Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who simply suffered a crushing defeat by the hands of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani within the mayoral main, to drop out of the final election so as to give him a greater shot at overtaking the democratic socialist lawmaker in November.
Hizzoner and Cuomo each maintain unbiased poll strains within the basic election and are jockeying, together with Republican Curtis Sliwa and unbiased legal professional Jim Walden, to be the primary center-right different to Mamdani — whose socialist model has alarmed town’s enterprise and actual property massive wigs.
Throughout a Monday morning CNBC interview, Adams argued that Cuomo, who shares largely the identical voter base as him, already had his likelihood to topple Mamdani within the main and blew it. Due to this fact, Adams mentioned Cuomo ought to get out of the best way, so he can run a extra aggressive race in opposition to Mamdani.
“I always say [Cuomo] didn’t have the legs to run in New York,” Adams mentioned of the previous governor. “New York is a competitive place. They want to see you. You can’t come out on weekends; you have to be firm. And I think he really should do an analysis and say, ‘Give Eric an opportunity to run against [Mamdani].’”
Meeting Member and Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdani celebrates successful the Democratic with a few of the metropolis’s outstanding labor unions. Wednesday, July 2, 2025.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Adams was referencing Cuomo’s so-called “Rose Garden” marketing campaign technique, which concerned amassing institutional help, whereas limiting public appearances. The tactic appeared to fall flat in opposition to Mamdani’s grassroots marketing campaign, powered by a military of younger volunteers talking to voters all through town about his affordability-focused proposals.
Mamdani ended up trouncing Cuomo, who was the perceived frontrunner for many of the Democratic main, in first-choice votes and solely grew his lead by means of the ranked-choice system. He defeated Cuomo by 12 proportion factors — nabbing 56% within the third spherical of ranked-choice to Cuomo’s 44%.
As Adams inspired Cuomo to drop out, he claimed that the previous governor lately requested him to do the identical — a notion that he bristled at.
“I said ‘Andrew, are you that level of arrogance?’” Adams mentioned. “I’m the sitting mayor of the City of New York and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to Zohran by 12 points?”
Cuomo has already misplaced a lot of the help that buoyed his marketing campaign through the main, together with a number of of town’s most influential labor unions, which have largely shifted their backing to Mamdani within the basic election. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a key voice among the many metropolis’s Black voters, and billionaire hedge fund supervisor Invoice Ackman have each referred to as on Cuomo to withdraw — with Ackman signaling plans to start donating to Adams as a substitute.
Adams made his remarks shortly earlier than a Monday morning press convention convened by former Democratic Gov. David Paterson, who referred to as for uniting behind a single candidate able to defeating Mamdani. Paterson mentioned the occasion was prompted by legal professional William Walden’s current enchantment for Adams, Cuomo, and Sliwa to rally behind one “free market candidate” to tackle the Democratic socialist nominee within the basic election.
Paterson, who gathered with different outstanding figures against Mamdani, together with grocery store magnate John Catsimatidis, referred to as on the 4 “candidates who are still in the race to find a way to unite behind one of them.” He took specific problem with Mamdani’s fierce criticisms of Israel and his marketing campaign pledge to freeze rents for town’s roughly a million stabilized tenants.
Former Gov. David Paterson gathered with different outstanding political leaders to induce the unbiased candidates within the basic election to unite behind one one that can tackle Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. Monday, July, 7, 2025.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Nevertheless, Paterson, who endorsed Cuomo within the main, didn’t title who he believes ought to drop out of the race.
“I’m really not here to represent any candidate,” Paterson instructed reporters. “That’s why we didn’t ask any of the candidates to be here, but we didn’t ask any of the representatives.”
Paterson mentioned he doesn’t consider the candidates themselves will be capable to hash out who ought to bow out, so leaders within the metropolis’s political and enterprise worlds must lead the method.
“Part of what we’re asking, if there are some people in the leadership of this city, whether it be financially, whether it be our educational system, whether it be political leaders or whether it be business leaders, to come forward and nominate themselves to help us put together a search and an understanding of which one of these candidates not only would win the election, but could govern the city,” Paterson mentioned.
In response, Cuomo spokesperson Wealthy Azzopardi endorsed an concept Walden floated final week, that Paterson referenced throughout his occasion, to take a “fair independent survey” of the sector in September to find out who’s finest positioned to tackle Mamdani.
Azzopardi mentioned Cuomo “is the candidate with the experience and proven record of accomplishment to get the job done,” whereas “Mayor Adams did not run in the Democratic primary because he knew he was anathema to Democrats and unelectable. Nothing has changed. We do not see any path to victory for Mayor Adams.”
“This is the time to put aside the usual political selfishness and agree to do what is truly best for all New Yorkers,” he added. “While we review this proposal, we call on other candidates to do the same.”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded the Democratic main after apparently shedding to Queens Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani.Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Moreover, Azzopardi pointed to a few current polls that confirmed Cuomo coming in second to Mamdani within the basic election, with Adams trailing behind the previous governor. He additionally famous that Cuomo nabbed 24,000 votes greater than Adams received with within the 2021 Democratic main within the last spherical of ranked-choice.
In the meantime, Mamdani has amassed help amongst labor unions together with 32BJ SEIU, the Resort and Gaming Trades Council, and District Council 37. He has additionally nabbed the backing of some institution Democrats who backed different candidates within the main, together with Brooklyn Democratic Occasion Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan).
