Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a video released Monday that he will run an independent campaign for New York City mayor, weeks after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani.
“The general election is in November and I am in it to win it,” Cuomo says in the video.
The former governor had secured access to November’s ballot on the “Fight and Deliver” line. He will face Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, as well as incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent.
Cuomo finished 12 points behind Mamdani in the June 24 Democratic primary, in an upset that shook local and national Democratic politics. But Cuomo argues he could beat Mamdani and Adams in November with a larger pool of voters.
“Thank you for believing in me, in my agenda and in my experience, and I am truly sorry that I let you down,” he says in the video. “But as my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game, and that is what I’m going to do. The fight to save our city isn’t over.”
Adams had been critical for days of Cuomo’s expected decision to stay in the race, saying it would split voters who are looking for an alternative to Mamdani.
“Cuomo is wasting time and dividing voters. He failed then — and he’s failing New Yorkers now,” Adams said Sunday. “This kind of political double-dealing is exactly why so many New Yorkers have lost trust in him. The people spoke loudly — he lost. Yet he continues to put himself over the No. 1 goal — beating Mamdani and securing our city’s future.”
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