Andrew Cuomo will remain in the New York City mayoral race beyond Friday’s deadline to withdraw from the general election, according to sources who spoke with CNN. His continued presence on the ballot means the strategic groundwork he laid before the Democratic primary — anticipating a potential face-off against both Zohran Mamdani and current Mayor Eric Adams — remains in play for the fall.
Although Cuomo acknowledged defeat on Tuesday night and conceded to Mamdani, insiders say he hasn’t made a definitive commitment to campaign actively in the coming months. Nonetheless, the former governor will retain his place on the “Fight & Deliver” party line for the November election, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Cuomo and his advisors are banking on the broader general election electorate diverging substantially from the more progressive-leaning primary voters who backed Mamdani, whose candidacy centered on aggressive affordability proposals and a savvy social media presence. They anticipate that as Mamdani moves closer to clinching the Democratic nomination — pending the final ranked-choice tabulation — his platform, including proposals such as rent freezes and publicly run supermarkets, will be placed under more critical examination.
“Ultimately Andrew’s decision and my decision matters less than the decision that voters already took on Tuesday night,” Mamdani told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday.
When asked about a potential general election showdown with Cuomo, Mamdani said on OutFront, “We did it once and it turned out pretty well.”
Despite Mamdani’s primary night victory, notable Democratic leaders have withheld official endorsements. While Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have all expressed praise for Mamdani, none have offered formal backing. Meanwhile, two House Democrats representing competitive districts outside New York City voiced concerns over Mamdani’s ascendancy, and Republicans have taken the opportunity to portray Mamdani as emblematic of the Democratic Party’s leftward shift.
The general election is shaping up to be a three-way contest, with Mamdani expected to be joined by Adams, who bypassed the Democratic primary to pursue an independent candidacy, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
By choosing to remain on the ballot, Cuomo preserves the possibility of re-entering the race in earnest, potentially staging a return to public life four years after stepping down amid sexual harassment allegations, which he continues to deny. Once seen as the leading candidate, Cuomo has faced intense backlash from progressives not just for those allegations, but also for his pandemic-era leadership while serving as governor — backlash that helped fuel Mamdani’s grassroots surge.
Cuomo’s campaign team is evaluating whether he could emerge as a consensus alternative for voters disillusioned with the two other major contenders: Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist, and Adams, who was previously indicted on federal bribery charges that were later dropped under President Donald Trump’s administration in exchange for his cooperation on immigration enforcement.
Cuomo could also choose to maintain his ballot status without running an active campaign — a strategy he employed back in 2002, when he dropped his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor but remained on the ballot under the Liberal Party line.
As of now, Cuomo hasn’t announced when, or if, he’ll launch an official campaign for the general election.
“There’s no clock ticking,” one source remarked.
{Matzav.com}
