Disgraced former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has officially entered the race to replace disgraced current New York City mayor Eric Adams. Cuomo announced his long-expected comeback attempt with a 17-minute video on Saturday, framing his candidacy as a solution to a “city in crisis”:
Despite his considerable baggage, Cuomo is widely expected be the front-runner for the Democratic primary — at least initially — on name recognition alone, and he is already on top of early polls. In 2021, the now-67-year-old political scion resigned as governor amid a barrage of sexual-harassment allegations (which he continues to deny). He was also accused of mishandling the COVID crisis after his administration was found to have underreported the number of people who died in nursing homes during the pandemic.
Before his sudden downfall, Cuomo had been expected to surpass his father, Mario Cuomo, by winning a fourth term as governor. He was also once considered a potential presidential candidate, but now he’s literally trying to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers (“Hi, I’m Andrew Cuomo,” is how he begins his announcement video).
And here’s how Cuomo addressed his past “mistakes”:
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. 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.
In October, the GOP-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending charges against Cuomo over the nursing-home scandal. It’s not clear if the DOJ will launch its own investigation into Cuomo now that it’s run by Trump political appointees who have already used federal charges against Mayor Adams to their apparent advantage.
Similarly to how Adams ran for the job, Cuomo is framing his mayoral campaign around fears that the city isn’t safe. In his announcement video, over footage of people living on the street, Cuomo referenced migrants and crime after declaring that “our New York City is in trouble”:
You feel it when you walk down the street and try not to make eye contact with a mentally ill homeless person, or when the anxiety rises up your chest as you’re walking down into the subway. You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence. The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis.
He also indicated that as mayor, he would be open to working with Trump:
I will work with anyone who wants to work for the benefit of New York. I hope President Trump remembers his hometown and works with us to make it better. But make no mistake, I will stand up and fight for New York. I have done it before and will do it again.
Cuomo already has a sizable war chest of money left over from his previous political life, as well as some public proponents, including Representative Ritchie Torres, who this week told the New York Post he was backing Cuomo’s bid. The Bronx Democrat said that New York needs a “Mr. Tough Guy” with “the courage to stand up to extremist politics — both from the far left and far right.”
Other mayoral candidates quickly attacked Cuomo on Saturday:
Mayor Adams’s response? The more the merrier:
This post has been updated.
