Andrew Cuomo quit in disgrace – but New York’s big beast won’t stay dead

When Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace four years ago, few would have predicted him to make a comeback.

Yet the former New York governor, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, is the frontrunner to become the next mayor of New York City, a role that he hopes could rehabilitate him and, allegedly, give him a platform to run for president.

Through the early months of the Democratic primary, the winner of which is likely to be elected mayor in November, Cuomo was polling well ahead of his opponents – his name recognition and wealthy backers making for a formidable candidate.

In recent weeks, it has become clear that Cuomo, a centrist who worked in Bill Clinton’s administration before turning his attention to state politics, is unlikely to have it his own way.

Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state representative who has garnered the endorsement of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and excited young and leftwing voters in New York, has emerged as a serious challenger to the former governor, cutting into Cuomo’s lead.

As Mamdani has risen in the polls Cuomo, a pugnacious politician whose aggressive style contributed to a long-running feud with former mayor Bill de Blasio, has responded in typical fashion. In the closing days of the campaign, groups supporting Cuomo have pumped millions of dollars into attacking Mamdani through TV ads and mailouts, portraying Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as a “dangerous choice for mayor”.

Money has been one of Cuomo’s biggest assets in the primary, which he entered in March this year. Fix the City, an organization supporting Cuomo’s bid, has raised about $20m – the most raised by any Super Pac in New York City history, the New York Times reported – including $5m from the billionaire former mayor Michael Bloomberg. Other backers include donors typically known for donating to Republicans, including John B Hess, the billionaire oil company CEO; Ken Langone, the billionaire Home Depot co-founder, and Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund manager and Donald Trump supporter.

It’s an atypical list of supporters for a Democratic candidate, and one that has drawn attention from Cuomo’s rivals.

“Our city is under attack by an authoritarian Trump administration. And it is under an attack that is now being echoed by Trump’s allies right here in New York City,” Mamdani said during a debate in early June.

“We deserve to have a mayor who is not funded by the same billionaires that put Donald Trump in DC. We deserve to have a mayor who will actually fight back.”

Cuomo’s response to criticism has been to largely try to stay out of the spotlight. Mamdani has held rallies attended by thousands of people, but Cuomo has kept his campaigning small and private, like the intimate event at a trade union in May where he pledged to raise the minimum wage to $20/hr in the next two years.

Instead, Cuomo appears to be relying more on name recognition, his lengthy record of government experience, and those ads. His campaign and supporting groups repeat similar messages: Cuomo “delivered as governor”, and will bring crime down and build affordable housing.

“We’re not talkers, we are doers. We get the job done. And we’re going to build 500,000 units of affordable housing. If anybody has any question whether or not we can do it, I have got a bridge to show you,” Cuomo said in May, before referencing the Mario Cuomo bridge – a structure named after Cuomo’s late father and a former governor. Cuomo signed the bill to name the bridge himself.

For all Cuomo has attempted to sell voters on his record, his past has sometimes proved to be a drawback, with rivals seeking to profile the allegations that led to him resigning as governor in 2021. An investigation by the New York’s attorney general found that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, most of whom worked for him, and reported that the governor retaliated against some of those women after they made complaints.

“Mr Cuomo, I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA [the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, buses and trains],” Mamdani said during the final primary debate.

“I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr Cuomo.”

Cuomo claimed the complaints were “all political” in the final debate.

While Cuomo definitely has the support of the wealthy, that’s not his only reason to be confident ahead of Tuesday’s election. He has been endorsed by a slew of labor unions and New York elected officials, and continues to lead Mamdani in the polls, including among key voting groups. On Wednesday a Marist poll found that 48% of Black voters and 40% of Jewish voters back Cuomo, compared to 11% and 20% for Mamdani. Support from both communities has proved crucial in previous New York City primaries.

“When he was governor he looked out for New York. He was for the people of New York, compared to Eric Adams,” Yvonne Telesford, a 71-year-old from Brooklyn who voted early for Cuomo, told the Guardian.

Telesford is a registered Democrat, but said she had voted for Republicans in the past, including Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor, and Ronald Reagan.

“I always look and listen and see what the candidates have to offer, and then I come up with my decision,” she said. “And one thing I have to say, I think Andrew Cuomo will stand up to our president now.”