Andrew Cuomo staying on NYC mayoral election ballot — as critics slam ex-gov as ‘spoiler’ candidate

New York Post ^ | June 27, 2025 | Vaughn Golden, Carl Campanile, Matthew Fischetti, Matt Troutman

[Angelino97]

Andrew Cuomo is staying on the New York City mayoral election ballot — a move that prompted critics to slam the ex-gov as a “spoiler” candidate.

Sources confirmed that Cuomo will not decline to run on an independent ballot line, ahead of a Friday deadline to pull his name from the November ticket.

Cuomo’s defiant stance comes as he hemorrhages union support after his stunning loss to socialist contender Zohran Mamdani in Tuesday’s Democratic primary – and amid widespread consternation that he’ll give the Queens assemblyman an easier path to Gracie Mansion.

“Cuomo’s name in the race is fantastic for Mamdani,” said Sal Albanese, a former Brooklyn city councilman. “A thousand percent Cuomo is playing the spoiler. It makes Mamdani’s task of getting elected mayor much easier.”

The former governor conceded Mamdani’s win, but played coy on whether he would continue to run on his “Fight and Deliver” ballot line in the general election, saying he wanted to see the full results of the ranked-choice contest first.

A campaign source Friday confirmed that Cuomo – who faced a deadline of 5 p.m. to effectively withdraw from November’s ballot and growing calls to drop out – will not decline his independent line.

It remains unclear whether Cuomo will actually mount an active general election campaign. Sources close to Cuomo’s camp previously said the former governor almost certainly would not.

Even if he doesn’t actively campaign, staying on the general election ballot could siphon votes from Mayor Eric Adams, who will also be running on an independent line.

“If Cuomo stays in the race he splits the anti-Mamdani vote and helps Mamdani,” said state Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, a Dyker Heights resident...

Lawyer Jim Walden is also running as an independent candidate in the general election.

[Antoninus]

Sliwa gets 14%.

So you're saying that Sliwa will lose 1/2 of his support from 2021? That seems unlikely, but we'll see.

BTW, Sliwa posted a cringe-worthy paean to "Pride" Month on social media over the weekend, so I stopped following him.

[1Old Pro]

Cuomo is such a loser fraud - so glad he lost.

[MinorityRepublican]

So you're saying that Sliwa will lose 1/2 of his support from 2021? That seems unlikely, but we'll see.

Some Republicans will end up voting for Adams.

If I live in NYC, that's what I would do.