New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said in a Thursday interview that his opponent, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, has an advantage as the Democrat listed on the general election ballot this November.
The former New York governor — who launched an independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary — said he fears voters will flock to the democratic socialist assembly member simply because he’s listed as the Democrat.
“A multicandidate field favors Mamdani — because he’s a socialist on the Democratic line. I’m a Democrat on an independent line,” Cuomo said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
“Because politics is all upside down in this country right now,” he added.
“But you have a lot of people who knee-jerk go to the Democratic line, right? About 70 percent of the voters are Democrats in the general election, and he’ll be on the Democratic line. So multicandidate field favors him,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo formally announced he is running as an independent in New York City’s mayoral race on July 14, shortly after losing the primary election to Mamdani.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo by about 12 points, 56 percent to 44 percent, in the third round of ranked choice voting in the primary.
Cuomo joins Mamdani, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election race.
Mamdani’s critics fear that a crowded general election could result in his opponents splitting the vote, easily handing Mamdani a victory.
Cuomo has proposed an arrangement whereby he and Adams would agree that whoever is losing between the two would drop out of the race in mid-September and back the other, in order to consolidate support against Mamdani.
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