Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced Saturday he’ll run for mayor of New York in opposition to Eric Adams on this summer season’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 want authorities to work. We want 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 assist 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 girls, 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 mentioned upon resigning that he wished to “deeply apologize” for making “people feel uncomfortable.”
Cuomo has additionally for years confronted withering criticism over his determination to understate the variety of New Yorkers who died from COVID-19 in nursing houses within the state after he enacted a coverage in early 2020 prohibiting such services from denying entry for residents recognized with the lethal virus.
At 67, Cuomo — whose resume contains serving as governor for 10 years and state lawyer basic for 4 years — could 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 residence in Midtown.
Supporters hope the ex-governor can discover success as a reasonable with a tough-guy repute, massive title recognition and a capability to deliver stability to metropolis authorities amid Adams’ federal corruption indictment and Trump’s threats to the town. His success could 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 Every day Information)
The ex-governor is main in most polls, capturing 33% of the vote in a February survey by Emerson Faculty Polling/PIX11/The Hill, through which Adams trailed him with 10% assist. In lots of polls, Adams has netted low assist as he continues to face indictment, file low approval scores, flagging fundraising and resignations within the higher ranks of his administration amid issues about his skill to guide.
Nevertheless, a number of polls have proven Cuomo additionally netting excessive unfavorability scores, a wrinkle specialists say might 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 a number of 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 bunch that has blasted him for his COVID file 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 critically 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 might scramble the ex-governor’s path to victory. The speaker has been urged to run by State Legal professional Common 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 Every day Information)
The window for amassing signatures to get candidates on the poll started this previous Tuesday and ends April 3, which means Cuomo’s group might want to shortly 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 through the years, together with sitting down for a number of hours-long dinners in early 2022, shortly after Adams grew to become 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 issues that the hassle to dismiss his case was an abuse of energy meaning 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 mentioned 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 mentioned when requested this previous Monday a couple of potential problem from Cuomo. “You know, there’s a lot of time till June.”
Initially Printed: March 1, 2025 at 12:39 PM EST
