NEW YORK — Andrew Cuomo will mount a long-shot independent bid for New York City mayor after he decisively lost a Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani.
The former governor made the announcement in a social media post that showed images of him speaking with people on city streets — a seeming echo of Mamdani’s popular short-form videos interacting with New Yorkers.
In his announcement, Cuomo framed the race as a two-man contest with the 33-year-old democratic socialist, ignoring incumbent Eric Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden.
“The general election is in November and I am in it to win it,” Cuomo said. “My opponent Mr. Mamdani offers slick slogans, but no real solutions.”
Cuomo is moving forward with a bid on an independent line after Mamdani soundly defeated him by 12 points in the June primary’s final round of ranked-choice voting.
The video released by Cuomo’s campaign signaled a reset for a candidate who was criticized for running a low-energy bid during the primary. The 67-year-old former governor rarely spoke with reporters and avoided the typical glad handing that comes with a municipal campaign. The strategy was all the more glaring after his loss to Mamdani, who placed an emphasis on voter interaction and walked the length of Manhattan the night before the primary.
In his video, Cuomo thanked his supporters and apologized that he “let you down.” He also placed an emphasis on affordability — an issue that Mamdani hammered successfully.
“We need a city with lower rents, safer streets, where buying your first home is once again possible, where child care won’t bankrupt you,” Cuomo said in the video. “That’s the New York City we know.”
He pledged to meet voters where they are “on the streets.”
The medium itself was in stark contrast to Cuomo’s March announcement when he entered the primary. Wearing a suit and looking directly into the camera, Cuomo rolled out his bid in a 17-minute video. His video Monday signaling a general election restart featured the ex-governor in shirtsleeves and ran a comparatively zippy 94 seconds.
In an email to supporters, Cuomo pledged to “run a very different kind of campaign” that will include a new team and field operation. The former governor was criticized for not focusing on voter turnout during the primary.
Cuomo will have to sell this refurbished version of himself to voters and donors after the rejection in the primary. The former governor leaned on his decades of governmental experience while framing Mamdani as too inexperienced to lead City Hall.
Mamdani is betting voters won’t buy it.
“I welcome everyone to this race, and I am as confident as I’ve been since three weeks ago on primary night when we faced Andrew Cuomo then, and won that race by more than 12 points, with the most votes of any democratic nominee in New York City primary history,” Mamdani said. “And we did so because of the fact that while Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams trip over themselves to make deals in back rooms with billionaires, we are focused on fighting for working New Yorkers.”
Cuomo, though, faces an uphill climb in a deep blue city that is accustomed to electing Democrats. He will mount the independent run without much of the institutional backing he enjoyed during the primary after his team stoked the perception the nomination was inevitable.
Crucial labor unions that backed Cuomo’s primary bid endorsed Mamdani days after his victory. And key supporters are yet to take a side.
“I want to see what he has to say,” said former state Comptroller Carl McCall, who Cuomo ran against during a disastrous 2002 gubernatorial primary, in a brief interview. McCall endorsed Cuomo in his mayoral primary bid.
The former governor is attempting a rarely successful maneuver, banking on voters to alter their decision making in a general election in a city with an electorate that’s overwhelmingly Democratic.
Recent polling has shown Cuomo running a strong second to Mamdani. The former governor has embraced a pledge proposed by Walden for the field to coalesce around the strongest candidate to defeat Mamdani.
Cuomo’s opponents have signaled no intention to do that. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, has decried Cuomo’s effort to remain in the race. The mayor has met with donors who supported a super PAC allied with the ex-governor during the primary.
Adams and Cuomo share a base of blue collar voters of color, who are considered more moderate, and Jewish New Yorkers. Mamdani in recent weeks has moved to bolster his support among these voters.
Adams, who skipped the Democratic primary after his cozy relationship with President Donald Trump became untenable for voters, has accused Cuomo of trying to force “a Black elected official out of office.”
“This kind of political double-dealing is exactly why so many New Yorkers have lost trust in him,” Adams said in a statement released Sunday as Cuomo prepared a general election bid. “The people spoke loudly — he lost.”
Cuomo’s primary supporters acknowledge both men remaining in the race will aid Mamdani.
“Both of them in the race makes them problematic,” Democratic Assemblymember David Weprin said.
Joe Anuta contributed to this report.
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