Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s remark that he would move to Florida if he loses the NYC Mayor’s race in November was just a joke, a campaign spokesperson insisted Sunday.
Cuomo made the remark Saturday during a breakfast in the Hamptons with business leaders and others that billionaire supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis hosted.
“It’s all or nothing. We either win or even I will move to Florida. God forbid!” Cuomo was quoted as saying in the New York Post.
The former governor appeared to channel the anxiety among some moderate New Yorkers over the prospect of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani potentially being elected mayor in November.
Mamdani handily defeated Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic primary, but Cuomo — who had already secured an independent ballot line in the November election — announced last week he would continue his bid at a political comeback following his 2021 resignation as governor.
Nonetheless, Cuomo’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi insisted the candidate was joking Saturday about relocating to the Sunshine State.
“It was a joke, and people in the room understood that and laughed,” Azzopardi told amNewYork. “Governor Cuomo would never give up on New York. That said, the line underscored the stakes in the upcoming election and the risk of electing a dangerously inexperienced hate-spewing 33-year-old socialist whose campaign consists of unrealistic bumper sticker slogans.”
amNewYork contacted both Mamdani’s team and Mayor Eric Adams for comment on Cuomo’s quip, but did not receive responses prior to publication time.
However, Curtis Sliwa, the lone Republican in the race and running on the first-ever Protect Animals line, shared with amNewYork his thoughts on Cuomo’s “joke” and Mamdani’s chances of winning the election.
“Andrew Cuomo bailed on New York before and he’ll do it again because he never cared about fighting for New Yorkers, only about holding onto power,” he said. “But he won’t have to worry about Mamdani winning because I will.”
Meanwhile, although Mamdani has been leading in the polls since winning the Democratic mayoral primary in NYC on June 24, he appears to be losing some luster.
A July 15 HarrisX poll finds the race shaping up to be a tight and competitive contest. Mamdani is statistically tied with Cuomo and Sliwa in a four-way race that also includes Adams. Other polls, however, have Mamdani with a clear lead, but with a plurality of the vote.
On Sunday, meanwhile, Mamdani’s campaign announced on Sunday that the candidate is traveling to his birth country of Uganda for the rest of the month to spend time with family and friends.
“He will return to New York before the end of the month and looks forward to resuming public events and continuing his campaign to make the most expensive city in America affordable,” the statement read.
