Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced New York governor who resigned over sexual assault allegations in 2021, has officially launched his campaign for New York City mayor as a Democrat after he was widely speculated to run for months.
Cuomo is already considered the clear front-runner in the mayoral race to replace Mayor Eric Adams, who has found himself in hot water lately after the Department of Justice moved to dismiss his federal indictment. The former governor did not directly mention Adams, but he appeared to throw his scandal-ridden first term under the bus.
“The city just feels threatening, out of control,” Cuomo said in an announcement video Saturday afternoon. “These conditions exist not as an act of God, but rather as an act of our political leaders. Or more precisely, the lack of intelligent action by many of our political leaders.”
“I am not saying this is going to be easy. It won’t be easy, but I know we can turn the city around. And I believe I can help,” he added. “And that is why I announced my candidacy today for mayor of New York City.”
Cuomo stepped down as governor in August 2021 after he was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees to avoid impeachment. Cuomo was succeeded by his lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, who served the remainder of his third term and won the 2022 election. Cuomo has denied the allegations.
In the announcement, he alluded to his premature exit from politics.
“Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not,” Cuomo asserted. “Would I do some things differently knowing what I know now? Certainly. Did I make mistakes? Some painfully. Definitely. And I believe I learned from them and that I am a better person for. And I hope to show you that every day.”
Among the former governor’s mistakes was his response to the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly a policy that required New York nursing homes to admit more than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients. The directive spread illness and death among the nursing home residents, who were already susceptible to the disease.
Additionally, his administration prevented state health officials from releasing the nursing home death toll at the time.
Cuomo’s handling of Covid-19 was the subject of a congressional hearing, in which Republican lawmakers grilled the Democrat for his unethical actions.
“We faced Covid, which was an historic life and death challenge, and we had it first and worst with no warning,” Cuomo said on Saturday without explicitly acknowledging his failures. “We were on our own, and we were pushed to our limits, but we got through it together and we led the nation.”
The longtime Democrat will challenge New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, and other contenders to topple Adams in the June Democratic primary before the mayoral election in November.
Cuomo’s bid comes as the fate of the incumbent mayor’s criminal case remains uncertain. Judge Dale Ho is currently weighing whether the case should be dismissed, as President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice requested. Written briefs must be filed by March 7, and oral arguments are scheduled for March 14.
In September, Adams was indicted on five counts of corruption related to his alleged acceptance of benefits, such as free luxury travel from Turkish officials, in exchange for pressuring city inspectors to open a new Turkish consulate building in Manhattan without a proper fire inspection. He pleaded not guilty.
Adams insists on running for reelection, but he might very well have tough competition now that Cuomo has entered the race. Cuomo currently has a 28-point lead over Adams among Democratic primary voters, according to a recent poll. The results were released earlier this week ahead of Cuomo’s expected campaign announcement.