Cuomo will stay in NYC mayor's race after conceding Democratic primary to Mamdani, CNN has learned
Andrew Cuomo will not drop out of the New York City mayoral race by the Friday deadline to remove himself from the general election ballot, sources tell CNN. That leaves in place contingency plans he had established before the Democratic primary to challenge Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November.
The former New York governor, who quickly conceded the Democratic primary race on Tuesday night to Mamdani, has not fully committed to running an active campaign through the summer and fall. But Cuomo will keep the place he already secured on the 'Fight & Deliver' ballot line for the November election, three sources say.
Cuomo is calculating that the full city's electorate would be significantly different from Democratic primary voters who were energized by Mamdani's focus on affordability and his campaign's online videos. His camp also believes Mamdani and his policy ideas, from a rent freeze to city-operated grocery stores, will receive increased scrutiny now that Mamdani is positioned to secure a Democratic primary win once ranked-choice votes are allocated next week.
Notably, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have praised Mamdani since Tuesday but declined to endorse him. And two House Democrats from swing districts in the New York suburbs criticized him after Tuesday's results put him in position to win the primary, while Republicans have sharply criticized Mamdani and tried to tie national Democrats to him.
Mamdani is poised to face Adams, who opted out of this year's Democratic primary and is running as an independent himself, as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Cuomo staying on the November ballot leaves the door open for the former governor to resume his bid for a political comeback, four years after he resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment that he has denied. Cuomo was long considered the front-runner in the mayoral race but faced progressive anger over the sexual harassment cases as well as his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic while mayor, driving much of the liberal enthusiasm for Mamdani.
Cuomo's bet would be that he could become a safe harbor for moderates and progressives concerned about Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, or Adams, who was indicted on federal bribery charges before President Donald Trump's administration dismissed them contingent on Adams' cooperation with immigration enforcement.
He could also keep his ballot line without campaigning, as he did in 2002 when he dropped a Democratic primary bid for governor but remained on the ballot as the Liberal Party candidate.
For now, however, Cuomo has not set a timetable for making a final decision on whether to actively campaign or when to re-launch a prospective campaign.
'There's no clock ticking,' one source said.
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