Andrew Cuomo stayed with the mayor of New York and is now running as an independent
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that he will run for mayor of New York City as an independent candidate.
Scripps News
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on July 14 that he will remain in the New York City mayor’s race after a decisive defeat at the hands of Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani in the party’s June primary.
Cuomo officially made the long-standing run with the caption, “Win it.” in a video posted to X, which featured the caption.
“I made a mistake in the primary,” Cuomo said in a press release that accompanied it. “I wasn’t aggressive enough to convey my vision when exposing the unrealistic proposals and divisive agenda of New York, or Zohran Mamdani.”
Mamdani won Cuomo’s 36% in the first round of ranked optional votes with 44%, and the former governor made an unexpected concession on election night. In the final round, Mamdani gave him a victory of over 12 points.
“What we saw was New Yorkers’ hunger for a new kind of politics,” Mamdani said after accepting approval from the American Federation of Musicians 802, a union representing musicians on Broadway and elsewhere in the city. “I understand that it’s difficult to agree with it because the former governor is a denial of the politics he’s practiced and has been known for many years.”
New York State does not have a so-called “loser” law that prohibits losing major candidates from running in general elections.
Cuomo shows falling back
In the general election vote, you will see both former governor and incumbent mayor Eric Adams on the Independence Party’s borders, as well as Republican candidate Curtis Swawah oppose Democratic members of the Socialist National Congress.
In a press release, Cuomo said they have accepted proposals from former governor David Patterson and Longshot independent candidate Jim Walden, and have joined the back of the candidate who appears to be most likely to defeat Mamdani.
“In mid-September, we’ll decide which candidates are the strongest against Mamdani. All other candidates act as spoilers and not guarantee the election of Mamdani,” Cuomo said.
Sliwa said the two major independent candidates were playing “music chairs on the wreck” in a statement provided to USA Today.
“Andrew Cuomo has lost his primary and is hiding in the Hamptons. Eric Adams skipped him and ran away to Fort Lauderdale. Now they’re both running as independents to stick to the relevance,” Swa said.
Adams said at a press conference Monday that voters had already rejected the former governor, according to the New York Times. “Andrew is a double-digit loser in the primary,” Adams said, “He had a chance.”
