“The fight to save our city isn’t over,” Cuomo, New York’s former governor, said in a video released Monday. “The general election is in November and I am in it to win it. My opponent Mr Mamdani offers slick slogans, but no real solutions.”
In the immediate aftermath of last month’s primary, in which Cuomo lost to the 33-year-old state lawmaker – a self-described democratic socialist – by a stunning 12 points, speculation swirled that Cuomo would ultimately stop campaigning for the general election.
But people familiar with Cuomo’s thinking said he reviewed post-election poll data and believes he is a more viable candidate to challenge Mamdani in November than incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.
He will pledge to drop out of the race if he isn’t the highest-polling opponent for Mamdani by early September, according to a person with knowledge of his plans, who declined to be identified discussing them.
Some of Cuomo’s donors have called on him to step down and have already begun shifting their support to Adams, who is also planning to run as an independent. At a fundraiser last week, the mayor raised more than US$1 million in a single night, a dramatic turnaround from his previous efforts.
Adams on Thursday slammed Cuomo, 67, for potentially splitting the vote against Mamdani, telling Bloomberg Radio: “He created this scenario that created an opportunity to divide the vote instead of being unified.”
But Cuomo and his advisers point to polls that show the former governor performing better against Mamdani than Adams, and have repeatedly said that Cuomo earned more votes in the primary this year than Adams did in the 2021 race. He isn’t perturbed by losing the backing of some donors and unions after their support didn’t help him win the primary, the people said.
A super PAC backing Cuomo in the primary, Fix the City, raised nearly US$25 million from finance and real estate titans including Michael R. Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, as well as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and DoorDash Inc.
The decision extends Cuomo’s attempt at a political revival four years after sexual harassment allegations spurred his resignation from the governorship. Cuomo, who denies the allegations, has pitched himself as a seasoned moderate who can manage the city’s woes – from crime in the subways to the affordability crisis.
But he ran a quiet campaign, making a handful of media appearances, rejecting many candidate forums and seldom attending events with voters. He told supporters in an email Monday that he relied too much on polls showing him leading the primary, and “played it safe.”
Mamdani meanwhile rose from virtual obscurity thanks to extensive social media outreach, a sophisticated volunteer network, massive donor support and direct mail that resonated with young and progressive voters.
He built a multi-ethnic coalition across brownstone Brooklyn, working-class Queens and upper Manhattan, garnering 56% of the vote under the city’s ranked-choice system, compared with Cuomo’s 44%.
In the video Monday, Cuomo pledged to run a more vigorous campaign and promised that “every day I’m going to be hitting the streets meeting you where you are.”
“For the next few months, it’s my responsibility to earn your vote,” he said.