Mamdani and Backers Ridicule Cuomo for Independent Run After Democratic Primary Defeat

Speaking at an event with a major local musicians union Monday after receiving its endorsement in the New York City mayoral race, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani offered his perspective on why former Gov. Andrew Cuomo had just announced the launch of an independent bid for mayor nearly three weeks after a stunning loss to his progressive rival.

"I think he's struggling to come to terms with what Tuesday meant," said Mamdani, referring to the June 24 Democratic primary. "We spent an entire campaign being told that it was inevitable for Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor. And he believed that himself. And what we saw was New Yorkers' hunger for a new kind of politics... I understand that it is difficult for the former governor to come to terms with that because it is a repudiation of the kind of politics that he has practiced."

Progressives on Monday said Cuomo, who was forced to resign from office in 2021 after an investigation found he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, was showing disregard for the clear results of last month's election, in which Mamdani shocked the Democratic establishment by winning the most votes of any primary candidate in New York City's history. The democratic socialist won the election by nearly 13 percentage points in the final round of ranked choice voting.

Numerous critics, including one of Cuomo's accusers, alluded to his history of sexual misconduct in their responses to his announcement.

"True to form, Andrew Cuomo once again refuses to accept that no means no," said New York state Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest (D-57).

On the social media platform X, Cuomo posted a video announcing his independent run—which Mamdani took as an opportunity to post his own campaign donation link, immediately garnering far more engagement from social media users than Cuomo's announcement did.

Cuomo said in the video that "the fight to save our city isn't over," and warned that Mamdani offers "slick slogans but no solutions" even as he appeared to copy the democratic socialist's recent campaign videos, which have shown Mamdani engaging with New Yorkers eager to shake his hand.

Some posited that Cuomo was likely "miserable" about having to participate in the type of retail politics Mamdani has excelled in, alluding to a quote from one of the candidate's most vocal backers after he lost the primary.

"All of us have a blind spot," former Gov. David Paterson told The New York Times. "His blind spot is that he doesn't really connect particularly well with, just, people."

Mamdani also poked fun at Cuomo for "making man-on-the-street videos with a guy in Carhartt" and joked that the former governor is likely to pander to New York City's Arab population.

"By next week, he'll be sipping adeni chai and eating khaliat al nahl," he said.

The Times reported that Cuomo launched his campaign after making a deal with Mamdani's other challengers, including Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent candidates Mayor Eric Adams and attorney Jim Walden. Cuomo has said he will drop out of the race if he not the front-running challenger by early September, and will encourage the other candidates to do the same.

As Nia Prater wrote at New York magazine on Monday, the strategy "appears to be acknowledging an unavoidable reality of the race: that having multiple candidates vying for the same bloc of moderate and conservative voters will likely favor Mamdani's candidacy."

In a recent Data for Progress poll, Mamdani was shown to have the support of 40% of respondents, with Cuomo in second at 24%. Adams had 15%, while Sliwa had 14% and Walden was in last place with 1%.

"In addition, the poll found that Democratic voters preferred Mamdani by 52% compared to 32% for Cuomo and 8% for Adams," reported Prater. "Voters also appeared to have low opinions of both Cuomo and Adams. Seventy percent of respondents said they had an unfavorable opinion of Adams compared to 29% favorable, while 59% viewed Cuomo unfavorably compared to 39% who said they had a favorable opinion of the former governor."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who endorsed Mamdani in the primary, said the poll was a good sign for the progressive candidate.

"But don't kid yourself," he said. "The billionaires will spend endlessly to defeat him. This is an election of national significance. Either we develop a strong progressive working-class movement, or we end up with oligarchy and authoritarianism."

Along with ridiculing Cuomo's attempt to wrest control of the nation's largest city from a candidate who has focused his campaign on making life more affordable for working families, Mamdani's campaign also condemned Cuomo for taking millions of dollars in donations from Republican billionaires and supporters of President Donald Trump.

"While Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are tripping over themselves to cut backroom deals with billionaires and Republicans, Zohran Mamdani is focused on making this city more affordable for New Yorkers," campaign spokesperson Jeffrey Lerner told the Times. "That's the choice this November."