Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y., arrives for a closed-door interview with the House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Coronavirus Pandemic about New York’s response to COVID-19, at O’Neill building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Andrew Cuomo officially launched his bid to be the next mayor of New York City, attempting a comeback in politics after the former New York governor’s high-profile resignation in 2021.
Cuomo, who left his previous post because of a damning sexual harassment scandal, announced his candidacy on Saturday against Mayor Eric Adams, a fellow Democrat who faces bribery and fraud charges.
“Our city is in crisis. That’s why I am running to be Mayor of New York City,” Adams said in a post on X. “We need government to work. We need effective leadership.”
Cuomo’s bid comes as expected, particularly after allies to his campaign last week registered a super political action committee called Fix the City in an effort to raise up to $15 million from wealthy donors, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. That could significantly top the amount that the principal super PAC supporting Adams raised during his 2021 race for mayor.
Cuomo already appears to be a favored among Democratic candidates. A February poll of NYC Democratic primary voters found Cuomo held 33% support among respondents, while 10% supported incumbent Adams, according to Emerson College Polling.
In his video announcing his campaign, Cuomo appeared to acknowledge the past allegations against him. “Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not,” he said. “Would I do some things differently, knowing what I know now? Certainly. Did I make mistakes? Some painfully, definitely, and I believe I learned from them, and that I am a better person for it, and I hope to show you that every day.”
The Justice Department in January 2024 had reached a settlement agreement with New York State’s Executive Chamber that resolved the claims of sexual harassment and retaliation against Cuomo. As part of the agreement, the DOJ concluded that Cuomo repeatedly subjected at least 13 women to a “sexually hostile work environment” while he was in office. The governor’s office under Cuomo knew about his conduct but failed to effectively stop it, the DOJ found from the investigation it launched in Aug. 2021, the same month Cuomo resigned amid the allegations.
The New York City mayoral primary will be held in June and the mayoral election in early November.
Other Democratic contenders in the race include State Senator Zellnor Myrie, city comptroller Brad Lander, State Senator Jessica Ramos, State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, former comptroller Scott Stringer and former state Assembly member Michael Blake.