New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Andrew Cuomo asked him to drop his independent bid for reelection as the former New York governor considers whether to continue with his own candidacy.
Adams said during an interview Monday on CNBC that Cuomo “knew he was setting us up for this,” knowing that the incumbent mayor already chose to forgo the Democratic primary and run as an independent instead. Cuomo, who officially lost the Democratic nomination to state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani last week, had initially announced in May he would also run as an independent and confirmed after his primary loss that he secured a spot for himself on the general election ballot.
“I said, ‘Andrew, are you that level of arrogance? I’m the sitting mayor,’” Adams said. “I’m the sitting mayor of the city of New York, and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to [Mamdani] by 12 points.”
Cuomo was formally projected to have lost the Democratic primary last week after the New York City elections board completed the tabulation of the necessary rounds of ranked choice voting. Mamdani defeated Cuomo by about 12 points, 56 percent to 44 percent, in the third round.
But Cuomo may face Mamdani again because of the independent ballot line he secured for himself under the Fight and Deliver Party. His name will be on the ballot, but he hasn’t announced whether he will actively campaign, having said he wanted to analyze the final results of the primary and assess the landscape for whether to run.
Adams faces a significant uphill battle as he tries to win reelection for a second term. His favorability rating has been significantly underwater amid the legal and political controversies that have surrounded him, and early polling of the general election has shown him well behind Mamdani.
But a few prominent figures have called on Cuomo to leave the race for anti-Mamdani voters to unify around Adams, including hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who had donated a significant amount of money to Cuomo’s campaign in the primary.
“They heard your message, and you lost,” Adams said. “Now let a fresh set of legs that has produced for this city, and that’s the highest level of arrogance.”
The Hill has reached out to Cuomo’s campaign for comment.
Also on the ballot with Mamdani, Adams and Cuomo will be Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independent Jim Walden. Sliwa blamed Adams’s tenure for Mamdani’s win in the Democratic primary and vowed that he’s “not going anywhere” despite some suggestions that he drop out and get behind Adams.
