On Monday, Andrew Cuomo officially announced his independent campaign for mayor of New York City, setting the stage for a rematch against Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani in the upcoming November election.
Cuomo committed to revamping his approach following a disappointing performance in the primary against Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman who identifies as a democratic socialist. He made it clear that he would withdraw from the race in September if another contender appeared more capable of beating Mamdani.
“Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the Democratic primary did not go the way I had hoped,” Cuomo remarked in a social media video. The 67-year-old politician, who resigned as governor in 2021 amidst multiple sexual harassment allegations, finished significantly behind Mamdani in June.
“I am truly sorry that I let you down,” Cuomo expressed to his supporters in the video, invoking words of wisdom from his grandfather: “When you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game, and that is what I’m going to do.” He added, “The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.”
Despite his efforts, Cuomo’s reception from national Democratic leaders, who are wary of his progressive policies, has been lukewarm. Nonetheless, Mamdani is seen as the frontrunner in the race for the mayorship of the predominantly Democratic city.
Recent polls indicate that Cuomo is trailing Mamdani. Meanwhile, current Mayor Eric Adams, running for re-election as an independent after originally winning office as a Democrat, is trailing significantly in the polls alongside Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden.
Adams has experienced a decline in his already subpar approval ratings amid criminal corruption charges, with further drops occurring after the U.S. Department of Justice controversially moved to dismiss the case to allow him to cooperate with the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
During his campaign launch on Monday, Cuomo introduced a unique proposal calling for the other candidates to unify around the strongest non-Mamdani candidate ahead of the election.
“Our common goal must be to run the strongest candidate against Mr. Mamdani,” Cuomo stated in an email to his supporters. He expressed his support for a plan put forward by former Governor David Paterson and candidate Jim Walden, suggesting that in mid-September, candidates should assess who is the strongest contender against Mamdani, with the aim of consolidating support to avoid splitting the vote.
Cuomo highlighted that only 13% of city voters participated in the Democratic primary, arguing that Mamdani could face a challenging election in November. “All of us who love New York City must be united in running the strongest possible candidate against Zohran Mamdani in the November general election for mayor,” he concluded.
