Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani converse to reporters after Thursday night time’s mayoral debate, the place each candidates sharply criticized former Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Pictures by Vincent Alban/Pool through REUTERS
Metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander and Queens Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani formally cross-endorsed one another Friday within the race for mayor, uniting in an effort to defeat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo as early voting begins Saturday for the June 24 Democratic major.
In a joint assertion, the candidates referred to as their alliance “a joint commitment to make New York more affordable and safer — and defeat disgraced Andrew Cuomo.”
The 2 progressive Democrats urged their supporters to rank the opposite candidate second on their ballots and to not rank Cuomo in any respect beneath the town’s ranked-choice voting system.
Ranked-choice voting has been extensively embraced on this yr’s mayoral race, with many elected officers and political teams endorsing slates of candidates as an alternative of a single choose. Amongst them is the New York Working Households Social gathering, which launched a ranked roster of candidates in an effort to dam Cuomo from profitable. A separate effort, referred to as the “Don’t Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor,” or DREAM marketing campaign, is asking voters to depart Cuomo off their ballots with out endorsing a specific slate.
“At this critical moment in the mayoral election, with early voting starting tomorrow, it has become increasingly clear that Lander and Mamdani are the two challengers to Cuomo who can win this race, and restore integrity and progressive values back to New York City’s government,” the candidates mentioned within the assertion.
Lander mentioned the cross-endorsement is supposed to stop the form of division amongst progressives he believes helped Eric Adams win the mayoralty in 2021.
“After four years of Eric Adams, New York deserves a mayor with integrity, who puts New Yorkers’ needs ahead of their own,” Lander mentioned. “Four years ago, we wound up with one of the worst mayors in our history, largely because the two top alternatives in the race did not come together and join forces to cross-endorse each other. We can’t afford to make that mistake again.”
Mamdani echoed that sentiment, referencing Thursday night time’s fiery debate – which noticed Cuomo swap jabs with the pair – as a turning level within the race
“As Brad and I exposed the ex-Governor’s record of corruption and scandal on last night’s debate stage, New Yorkers could see Cuomo for what he really is: a relic of the broken politics of the past,” Mamdani mentioned. “His campaign has always been a house of cards, and with Brad and I cross-endorsing on the eve of early voting, we will topple it together.”
Cuomo’s marketing campaign spokesperson, Wealthy Azzopardi, instructed New York News Friday’s cross endorsement got here as “no surprise.”
“The two have been attached at the hip for months, but it won’t move the needle, said Azzopardi. “The public is clamoring for leadership to take real action to make the city safer and more affordable and to protect New Yorkers from Trump. They know Andrew Cuomo is the only one with the experience and the record to get the city back on the right track.”
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo speaks in the course of the New York Metropolis Democratic Mayoral Main Debate on the John Jay School of Prison Justice within the Gerald W. Lynch Theater, in New York Metropolis, U.S., June 12, 2025. Vincent Alban/Pool through REUTERS
Lander mentioned Thursday he now sees the race as a three-way contest between himself, Mamdani and Cuomo, after an editorial board panel at The New York Instances named him the “best overall pick” for mayor. He has been polling in third or fourth place in latest weeks, behind Mamdani and Cuomo. Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams has additionally polled competitively in some surveys. A ballot launched Wednesday night time confirmed Mamdani main Cuomo by 4 factors — the primary time any survey has proven the Democratic socialist candidate forward of the previous governor.
After Thursday’s debate, Speaker Adams instructed reporters she believed the gentle questions she obtained from state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and former Comptroller Scott Stringer could sign that they’re in search of her endorsement. Myrie, when requested about it, instructed reporters to “stay tuned.”
Cuomo, in the meantime, has obtained one-way backings from two candidates nonetheless within the race in a coordinated effort to dam Mamdani.
State Sen. Jessica Ramos, as soon as a vocal Cuomo critic, introduced she would urge her supporters to again the previous governor, saying Mamdani doesn’t meet the second. Whitney Tilson additionally backed Cuomo throughout Thursday night time’s debate, saying he would rank him second on the poll.
