Democratic Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres has made his choice in the NYC mayoral race: former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has yet to formally enter the contest.
Torres, in a statement, said he is endorsing Cuomo because the former Democratic governor has the “competence and courage” the city needs in a leader right now.
“Andrew Cuomo has the competence to govern the city and the courage to stand up to the extremes of American politics — both the far-left and the far-right,” Torres said.
Torres singled out mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who represents part of western Queens in the Assembly, as a “far-left” figure whom he believes Cuomo can defeat.
“When it comes to confronting political extremism, what you need is not Mr. Nice Guy — what you need is Mr. Tough Guy,” he said.
The endorsement was first reported by the New York Post.
Torres’ early backing of Cuomo comes as Mayor Eric Adams’ hopes of winning reelection grow increasingly dim. Adams is facing immense pressure to resign, which he has resisted, following allegations that he engaged in a quid pro quo with President Trump’s Justice Department to have his corruption case dismissed.
Torres said he believes Adams is compromised because the DOJ moved to drop his charges without prejudice, giving it the ability to bring them back at any time.
“I want a mayor who can govern independently of the far right, and Donald Trump represents the far right,” Torres said during a Monday morning CNBC interview. “The fear of a re-indictment keeps Mayor Adams permanently under the thumb of Donald Trump.”
However, the charges remain in place after federal Judge Dale Ho appointed an independent attorney on Friday to argue for keeping the case alive instead of immediately granting the DOJ’s motion to dismiss.
The Congress member said his announcement is both an endorsement of Cuomo and an indictment of Adams’ administration, which saw four key deputy mayors resign their positions last week in the wake of the quid pro quo allegations.
“New York City is in crisis,” Torres said. “Four deputy mayors have resigned. The city is less safe than it should be…And what we need now more than ever is the stable and strong and steady leadership that Gov. Cuomo can provide.”
He cited large-scale infrastructure projects, like the modernization of LaGuardia Airport and the building of Moynihan Train Hall, as some of Cuomo’s key accomplishments in office.
Cuomo is expected to officially enter the race in the coming days as the period in which candidates must start gathering signatures for ballot access kicks off this week. Rumors of a potential Cuomo candidacy have circled the race for well over a year, yet he has held back on officially jumping into the fray.
Cuomo has been looking to make a political comeback since he resigned from his governorship in 2021 due to nearly a dozen women accusing him of sexual misconduct — accusations he denies.
The former governor is expected to be a frontrunner if and when he enters the race. In a series of public polls over the past couple of months, he has consistently led the current field, including Adams, by double digits.
Torres also confirmed during the interview that he thinking about challenging Gov. Kathy Hochul in next year’s Democratic primary for governor. If Cuomo wins the mayoralty, he presumably would not participate in that race.
A Cuomo spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
