Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced Saturday he’ll run for mayor of New York in opposition to Eric Adams on this summer time’s Democratic major election, a dramatic bid for a political comeback that stands to drastically reshape the race lower than 4 months earlier than metropolis residents head to the polls.
Cuomo made the announcement in a video posted to social media.
Our metropolis is in disaster. That’s why I’m working to be Mayor of New York Metropolis. We’d like authorities to work. We’d like efficient management. https://t.co/a0vVYRF4iP pic.twitter.com/JIrhD1Edqs
Even earlier than his long-awaited marketing campaign announcement, polling has persistently projected Cuomo because the front-runner in June’s mayoral major, with many surveys displaying him beating the embattled Adams and his different challengers by double digits. Cuomo has netted particularly stable polling help from Black outer-borough voters, a constituency that was key to Adams’ 2021 election.
However regardless of some good polling marks, the polarizing Cuomo stays deeply unpopular with some electorates within the metropolis, particularly left-leaning Democrats.
Ought to he emerge victorious, nonetheless, taking on as mayor would mark a dramatic turning level in Cuomo’s political story.
He resigned as governor in 2021 after being accused of sexually harassing 13 ladies, allegations the U.S. Division of Justice’s civil rights division corroborated in a bombshell settlement final yr. Cuomo has denied ever committing misconduct, however stated upon resigning that he needed to “deeply apologize” for making “people feel uncomfortable.”
Cuomo has additionally for years confronted withering criticism over his choice to understate the variety of New Yorkers who died from COVID-19 in nursing properties within the state after he enacted a coverage in early 2020 prohibiting such amenities from denying entry for residents identified with the lethal virus.
At 67, Cuomo — whose resume contains serving as governor for 10 years and state lawyer common for 4 years — can be the oldest individual ever elected to a primary New York Metropolis mayoral time period. Within the months main as much as Saturday’s announcement, he has laid the bottom for a mayoral bid, visiting Black church buildings, assembly with highly effective union leaders, recruiting marketing campaign staffers and altering his voter registration to an condo in Midtown.
Supporters hope the ex-governor can discover success as a reasonable with a tough-guy status, massive identify recognition and a capability to deliver stability to metropolis authorities amid Adams’ federal corruption indictment and Trump’s threats to town. His success might hinge on successful over the identical outer-borough working-class Black communities that carried Adams to the mayoralty.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media at Metropolis Corridor on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Day by day Information)
The ex-governor is main in most polls, capturing 33% of the vote in a February survey by Emerson School Polling/PIX11/The Hill, through which Adams trailed him with 10% help. In lots of polls, Adams has netted low help as he continues to face indictment, report low approval scores, flagging fundraising and resignations within the higher ranks of his administration amid considerations about his capacity to guide.
Nonetheless, a number of polls have proven Cuomo additionally netting excessive unfavorability scores, a wrinkle specialists say may bode poorly for him ought to there be massive turnout amongst sure electorates in June’s major.
Even earlier than leaping into the race, Cuomo collected an endorsement from Rep. Ritchie Torres, who’s eyeing a run for governor subsequent yr, and several other of his associates have launched tremendous PACs that plan to spend hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on boosting his candidacy with advertisements and different outreach efforts.
Cuomo has additionally been a goal of a lot preemptive criticism, given his pre-campaign launch front-runner standing. That features being tarred in an advert marketing campaign by United for a Brighter Tomorrow, a gaggle that has blasted him for his COVID report and previous political blunders.
The mayoral discipline is crowded with Adams challengers who’ve additionally for months piled on with Cuomo criticisms, together with Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, former Bronx Assemblyman Michael Blake and state Sens. Zellnor Myrie of Brooklyn and Jessica Ramos of Queens.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is significantly contemplating a run, too, submitting paperwork this week to open a fundraising account for a possible mayoral marketing campaign.
Just like the mayor and Cuomo, the speaker’s political base is centered round outer-borough, reasonable Black voters, and her entry into the race may scramble the ex-governor’s path to victory. The speaker has been urged to run by State Legal professional Basic Letitia James, Cuomo’s longtime nemesis who led the investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to him that drove him to resign as governor.
Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams chats with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams on the steps of Metropolis Corridor in Manhattan on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Day by day Information)
The window for gathering signatures to get candidates on the poll started this previous Tuesday and ends April 3, which means Cuomo’s group might want to rapidly get a petitioning operation up and working. The first election is about for June 24.
Amid his preparations for a run, Cuomo has been conspicuously silent on Mayor Adams’ authorized dilemmas. The 2 males are politically aligned and have been shut over time, together with sitting down for a number of hours-long dinners in early 2022, shortly after Adams turned mayor and simply months after the governor resigned amid sexual harassment claims.
The mayor has seen an avalanche of criticism and calls to resign or be faraway from workplace over his corruption indictment and the Trump Division of Justice’s transfer to drop the case with the understanding it ought to assist him help in President Trump’s effort to focus on undocumented immigrants in New York for deportations. With considerations that the hassle to dismiss his case was an abuse of energy which means the mayor is beholden to the Trump administration, a number of prosecutors in addition to 4 senior officers in Adams’ administration resigned from their posts in latest weeks.
The mayor has stated he’s working for reelection, however he has not established a lot marketing campaign infrastructure.
“The playoff starts, you know, once petitions are actually completed,” Adams stated when requested this previous Monday a few potential problem from Cuomo. “You know, there’s a lot of time till June.”
Initially Revealed: March 1, 2025 at 12:39 PM EST
