Cuomo's wealthy donor base splintering as he mulls independent NYC mayoral run

Yahoo

14 hours ago

As Andrew Cuomo considers whether he can drum up support for an independent run for mayor in November's general election, the wealthy donors who backed his primary bid are splintering.
Some have declared they're sticking with him despite his 12-point loss in the Democratic primary, while others are now throwing their weight behind Mayor Adams and encouraging the former governor to remove himself from consideration.
Cuomo's run was in large part fueled by a super PAC called Fix the City that raised a record-breaking $25 million from the likes of Michael Bloomberg and Bill Ackman in his support.
The PAC's direction remains undecided after Mamdani won the Democratic primary by double-digit points in the third round of ranked-choice voting. Another pillar of support for Cuomo — organized labor — has also drifted towards Mamdani, who rallied alongside the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and building workers union 32BJ on Wednesday.
Ackman, a hedge fund billionaire who gave $500,000 in support of Cuomo, wrote in a lengthy social media post Wednesday that he'll now throw his support behind Adams — a blow to Cuomo as much of his core support has started drifting.
'In short, my takeaway is that Adams can win the upcoming election and that the Governor should step aside to maximize Adams' probability of success,' Ackman wrote, adding that he had met both with Adams and Cuomo on Tuesday to discuss the race.
The billionaire, who also backed Trump's 2024 campaign, wrote that Cuomo was 'not up for the fight' against Mamdani, but that Adams was 'ready to go to battle.'
Anthony Scaramucci, a financier who briefly served as Trump's communication director, said Thursday that he was sticking by the ex-governor because of his experience and promise to stand up to Trump, 'not bow down to him.'
Scaramucci's firm, Skybridge Capital, donated $100,000 to a super PAC supporting Cuomo's run, and he himself previously donated $2,000 to Adams' 2021 campaign and another $2,100 to his reelection bid last year.
'I've known Andrew for a long time and there is absolutely no one with more fire in their belly or who is stronger in the ring than [Cuomo],' he wrote on social media, citing his remodeling of LaGuardia Airport and the Second Ave. subway.
Other donors, including Mark Gorton, a prolific political donor who's backed RFK Jr., have indicated they'll now support Mamdani's candidacy.
Moderate Democrats have taken issue with Mamdani's campaign promises of free buses and rent freezes for rent-stabilized units. And the city's wealthiest residents have taken issue with the state assemblymember's push to increase taxes on the city's wealthy 1%.
While Cuomo lost the race to become Democratic nominee, he can still run as an independent on a separate line, which he's dubbed 'Fight and Deliver.' In addition to Mamdani and Adams, he'd be facing off against Curtis Sliwa, a Republican, and Jim Walden, another independent. His path to victory appears slim: He'd be courting the same moderate, outer-borough voters as Adams on a similar political platform, and he's have to swipe the city's Republicans from Sliwa.
'Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion — we understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer,' Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. 'Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York.'
Rev. Al Sharpton, who wields enormous influence among many Black voters, said Cuomo should drop out of the mayoral race and let Mamdani and Mayor Adams go head-to-head in November.
'He expressed that he has received many calls mostly asking him to stay in the race,' Sharpton said Thursday of a 'long' call between himself and Cuomo.
'Governor Cuomo said he thought the candidate with the best chance to win should run and would make his final decision in the coming days, after looking at new data and polling, which he said he would share with me to review. I said that while I would look, my position currently stands that the best option for New Yorkers is a one-on-one race between Mayor Adams and Assembly Member Mamdani.'