Former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that he is running for New York mayor as an independent, weeks after he was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary.
In a video circulated on social media, Cuomo, 67, thanked his supporters for voting for him and apologised for letting them down. But he went on to say that only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary and that he was “in it to win it” in November.
He described Zohran Mamdani, the New York State Assembly member who won the Democratic primary, as having “slick slogans and no real solutions”.
He repeated the argument he made during the primary that he was the candidate with the experience to implement the affordability agenda that Mamdani was promoting.
Just weeks ago, Cuomo lost by 12 percentage points to Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialistwho received more votes in a Democratic primary than any other candidate in the city’s history. The upset stunned the Democratic establishment and seemed to herald the end of the Cuomo political dynasty. Before Cuomo was governor, his father, Mario Cuomo, held the position for 12 years.
With his announcement, Cuomo is rejoining a crowded field that includes not only Mamdani but also incumbent mayor Eric Adams, who did not participate in the Democratic primary and is running as an independent; Jim Walden, an independent; and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Cuomo’s announcement came with a caveat. He said he would abide by a plan put forth by Walden and former governor David Paterson aimed at consolidating the field to stop Mamdani. Paterson and Walden proposed that the other candidates in the race would back the candidate who ranks highest in the polls in September.
But it’s not clear whether that pact will come together.Neither Adams nor Sliwa has agreed to such terms.
In the primary, Cuomo was backed by a record-setting political action committee that raised nearly $25 million for his candidacy. A significant portion of that money was spent on negative campaign ads targeting Mamdani for his political views, which Cuomo characterised as too far left and anti-Semitic.
Backed by billionaires such as former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, Cuomo’s cautious campaign was not enough to overcome the groundswell of popular support for Mamdani, who ran on affordability, free busing, rent stabilization and free child care. Cuomo’s bid was also marred by his resignation four years ago as governor amid sexual harassment allegations.
“I made mistakes in the primary,” Cuomo wrote on Monday in an email to his supporters. “All my life I’ve been known for pushing too hard, but this time I played it safe, believing in the polls that said our campaign was way ahead, and not giving New Yorkers the campaign they deserved.”
At a campaign event on Monday afternoon, Mamdani told reporters and union members that Cuomo’s run showed that he was struggling to come to terms with his primary loss and New Yorkers’ desire to turn the page on his brand of politics.