Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is reportedly considering a run for mayor in New York’s general election this November, despite losing the Democratic primary to socialist candidate Zoran Mamdani on Tuesday.
CNN has noted that Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid investigations into allegations of sexual harassment involving at least 11 women, has expressed uncertainty about fully committing to his campaign. However, he hasn’t withdrawn his candidacy for the party he formed last month.
The disgraced former governor mentioned his “disillusionment with the Democrats” in announcing the formation of a new political party, the “Fight and Delivery” party, which aims to attract disenchanted Democrats as well as independents and Republicans.
Sources from his campaign have confirmed that Cuomo will maintain his name on the ballot ahead of Friday’s deadline, but it’s still unclear if he will actively pursue his campaign.
As of now, with 93% of votes counted, the Associated Press reports that Mamdani, a state legislator advocating for city-owned grocery stores and significant funding for gender-affirming care for both minors and adults, is leading with 43.5% of the vote compared to Cuomo’s 36.4%.
Despite Democrats employing ranked-choice voting in the primary, Mamdani did not achieve the required 50% threshold to secure a first-round win.
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels crime prevention group, had no competition in the Republican primary. He previously ran for mayor in 2021 but lost by a significant margin to the current Mayor Eric Adams.
Like Cuomo, Adams is also running as an independent after expressing dissatisfaction with the Democratic Party, according to Breitbart News.
“There’s no liberal or conservative way to improve New York,” the mayor stated when he announced his decision to skip the Democratic primary this past April, just after corruption charges against him were dropped. “There’s right and wrong, and true leaders know the right path and have the courage to follow it.”
Charges against Adams concerning bribery and fraud were dismissed after the Trump administration requested the move. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondy indicated that the “timing of the charges” led to concerns about the integrity of the case due to potentially biased publicity.
Bondy pointed out that Adams had criticized former President Biden’s immigration policies, which, she argued, should be noted in light of the charges against him, hinting at possible interference in the investigation.
“Over 25,000 New Yorkers have signed my petitions, but these false accusations have impeded my ability to run a major campaign,” Adams commented.
Before the DOJ stopped pursuing charges against Adams, Trump hinted at possible forgiveness.
