New York City mayor's race could hinge on decision by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Possibilities for New York City mayor include (top row, from left) Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, though he has not declared, and attorney Jim Walden. Also, on the bottom row from left, are Mayor Eric Adams, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, current City Comptroller Brad Lander and State Sen. Jessica Ramos. Credit: Newsday composite
With barely five months until the Democratic primary election that will almost certainly pick the next mayor of America’s premier city, the race is no longer incumbent Eric Adams’ to lose.
He is under indictment, with a trial scheduled for spring. His popularity is flailing, as are donations to his legal defense fund and to his campaign, which was denied public matching funds due to the criminal allegations and other accusations of wrongdoing. A recent poll tied Adams near the bottom with a candidate who is a Democratic socialist.
And thus a half dozen or so other hopefuls are vying to clinch the Democratic nomination, including the Democratic socialist, the city’s current and former comptrollers and several state lawmakers.
And then there is one of the most formidable possibilities, one who hasn’t even declared he is running but who a recent poll put as the front-runner: Andrew M. Cuomo, although the poll also showed Cuomo is among those with the most unfavorable qualities of any of the potential contenders.
"The script has completely changed," said Democratic political consultant Trip Yang, who isn’t working for any candidate in the race. "The central character is no longer Eric Adams. It is now Andrew Cuomo."
Cuomo, of course, is the former governor, whose popularity soared during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic but who later fell from grace amid multiple investigations and a closer look at his tenure. His resignation was precipitated by sexual harassment allegations by subordinates, as well as investigations that found his administration engaged in a cover-up and that faulted his policies in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as being to blame for deaths of elderly people in nursing homes. He has denied fault.
Cuomo has millions in a state campaign war chest, some of which he could use to run for mayor, but only donations that meet city criteria, which are more restrictive than the state in terms of who can give and how much. And any transfer would need to be individually authorized by the donor.
The election season will unfold during Eric Adams’ criminal trial. He is accused of trading municipal favors in exchange for luxury travel and political contributions from donors linked to the Turkish government. He has vowed to stay in the race, and in office, as he fights the charges, saying that he won’t "step down" but "step up."
The primary election — which is ranked choice, meaning voters rank the candidates — has early voting from June 14 to 22. Primary day is June 24.
The last incumbent New York City mayor to lose — to Rudy Giuliani, in 1993 — was the one-term David Dinkins, who had defeated three-term Ed Koch in a Democratic primary in 1989.
Campaign finance totals released last week showed Adams falling behind. The current comptroller, Brad Lander, surpassed him in cash on hand, with $3.2 million, compared with $3.1 million for Adams, who had once been dominating. Trailing closely with $2.4 million is Scott Stringer, the former comptroller who lost to Adams during the last primary, in 2021. Other candidates, including State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and State Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist, are expected to reach close to those totals once public matching funds are released in the next round.
According to published reports, Cuomo is considering rolling out his campaign next month.
His spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement that New Yorkers know Cuomo’s record.
"This is all still premature, but Andrew Cuomo will always be a Queens boy who loves New York and will do anything he can to help it succeed," Azzopardi said.
Jumaane Williams, the public advocate who was part of a ticket that ran unsuccessfully against Cuomo for governor, has said he thinks that others are better than Cuomo and Adams.
"I think this current mayor should not be mayor anymore, and the only thing that could probably be worse than that is Mayor Cuomo," Williams said. "People confuse bullying with leadership. He has been very harmful, just on the face of how he governs to New York City residents."
The poll that put Cuomo at the top, by the group Progressives for Democracy in America and Hart Research Associates, found that Cuomo was the favorite candidate among likely Democratic voters, with 32%. Then came Stringer, at 10%, followed by Lander, with 8% and State Sen. Jessica Ramos, with 7%. Adams is tied at 6% with Mamdani. It was first reported by Politico New York.
Other candidates include attorney Jim Walden, who is running as an independent.
Last week, Adams shrugged off the poll results, likening it to "déjà vu" from 2021 — the first Democratic primary, which Adams won — and the then-frontrunning status of Andrew Yang, who would go on to lose.
Appearing at a weekly City Hall news conference, Adams held a printout of a headline from that campaign season.
"Andrew Yang opens up huge lead in race to be next New York City mayor," the headline said.
Asked by Newsday to assess Cuomo’s tenure, Adams said he had a higher batting average of success than Cuomo.
"I know I probably was .399 and he was not as high as mine. I had the Aaron Judges with some of my records," Adams said. "He had some good days, he had bad days. That's just the reality of it."
Asked for Cuomo’s batting average, Adams declined to say, hinting at the possibility that Cuomo might soon become his political competitor.
"No," he said, "I can't because I may have to use it one day."
Correction: Jim Walden is running for mayor as an independent. An earlier version of this story misstated his party status.
With barely five months until the Democratic primary election that will almost certainly pick the next mayor of America’s premier city, the race is no longer incumbent Eric Adams’ to lose.
He is under indictment, with a trial scheduled for spring. His popularity is flailing, as are donations to his legal defense fund and to his campaign, which was denied public matching funds due to the criminal allegations and other accusations of wrongdoing. A recent poll tied Adams near the bottom with a candidate who is a Democratic socialist.
And thus a half dozen or so other hopefuls are vying to clinch the Democratic nomination, including the Democratic socialist, the city’s current and former comptrollers and several state lawmakers.
And then there is one of the most formidable possibilities, one who hasn’t even declared he is running but who a recent poll put as the front-runner: Andrew M. Cuomo, although the poll also showed Cuomo is among those with the most unfavorable qualities of any of the potential contenders.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Mayor Eric Adams, who is under criminal indictment, faces a challenging road to reelection.
- Comptroller Brad Lander surpassed Adams in cash on hand, with $3.2 million, compared with $3.1 million for Adams, according to campaign finance totals released last week.
- Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not entered the race, but if he does, a recent poll showed he would be the front-runner.
"The script has completely changed," said Democratic political consultant Trip Yang, who isn’t working for any candidate in the race. "The central character is no longer Eric Adams. It is now Andrew Cuomo."
Cuomo's electoral strength
Cuomo, of course, is the former governor, whose popularity soared during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic but who later fell from grace amid multiple investigations and a closer look at his tenure. His resignation was precipitated by sexual harassment allegations by subordinates, as well as investigations that found his administration engaged in a cover-up and that faulted his policies in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as being to blame for deaths of elderly people in nursing homes. He has denied fault.
Cuomo has millions in a state campaign war chest, some of which he could use to run for mayor, but only donations that meet city criteria, which are more restrictive than the state in terms of who can give and how much. And any transfer would need to be individually authorized by the donor.
The election season will unfold during Eric Adams’ criminal trial. He is accused of trading municipal favors in exchange for luxury travel and political contributions from donors linked to the Turkish government. He has vowed to stay in the race, and in office, as he fights the charges, saying that he won’t "step down" but "step up."
The primary election — which is ranked choice, meaning voters rank the candidates — has early voting from June 14 to 22. Primary day is June 24.
The last incumbent New York City mayor to lose — to Rudy Giuliani, in 1993 — was the one-term David Dinkins, who had defeated three-term Ed Koch in a Democratic primary in 1989.
Campaign finance totals released last week showed Adams falling behind. The current comptroller, Brad Lander, surpassed him in cash on hand, with $3.2 million, compared with $3.1 million for Adams, who had once been dominating. Trailing closely with $2.4 million is Scott Stringer, the former comptroller who lost to Adams during the last primary, in 2021. Other candidates, including State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and State Assemb. Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic socialist, are expected to reach close to those totals once public matching funds are released in the next round.
According to published reports, Cuomo is considering rolling out his campaign next month.
His spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement that New Yorkers know Cuomo’s record.
"This is all still premature, but Andrew Cuomo will always be a Queens boy who loves New York and will do anything he can to help it succeed," Azzopardi said.
Adams, Cuomo or ... ?
Jumaane Williams, the public advocate who was part of a ticket that ran unsuccessfully against Cuomo for governor, has said he thinks that others are better than Cuomo and Adams.
"I think this current mayor should not be mayor anymore, and the only thing that could probably be worse than that is Mayor Cuomo," Williams said. "People confuse bullying with leadership. He has been very harmful, just on the face of how he governs to New York City residents."
The poll that put Cuomo at the top, by the group Progressives for Democracy in America and Hart Research Associates, found that Cuomo was the favorite candidate among likely Democratic voters, with 32%. Then came Stringer, at 10%, followed by Lander, with 8% and State Sen. Jessica Ramos, with 7%. Adams is tied at 6% with Mamdani. It was first reported by Politico New York.
Other candidates include attorney Jim Walden, who is running as an independent.
Last week, Adams shrugged off the poll results, likening it to "déjà vu" from 2021 — the first Democratic primary, which Adams won — and the then-frontrunning status of Andrew Yang, who would go on to lose.
Appearing at a weekly City Hall news conference, Adams held a printout of a headline from that campaign season.
"Andrew Yang opens up huge lead in race to be next New York City mayor," the headline said.
Asked by Newsday to assess Cuomo’s tenure, Adams said he had a higher batting average of success than Cuomo.
"I know I probably was .399 and he was not as high as mine. I had the Aaron Judges with some of my records," Adams said. "He had some good days, he had bad days. That's just the reality of it."
Asked for Cuomo’s batting average, Adams declined to say, hinting at the possibility that Cuomo might soon become his political competitor.
"No," he said, "I can't because I may have to use it one day."
Correction: Jim Walden is running for mayor as an independent. An earlier version of this story misstated his party status.
Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.
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LI man admitted killing domestic partner ... 7 charged in money laundering scheme ... Track star can run ... Suffolk CPS investigation
