Cuomo Says He’ll Leave Mayor’s Race If He Can’t Beat Socialist Who Already Beat Him Once

Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) announced his plan on Monday to run for the New York City Mayor’s office, but then said that he’d bow out of the race if he couldn’t beat self-described Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani — to whom he already lost the June primary.

Cuomo launched his independent campaign after much speculation that he would do so after losing the primary, but said that he was taking the advice of former Governor David Paterson (D-NY) and would defer to another candidate if said candidate had a better chance of beating Mamdani in November’s general election.

WATCH:

Andrew Cuomo says he will exit mayoral race if he can’t beat Zohran Mamdani https://t.co/5bRGnS8zgZ pic.twitter.com/3jc50yrdBc

— New York Post (@nypost) July 14, 2025

“Governor Paterson put forth a very good idea with [independent mayoral candidate] Mr. Walden,” Cuomo said. “We get to September, who’s the strongest candidate, and the other candidates defer and don’t compete. Put forth the strongest candidate because it’s about stopping Mr. Mamdani.”

“Whoever the strongest candidate is, that person should go forward,” Cuomo continued, adding, “If it’s me, fine. If it’s not me, I will defer.”

Paterson has been outspoken in his calls for a coalition of sorts among the independent candidates, saying during a press conference that one or more independent candidates should drop out in order to prevent Democrats from splitting their votes against the socialist.

Following that press conference, Paterson said that he was flooded with “vitriolic” phone calls from Mamdani’s supporters.

“I got a whole lot of nasty, negative phone calls — really vitriolic — from Mamdani supporters,” Paterson said during an interview. “[They] called my home. They called my wife. It was really kind of difficult for those 48 hours after the press conference.”

Paterson, according to Politico reporter Jeff Coltin, is connected to the New York City mayor’s race on all fronts and not just on the Democratic side. He also has a personal connection to Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

“David Paterson really is the man in the middle — a friend of Adams, endorsed Cuomo, worked for Walden, stepfather to Sliwa’s son,” he said.

David Paterson really is the man in the middle – a friend of Adams, endorsed Cuomo, worked for Walden, stepfather to Sliwa’s son. https://t.co/Vp4PitXWY7

— Jeff Coltin (@JCColtin) July 7, 2025