Former New York governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks during his primary election night rally in New York City, U.S., June 24, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Andrew Cuomo launched an independent bid to become mayor of New York City on Monday, setting up a rematch in November with frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee.
Cuomo promised an overhaul of his failed primary campaign against Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist. But he also vowed to drop out of the race in September if another candidate looked to have a better shot at defeating Mamdani.
“Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably know that the Democratic primary did not go the way I had hoped,” Cuomo said in a video posted on social media.
The 67-year-old — who resigned as New York governor in 2021 after a series of sexual harassment allegations — finished a distant second to Mamdani in June.
“I am truly sorry that I let you down,” Cuomo told his supporters in the video.
“But as my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game, and that is what I’m going to do,” he said.
“The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.”
Despite receiving a tepid reception from national Democratic leaders and power brokers wary of his leftist views, Mamdani is widely viewed as the candidate to beat in the race for mayor of the heavily Democratic metropolis.
Recent polls show Cuomo trailing Mamdani.
Mayor Eric Adams, who won his office as a Democrat but is seeking re-election as an independent, lags far behind in those polls, as does Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and Jim Walden, who is also running as an independent.
Adams saw his already-low public approval ratings fall as he faced prosecution on criminal corruption charges. They sank even lower when the U.S. Department of Justice controversially asked a judge to dismiss the case so that the mayor could cooperate with the enforcement of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Cuomo’s Monday campaign rollout featured an unusual proposal: that the rest of the field pledge to consolidate around the strongest non-Mamdani contender before Election Day.
“Our common goal must be to run the strongest candidate against Mr. Mamdani,” Cuomo said in an email to supporters.
“That is why I have accepted the proposal put forth by former Governor David Paterson and candidate Jim Walden that, in mid-September, we will determine which candidate is strongest against Mamdani and all other candidates will stand down, rather than act as spoilers and guarantee Mamdani’s election.”
Cuomo noted that just 13% of the city’s voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary, suggesting that Mamdani will face a tougher time in the general election.
“All of us who love New York City must be united in running the strongest possible candidate against Zohran Mamdani in the November general election for mayor,” Cuomo said.
