Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is considering a run for mayor of New York City in the upcoming general election, following a surprising defeat to socialist Zoran Mamdani in the Democratic primary.
There’s quite a buzz around major upsets impacting the Democratic landscape, but it seems Cuomo hasn’t completely closed the door on his campaign.
Last month, his team indicated plans to run on an independent “fight and stream” line in November, irrespective of the primary results from June 24th.
Cuomo is, well, keeping his options flexible. Senator Richard Atzpaldi mentioned to the Post that Cuomo acknowledged Mamdani’s victory on Tuesday night.
Cuomo stated he wants to review the numbers once they come in, to analyze the votes more closely.
“I’m eligible to run for mayor on the independent line in November, so I’ll have discussions with my colleagues about the best way to support New York City,” he noted.
His campaign had previously declared in May that he was pursuing an independent route, hoping to attract not just dissatisfied Democrats, but also independents and Republicans.
This would place him in a crowded race alongside Mamdani and long-time Republican candidate Curtis Swa, especially after he managed to gather only 28% of the vote in 2021.
The current mayor, Eric Adams, who is running in the Democratic primary as an independent, poses a significant challenge for Cuomo, given their overlapping ideologies.
Also in the mix is attorney Jim Walden, who is running independently.
Adams has been quite critical of Cuomo’s decision to oppose him as an independent candidate.
During an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, the mayor remarked, “Cuomo should understand that times have changed. He’s turned Mamdani’s campaign into something akin to ‘Snake Oil Salesman.'”
Adams added that Cuomo’s actions, like visiting black churches while seeming out of touch, don’t resonate with the working-class voters he claims to represent.
Cuomo acknowledged Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary, noting the significant margin in the city’s ranked-choice voting system.
As of Wednesday morning, Mamdani was leading with 36.4% of the vote over Cuomo, which is just over 70,000 votes, based on more than 96% of the Democratic primary’s first-round results.
Trailing them was Mayor Brad Lander at 11.3%.
According to the latest tally from the board of directors, over 993,500 New Yorkers participated in the mayoral primary.
All ranked-choice ballots are anticipated to be finalized by July 1st.
Sources within the Democratic camp indicated that Mamdani’s team strategically outpaced Cuomo leading up to the primary.
