreational marijuana – all things the campaign of his Democratic primary opponent, Cynthia Nixon, is taking some credit for.

"I think this is part of the dilemma right now with Governor Cuomo. He's feeling the push from the left with Cynthia Nixon just constantly poking at him every day, almost every hour now," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua.

For his part, Cuomo says that emphasizing issues like criminal justice reform are part of his overall agenda that has also included increasing New York state's minimum wage, paid family leave and increasing taxes on the rich, but the primary has also led Cuomo to link himself even further with organized labor amid a split between unions and advocacy wing the Working Families Party, which is backing Nixon. Cuomo insisted he wouldn't seek to punish the WFP or its affiliated groups. 

Cuomo has not shifted on all issues that have been raised in the Democratic primary campaign so far. Cuomo was non-committal when asked whether he supports driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants.

"That is a county-by-county decision, or we would have to change the state law," said Cuomo, D-New York.

Nixon has embraced the issue, which proved to be a controversial one for then-Governor Eliot Spitzer more than a decade ago.