Two guys from Queens could soon be on a collision course — again.
More than three years after Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace as governor of New York, he finds himself the front-runner to replace Eric Adams, the scandal-scarred mayor of New York City who is seen by some voters as too beholden to President Donald Trump.
Cuomo on Saturday officially tossed his hat into the already crowded ring of Democratic candidates seeking to challenge Adams. Early polls have shown him with a double-digit primary lead over the incumbent mayor, who is also a Democrat.
While Cuomo, 67, didn’t mention Trump by name during his announcement, J.C. Polanco, an expert on New York City politics who teaches at the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx, said he didn’t have to.
“He is, like Trump, a Queens guy” who projects “a competent and tough persona” at a time when many New Yorkers think the city is out of control, Polanco said.
“He can go toe-to-toe with his fellow Queens kid in the White House when needed,” Polanco said.
Cuomo already appears to be running against Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in his hometown, as well as Adams.
At a recent fundraiser with wealthy donors, Cuomo likened the president to “the bully in the schoolyard” who tries to bend people to his will through intimidation, The New York Times reported Saturday, an account corroborated by Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi.
During the pandemic, Cuomo often stole Trump’s media thunder with daily updates on the battle against Covid that became must-see TV for some, as the Trump administration struggled to come up with a coherent response to the spreading plague.
“His daily exposure and personal family stories, especially during shutdowns, made him a family TV fixture,” Polanco said.
As Trump prepares to take an axe to streams of federal funding on which New York City relies, many there may see in Cuomo the politician least likely to cave to Trump, said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic political consultant.
“Andrew Cuomo is very smart about budgets, and he knows that New York City relies on federal dollars, and he knows that Trump is going to cut those dollars,” Sheinkopf said. “Trump is serious about those cuts. So look to Andrew Cuomo to be the advocate for the city. Andrew Cuomo is going to be what’s standing in the way of those cuts.”
Asked whether running against Trump is a wise strategy for Cuomo, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said Cuomo can bring it on.
“No Republican since 1988 has received as much support from the residents of New York City as President Trump did in the November election, and Democrats attempting to represent them should understand that fact,” Fields said in an email. “New Yorkers have borne the brunt of radical progressivism and are desperately seeking relief through the common-sense policies of President Trump.”
A comeback attempt after resigning
It’s a far cry from August 2021, when Cuomo became a political pariah after the New York state attorney general concluded that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women with unwanted touching and suggestive comments about their sex lives or appearance.
Under pressure from both local and national Democrats, including then-President Joe Biden, Cuomo resigned.
Cuomo apologized for some of his conduct and said he didn’t realize it made people uncomfortable. But he denied the most serious allegations and blamed “cancel culture” for his ouster. Then, he laid the groundwork for a political comeback.
Meanwhile, Adams became increasingly more vulnerable after he was indicted last year on federal bribery and fraud charges. He had been facing trial in April, but the Justice Department suddenly moved to dismiss the charges against him.
In the video announcing his bid for City Hall, Cuomo acknowledged he had made some “mistakes” as governor but quickly pivoted to talking about how he would take on some of the city’s most pressing problems, like soaring housing costs, homelessness and crime.
“Did I make mistakes, some painfully? Definitely, and I believe I learned from them and that I am a better person for it, and I hope to show that every day,” he said in his announcement video.
“But I promise you this: I know what needs to be done and I know how to do it, and I will give it my all to get the job done — and it will get done.”
Adams on Monday said he had not seen Cuomo’s video and insisted he was not concerned that his rival’s $8 million war chest is twice what he has mustered for his re-election bid.
“I’m running on my record,” Adams said. “You can’t dispute records. You can’t dispute what we have done. And there are naysayers, yea-sayers, and everything in between. But at the end of the day, no one can dispute the records.”
Polanco said Cuomo’s admission of having made “mistakes” might be enough to reassure New York voters.
“Trump rewrote the political playbook on the morality test in 2015 and has added several new editions,” he said. “The days of not running for elected office because of a skeleton in your closet are over. Today, as we can see from President Trump, you can have an entire cemetery in your closet and still win an election.”
Sheinkopf mostly agreed.
“That will be a problem with some parts of the population,” Sheinkopf said of the sex harassment allegations. “But right now the feeling is that New York City needs somebody strong to manage a city that people feel has gotten out of control. People want a city that’s cleaner and safer. And there is no question that Andrew Cuomo is a good manager.”
Cuomo also benefits from major name recognition as the son of the beloved-by-many former Gov. Mario Cuomo, the experts said.
But don’t expect the other Democrats, or Adams, to get out of Cuomo’s way before the June 24 primary, Sheinkopf said. That group includes city Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie.
Immediately after Cuomo made his announcement, Stringer accused the ex-governor of treating New York City as his “personal punching bag” while he was in Albany and stiffing the city on badly needed funds to improve, among other things, subway service.
Ana Maria Archila, co-head of the left-leaning New York State Working Families Party, which is also on the ballot in New York, told The Gothamist that voters shouldn’t have to choose between scandal-scarred mayoral candidates.
“Andrew Cuomo four years ago was the person that every single person in the political class said was not fit to lead,” Archila said, “and that’s still true.”
“This will be a contested race,” Sheinkopf said. “Politicians don’t believe they can lose, so they’re going to stay in there for as long as they can.”
Also, said Polanco, “the city’s matching funds program gives little incentive for people to drop out if they satisfy the bare minimum requirements to get the matching funds.”
But even before he officially launched his campaign on Saturday, Cuomo had already lined up the endorsement of key Democratic players like Rep. Ritchie Torres, who told the New York Post on Monday that “Andrew Cuomo has the competence to govern the city. He has the courage to stand up to extremist politics — both from the far left and far right.”
And while the progressive wing of New York’s Democratic Party is not keen on Cuomo, Polanco said that “it is tough to say he did not govern as a progressive.”
Among other things, Cuomo can tout his support for marriage equality, criminal justice reform and pushing for things that Trump finds anathema like driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, Polanco said.
Plus, said Sheinkopf, “New Yorkers like tough guy mayors” and projecting deference to Trump in this city could be the kiss of death for a mayoral candidate.
“They want somebody who is going to stand up for New York City,” he said.
