Andrew Cuomo concedes NYC mayoral election after Zohran Mamdani's projected win
Andrew Cuomo conceded to Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the historic New York City mayoral election on Tuesday, falling short of a political comeback after resigning as New York's governor in 2021.
CBS News projected Mamdani's victory about 30 minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m. Cuomo took the stage at his campaign headquarters shortly before 11 p.m.
"This campaign was the right fight to wage, and I am proud of what we did and what we did together," Cuomo said during his concession speech. "This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic party, the future of this city, and the future of this country."
With approximately 90% of the votes counted, Mamdani was ahead of Cuomo by about 181,000. Cuomo was running as an independent candidate and trailed Mamdani, the Democrat, in every poll.
The crowed cheered as Cuomo, 67, spoke about supporting the NYPD and condemning antisemitism. When he congratulated Mamdani on his victory, they began boo.
"No, that is not right and that is not us," Cuomo told his supporters. "Tonight was their night, and as they start to transition to government, we will all help any way we can, because we need our New York City government to work."
Cuomo also praised the race's large turnout. According to the Board of Elections, more than 2 million New Yorkers voted in a mayor's race for the first time since 1969.
Cuomo stepped down during his third term as governor following allegations of sexual harassment by nearly a dozen women, claims he has denied. He entered the race for mayor last March, declaring in a video announcement: "I know what needs to be done and I know how to do it. Experience matters. Leading New York City in the midst of a crisis is not the time or the place for on-the-job training."
How did NYC mayor race results compare to polls?
Trailing considerably in most polls into the fall, Cuomo expected a boost when incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race on Sept. 28 and gave the former governor his endorsement three weeks later. The week before the election, Cuomo also picked up the backing of former Gov. David Paterson and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
On the eve of the election, President Trump also issued an endorsement, saying, "Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job."
Once voting started, Cuomo likely benefited somewhat from many who did not see Republican Curtis Sliwa as a viable candidate. Cuomo repeatedly called Sliwa a spoiler; the polls continued to show Cuomo faring far better in a two-man race against Mamdani. Sliwa defiantly remained in the race despite his distant third-place polling.
One poll released a week before Election Day had Cuomo trailing Mamdani by 10 points and Sliwa with just 11% support, with another 7% undecided.
Cuomo also came out swinging on Oct. 22 during the second debate, when he hammered the 34-year-old Mamdani over his lack of experience. The former governor accused the Queens assemblyman of never having "accomplished anything," and said, "I did things; you have never had a job. There is no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8.5 million lives. You don't know how to run a government."
Cuomo went on to label Mamdani as unprepared to lead America's biggest city, especially during times of crisis.
"You don't know how to handle an emergency, and you literally never proposed a bill on anything that you're not talking about in your campaign," Cuomo said.
What did Andrew Cuomo campaign on?
During the campaign, Cuomo consistently painted himself as the more moderate choice compared to Mamdani, a democratic socialist.
In the last days of the campaign, Cuomo took aim at Mamdani, while painting himself as the true Democrat, even though he was running as an independent.
While Mamdani had the endorsements from the stars of the progressive movement -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as getting the backing of Gov. Kathy Hochul -- Cuomo tried to strike chords with voters who viewed Mamdani's platform as too far left.
Cuomo repeatedly hammered home affordability, crime and public education as the key issues, but also stressed that the city has a perception problem and said he wanted to restore its image.
"[New Yorkers] feel the city is headed in the wrong direction. There's a sense of chaos, the city's out of control, the city's in decline," the former governor said. "And that's how I feel also, by the way."
Cuomo said on numerous occasions he wanted to hire 5,000 more NYPD officers -- a move Adams wound up setting in motion by announcing funding for it days before the election. Cuomo wanted 1,500 to be assigned to the city's subway system, and he also wanted to crack down on e-bike violations. He said people would notice progress on those efforts in his first 100 days in office, if elected.
Cuomo's affordability policies called for expanding access to housing, child care, health care and transportation. More specifically, he floated ideas like raising the minimum wage to $20, eliminating city income taxes for a family of four earning $77,000, and lowering the price of groceries for those in need.
While Mamdani championed the idea of a rent freeze, Cuomo stuck with advocating a plan to build 50,000 new, affordable units and have the market take it from there.
"The real answer is build more housing, because we have a 1% vacancy rate," he said.
Then there was the issue of Mr. Trump and how to handle him, with Cuomo reiterating time and again he would stand up to him when necessary and do what is in the city's best interests.
Cuomo said he believed his past relationship with Mr. Trump would benefit New Yorkers, but added the president must first be willing to help them.
"I've dealt with President Trump. I think he has a respect for me and for New York. I think that's important. I don't think he wants to pick a fight that he can't handle, and he knows when he fights with New York, it gets very difficult very quickly," Cuomo said back in June.
Andrew Cuomo's family and background
In addition to his nearly three terms as New York's governor, Cuomo was also the state's attorney general from 2007-10. He served as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration from 1997 to 2001.
Before that, he was HUD's assistant secretary for community planning and development from 1993-97, and head of the New York City Commission on the Homeless from 1991-93.
His personal life has included a marriage to Kerry Kennedy, which ended in divorce; they have three adult daughters — Mariah Kennedy-Cuomo, Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo and Cara Kennedy-Cuomo. He was also in a long relationship with celebrity television chef Sandra Lee.
The second-oldest of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo's five children, he got his start in the political world working on his father's campaign. His brother, Chris Cuomo, is a noted TV personality.
Andrew Cuomo, who often speaks with pride of his Italian-American heritage, was raised in Queens. He graduated from Archbishop Malloy High School in 1975 and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University and a Juris Doctor from Albany Law School.