Andrew Cuomo has determined to remain on this yr’s New York Metropolis mayoral race — however there’s a caveat.
Based on sources conversant in his considering, Cuomo will announce this week he’s going to mount a real unbiased bid in November’s normal election.
That’s as a result of Cuomo favors a proposal, first floated by unbiased mayoral hopeful Jim Walden, to fee a ballot in mid-September testing the strengths of every of the remaining mayoral candidates in head-to-head matchups with Mamdani.
Below that proposal, whichever candidate performs greatest in such a situation would keep within the race, whereas the remaining would drop out, a method designed to maximise possibilities of defeating Mamdani. Cuomo himself would in such a situation drop out if he didn’t carry out strongest within the potential ballot, the sources famous.
It wasn’t instantly clear which day Cuomo plans to formally make his announcement. His spokesman Wealthy Azzopardi didn’t instantly return a request for remark Monday.
Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual {and professional} misconduct accusations he denies, has continued to ballot because the strongest potential candidate to tackle Mamdani for the reason that June 24 major.
Nonetheless, Walden seems to be the one candidate prepared to play together with Cuomo’s proposal.
Mayor Adams, who dropped out of the Democratic major amid fallout from his corruption indictment, has made clear he’ll keep in November’s race it doesn’t matter what, working on an unbiased line.
On Monday, Frank Carone, Adams’ reelection marketing campaign chairman and longtime political confidant, slammed Cuomo’s newest proposal and reaffirmed the mayor is staying within the race.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, meantime, has mentioned solely demise would forestall him from working in November’s election.
