Weeks after losing New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he is now running as an independent. He made the announcement Monday, July 14, in a campaign video posted on X.
In the video, Cuomo apologizes to his supporters and promises that he will be “hitting the streets” to meet with New Yorkers.
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“I am truly sorry that I let you down,” Cuomo said in the video. “But as my grandfather used to say, ‘When you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game,’ and that is what I am doing.”
In it to win it. pic.twitter.com/1pr5obsVAu
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) July 14, 2025
Cuomo said his new campaign would focus on topics that New Yorkers care about, such as lowering the cost of living in the city and safer streets.
What were the outcomes of the NYC mayoral primary?
On July 1, New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani secured the Democratic nomination for the mayoral ticket, beating Cuomo 56% to 44%. During his announcement video, Cuomo framed the mayoral election as a two-person race, despite incumbent Mayor Eric Adams also running as an independent and Curtis Sliwa running as a Republican.
“My opponent, Mr. Mamdani, offers slick slogans but no real solutions,” he said in the video.
Before he made his new campaign announcement, Cuomo sent a letter to supporters stating that he accepted a proposal made by former New York Gov. David Paterson and another candidate in the race, Jim Walden. The proposal is that by September, they would reassess which candidate is the strongest to face Mamdani, at which point all other candidates would “step down.”
Neither Adams nor Sliwa has accepted the proposal. Current polling of registered voters in NYC places Mamdani in first place with 35% and Cuomo in second with 25%.
What has Mamdani said about the announcement?
Mamdani quickly responded to the announcement after Cuomo shared the video on his X account. He criticized Cuomo for shifting to campaign techniques previously used by him, such as creating “man on the street” videos that gained popularity on social media.
“We got him making man on the street videos with a guy in a carhartt,” Mamdani said in a post. “By next week, he’ll be sipping adeni chai and eating khalit al nahl.”
We got him making man on the street videos with a guy in carhartt. By next week, he'll be sipping adeni chai and eating khaliat al nahl. https://t.co/Isq0gO3bsG
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 14, 2025
What is Cuomo’s past in politics?
Most recently, Cuomo served as the governor of New York from 2011 until 2021, when he resigned amidst an investigation into alleged sexual harassment. Before then, he served as the attorney general for the state, winning his first term in 2006.
Cuomo comes from a political family. His father, Mario Cuomo, served as both attorney general and governor of New York from the 1970s to the 1990s.
