NEW YORK — In a move equal parts defiant and desperate, former Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Monday that he will run in the general election for New York City mayor — this time as an independent — just weeks after suffering a stinging 12-point primary defeat to Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who has electrified progressives across the city.
Once the face of New York’s Democratic establishment, Cuomo is now waging an insurgent campaign without a party, without union backing, and without the institutional muscle that once made him a political juggernaut. But the 67-year-old isn’t bowing out. He’s doubling down — and aiming straight at Mamdani.
“The general election is in November and I am in it to win it,” Cuomo declared in a social media video that marked a dramatic shift in tone and style from his earlier, more aloof campaign messaging. Gone were the suits and stately speeches. Instead, the ex-governor appeared in rolled-up sleeves, walking the streets of New York, echoing Mamdani’s trademark grassroots style.
In the 94-second clip, Cuomo appeared more energized than at any point in his low-key, almost ghost-like primary run. He thanked his supporters, apologized for “letting them down,” and attacked Mamdani as all style, no substance: “My opponent Mr. Mamdani offers slick slogans, but no real solutions.”
Cuomo’s pivot comes after months of criticism that he phoned in his primary campaign — avoiding the press, limiting voter interactions, and betting that his name alone would carry him to victory. Mamdani, by contrast, walked the entire length of Manhattan the night before the primary and flooded social media with intimate, conversational videos shot alongside ordinary New Yorkers. It worked.
Now, Cuomo is trying to meet voters where Mamdani met them first — on the streets. In his video, he hit on kitchen-table issues like housing, crime, and child care, pledging to fight for “a city with lower rents, safer streets, where buying your first home is once again possible, where child care won’t bankrupt you.”
But while his tone may have changed, the math hasn’t.v
New York City is overwhelmingly Democratic. Running outside the party structure means Cuomo will be denied access to the donor networks, labor endorsements, and infrastructure that once made him formidable. Several major unions that backed him in the primary swiftly pivoted to endorse Mamdani after his victory. And former allies remain on the fence.
“I want to see what he has to say,” said former State Comptroller Carl McCall, who once clashed with Cuomo in the 2002 gubernatorial primary but endorsed him for mayor earlier this year. Now, McCall — like many in Cuomo’s circle — is waiting to see how the general election shakes out.
Cuomo’s decision also introduces the possibility of splitting the moderate vote. With incumbent mayor Eric Adams and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa still in the race, the fractured field could play directly into Mamdani’s hands.
“Both of them in the race makes them problematic,” said Assemblymember David Weprin, a Cuomo supporter, referring to Cuomo and Adams. “It helps Mamdani.”
Cuomo seems aware of the challenge. He has floated the idea — originally proposed by fellow independent candidate Jim Walden — that the field consolidate around a single candidate best positioned to beat Mamdani. But so far, none of his rivals are budging.
Adams, whose voter base overlaps with Cuomo’s among Black and Latino working-class voters and Orthodox Jewish communities, has criticized Cuomo for staying in the race. The two men are now competing not only with Mamdani, but with each other — for the same slice of the electorate.
Meanwhile, Mamdani is wasting no time. The Queens Assemblyman has begun making inroads with communities historically out of reach for democratic socialists, shoring up support from older voters of color and religious constituencies with a message of inclusion and policy-driven change.
Recent polling shows Cuomo still holding a strong second place, suggesting name recognition and political muscle haven’t entirely faded. But without a united opposition, the numbers may not matter.
This race is shaping up to be more than a mayoral contest — it’s a war for the soul of New York City.
And Cuomo? He’s not leaving the battlefield quietly.