Mayor Eric Adams on Monday urged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who just suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral primary, to drop out of the general election in order to give him a better shot at overtaking the democratic socialist lawmaker in November.
Hizzoner and Cuomo both hold independent ballot lines in the general election and are jockeying, along with Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent attorney Jim Walden, to be the main center-right alternative to Mamdani — whose socialist brand has alarmed the city’s business and real estate big wigs.
During a Monday morning CNBC interview, Adams argued that Cuomo, who shares largely the same voter base as him, already had his chance to topple Mamdani in the primary and blew it. Therefore, Adams said Cuomo should get out of the way, so he can run a more competitive race against Mamdani.
“I always say [Cuomo] didn’t have the legs to run in New York,” Adams said of the former 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].'”
Adams was referencing Cuomo’s so-called “Rose Garden” campaign strategy, which involved amassing institutional support, while limiting public appearances. The tactic appeared to fall flat against Mamdani’s grassroots campaign, powered by an army of young volunteers speaking to voters throughout the city about his affordability-focused proposals.
Mamdani ended up trouncing Cuomo, who was the perceived frontrunner for most of the Democratic primary, in first-choice votes and only grew his lead through the ranked-choice system. He defeated Cuomo by 12 percentage points — nabbing 56% in the third round of ranked-choice to Cuomo’s 44%.
As Adams encouraged Cuomo to drop out, he claimed that the former governor recently asked him to do the same — a notion that he bristled at.
“I said ‘Andrew, are you that level of arrogance?'” Adams said. “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 lost much of the support that buoyed his campaign during the primary, including several of the city’s most influential labor unions, which have largely shifted their backing to Mamdani in the general election. The Rev. Al Sharpton, a key voice among the city’s Black voters, and billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman have both called on Cuomo to withdraw — with Ackman signaling plans to begin donating to Adams instead.
Adams made his remarks shortly before a Monday morning press conference convened by former Democratic Gov. David Paterson, who called for uniting behind a single candidate capable of defeating Mamdani. Paterson said the event was prompted by attorney Jim Walden’s recent appeal for Adams, Cuomo, and Sliwa to rally behind one “free market candidate” to take on the Democratic socialist nominee in the general election.
Paterson, who gathered with other prominent figures opposed to Mamdani, including supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, called on the four “candidates who are still in the race to find a way to unite behind one of them.” He took particular issue with Mamdani’s fierce criticisms of Israel and his campaign pledge to freeze rents for the city’s roughly one million stabilized tenants.
However, Paterson, who endorsed Cuomo in the primary, did not name who he believes should drop out of the race.
“I’m really not here to represent any candidate,” Paterson told 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 said he does not believe the candidates themselves will be able to hash out who should bow out, so leaders in the city’s political and business worlds will have to lead the process.
“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 said.
In response, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi endorsed an idea Walden floated last week, that Paterson referenced during his event, to take a “fair independent survey” of the field in September to determine who is best positioned to take on Mamdani.
Azzopardi said Cuomo “is the candidate with the experience and proven record of accomplishment to get the job done,” while “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.”
Furthermore, Azzopardi pointed to three recent polls that showed Cuomo coming in second to Mamdani in the general election, with Adams trailing behind the former governor. He also noted that Cuomo nabbed 24,000 votes more than Adams won with in the 2021 Democratic primary in the final round of ranked-choice.
Meanwhile, Mamdani has amassed support among labor unions including 32BJ SEIU, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, and District Council 37. He has also nabbed the backing of some establishment Democrats who backed other candidates in the primary, including Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan).
“More than 545,000 New Yorkers voted for Zohran Mamdani, the most votes any Democratic primary candidate has received in 36 years,” Mamdani’s campaign said in response to Paterson’s news conference. “In the coming months, Zohran looks forward to growing this coalition and reaching new voters with his vision for an affordable New York City.”
