Cuomo’s Mayoral Strategy: Everyone Else Drop Out

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Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo arrives for a Get Out the Vote Rally on June 16. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Andrew Cuomo announced his plans to pursue an independent mayoral bid following his stunning Democratic primary loss to Zohran Mamdani, confirming earlier reports that the former governor was close to revealing his plans for the November election.

Cuomo made it official on Monday afternoon, telling New Yorkers in a social media video that he is “in it to win it.” In the short clip, the former governor apologized to his supporters for letting them down, but promised to work diligently to defeat Mamdani in the fall. “Every day I’m going to be hitting the streets, meeting you where you are. To hear the good and the bad, problems and solutions because, for the next few months, it is my responsibility to earn your vote,” he said.

Sources close to the Cuomo campaign told NewsNation over the weekend that his announcement will reportedly come with a caveat that went unmentioned in the shared video. Cuomo intends to pledge to withdraw from the race by September if he’s not leading in the polls, and he will urge the other candidates challenging Mamdani, Mayor Eric Adams and Republican Curtis Sliwa, to do the same. after his stunning double-digit loss to Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June.

In response to the news, Mamdani’s campaign issued a statement, writing, “While Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are tripping over themselves to cut backroom deals with billionaires and Republicans, Zohran Mamdani is focused on making this city more affordable for New Yorkers. That’s the choice this November.”

Cuomo’s reported proposal is reminiscent of one from Jim Walden, an attorney and fellow independent mayoral candidate, who suggested the candidates agree to suspend their campaigns and back whichever challenger is leading the race in a poll conducted in mid-October to avoid splitting the vote and ensuring a Mamdani victory. In a statement to NewsNation, Walden said he was “glad” Cuomo adopted his pledge, adding “I hope Eric and Curtis sign on as well.”

Since his defeat in the primary was made official last month, Cuomo refrained from closing the door on a potential rematch with Mamdani, skipping the deadline to remove his name from the November ballot. But his campaign continued its criticism of his closest competitor Adams, portraying Cuomo as the only viable option for voters opposed to Mamdani. Meanwhile, Adams alleged that Cuomo has nudged him to step aside in the race, which the mayor has balked at, citing his primary performance. Sliwa, who ran unopposed for the Republican nomination, has similarly brushed off calls for him to drop his bid, ensuring a likely four-way race for the anti-Mamdani lane.

But Cuomo’s proposal appears to be acknowledging an unavoidable reality of the race: that having multiple candidates vying for the same bloc of moderate and conservative voters will likely favor Mamdani’s candidacy. Recent polling appears to support that concern. A new Data for Progress poll, first reported by Politico, found Mamdani leading the field with 40 percent followed by Cuomo with 24 percent, Adams with 15, Sliwa with 14, and Walden with one percent. Only five percent of respondents said they were “not sure” who they would vote for. The poll surveyed 756 likely voters in New York City and was conducted from July 1 to July 6.

In addition, the poll found that Democratic voters preferred Mamdani by 52 percent compared to 32 percent for Cuomo and 8 percent for Adams. Voters also appeared to have low opinions of both Cuomo and Adams. Seventy percent of respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of Adams compared to 29 percent favorable, while 59 percent viewed Cuomo unfavorably compared to 39 percent who said they had a favorable opinion of the former governor.

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