After over a year of speculation and rumors, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially launched his campaign for New York City mayor on Saturday — immediately shaking up a Democratic primary race so far defined by uncertainty.
In a 17-minute video posted on his website, the brash ex-governor jumped back into the fray nearly four years after resigning from office amid nearly a dozen accusations of sexual harassment, which he denies.
“We know that today, our New York City is in trouble,” Cuomo said, pointing out the rise in street homelessness, public anxiety over subway crime, empty storefronts and other issues in rolling out a moderate progressive vision for the Big Apple.
“The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis,” he added. “These conditions exist not as an act of God, but rather as an act of our political leaders — or, more precisely, the lack of intelligent action by our political leaders.”
Although Cuomo has mostly remained quiet since his resignation, murmurs of his desire to make a political comeback have circulated for well over a year.
Cuomo enters the race as the presumed frontrunner after leading in a string of public polls over the past couple of months and receiving early backing from pols, including Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres (D) and former state Comptroller Carl McCall — whom he once ran against in a bitter 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary.
The former governor leaned in on his “historic progressive accomplishments” during his decade-long run as governor, such as raising the minimum wage, enacting tough gun violence laws, passing marriage equality, creating paid family lead, enshrining reproductive rights into state law, and producing numerous public works projects from the reconstruction of LaGuardia Airport to the Second Avenue Subway.
“We showed that government can actually work and get things done,” he said.
Cuomo outlined what he called a “bold action plan to save our city” centered largely on public safety, including addressing street homelessness by getting resources to severely mentally ill homeless individuals. He also pushed for changing the public attitude toward law enforcement and adding more police officers and specialized units.
“We must also restore a relationship of mutual trust and respect between the police and the community,” he said. “The police have been devalued, and today, people don’t even want to apply to be police officers. That must change.”
He further called for a “significant presence of real police by the city and state” within the subway system “to make our subways safe 24 hours a day.” He also called for change to the city’s e-bike laws to end what he called “chaos” on the sidewalks and streets.
While saying that he hoped President Trump would be a partner with the city, he would not be afraid to fight for the city’s best interests.
“My philosophy as an elected official is simple: I work for you — not the politicians or special interests,” Cuomo said. “I work as hard as you do, 24/7. I know what needs to be done, and I know how to do it. Experience matters.”
What lies ahead
Cuomo could present a nearly insurmountable challenge for Mayor Eric Adams, as the two centrist Democrats have overlapping bases of support. He presents himself as a competent manager who can “save” the five boroughs from the crisis that has developed under Adams’ scandal-ridden administration.
The former governor also has a strong chance of winning over the city’s core power players, including its business community and top labor unions, many of whom backed Adams in 2021.
Adams’ campaign did not immediately comment on Cuomo’s campaign launch.
But Cuomo will surely face an onslaught from the rest of the primary field over his 11-year tenure as governor and the scandals that brought his administration down.
The other candidates have already begun attacking Cuomo over the multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, many from women who worked inside state government, that led to his resignation. The accusations, which were found credible in an investigation conducted by state Attorney General Letitia James, included unwanted sexual comments and contact.
Cuomo’s team has used five district attorneys’ declining to criminally charge him over the allegations and counts getting dropped from civil suits arising from them to paint James’ report as flawed and biased.
Cuomo is also likely to face criticism over his March 2020 order that COVID-19 patients coming out of hospitals to be re-admitted to nursing homes and allegations that he purposefully undercounted the number of nursing home deaths across the state. In a September Congressional hearing, Cuomo blamed New York’s high COVID-19 nursing home death count on the first Trump administration’s lack of leadership rather than his own decisions.
The former governor did not shy away from the health crisis in his campaign announcement Saturday.
“We had it first and worst, with no warning. We were on our own, and we were pushed to our limits, but we got through it together — and we led the nation,” he said.
Cuomo also acknowledged that he made his share of mistakes during his political life but that he learned from them.
“Did I make mistakes? Some painfully, definitely,” he said. “And I believe that I learned from them, and I am a better person for it. And I hope to show you that every day.”
The Cuomo campaign suggested that Trump’s first Justice Department, in 2020, attempted to make the governor’s actions look bad to influence that year’s presidential election, even though nursing homes “in other states had much worse quality of care with COVID, and guidance issued in New York and other democratic states conformed with federal CDC” guidelines, according to campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. He pointed to a January 2025 report from the federal Justice Department’s inspector general to support this argument.
The potential impact on the race
Cuomo enters the race as Adams’ chances of winning the Democratic primary appear ever slimmer amid the multiple crises engulfing his mayoralty.
Adams hit a new political low after President Trump’s Justice Department moved to drop his federal corruption charges earlier this month. The DOJ wants the case dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can bring the charges back at any time, leading many to believe that Adams is now beholden to Trump.
However, Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, argued earlier this week that the case should be dismissed with prejudice.
Adding fuel to the fire were accusations by former Manhattan US Attorney Danielle Sassoon that Adams’ legal team traded his cooperation with implementing Trump’s immigration policies for dismissing the charges. Both the DOJ and Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, have denied that any quid pro quo took place.
Sassoon’s letter, along with the resignations of four deputy mayors, fueled a fresh wave of calls for Adams to resign or be removed from office by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Adams has fiercely resisted the calls, and Hochul said she will not remove him “at this time.”
Yet, Adams has brushed off Cuomo’s early polling advantage and, for the most part, avoided taking shots at the early frontrunner. Instead, he has pointed to his ability to overtake Andrew Yang in the 2021 mayor’s race, despite Yang’s early lead in the polls.
Reaction
Within moments of Cuomo jumping into the race, other candidates in the Democratic primary were quick to respond with plenty of vitriol against the newest entrant in the race.
Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer alleged that Cuomo “is officially running to lead the city he repeatedly threw under the bus as governor,” and that “he spent years treating New York City like his personal punching bag — slashing MTA funding and wrecking the subway while funneling money to upstate ski resorts, and trying to cut billions in funding for public school kids and Medicaid for city residents.”
“And now he wants New Yorkers to rehabilitate his reputation? Give me a break,” Stringer said. “Voters will see right through his desperate attempt at a comeback—and in June, they’ll send him packing back to Westchester.”
Current City Comptroller Brad Lander charged Cuomo “is for himself and only himself, and is hoping New Yorkers will forget his disastrous record for our city of endless scandals, destroying the subway, and cutting basic services.”
Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie accused the former governor of being silent while “Donald Trump wages an all-out war on New Yorkers” as he has not publicly commented on Trump’s administration since it took office in late January.
“Cuomo is no friend to New York City — causing incredible harm as governor and encouraging corruption,” Myrie said. “We deserve better than this. It’s time to turn the page on the politics of the past.”
Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos, meanwhile, offered a welcome statement dripping in sarcasm, “thanking” Cuomo “for finally launching your vanity comeback tour,” and charging that the primary participants “can now go back to discussing the issues that matter to New Yorkers, like fixing the housing crisis you stoked, cleaning the streets you ignored, and making NYC affordable for working families.”
“If New Yorkers want a corrupt bully with a record of alleged sexual misconduct, supporting Republicans, selling out to developers, and exacerbating crises, they can just stick with the current mayor,” Ramos added.
