Former Democratic New York governor Andrew Cuomo is not giving up after losing the New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to young democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, as he believes his opponent will cause the city's demise.
In an interview published Tuesday with New York Magazine, the former governor admitted his mistakes that led to him losing to Mamdani last month, and laid out how he is still the best option to beat the Democratic nominee. He argued that if he doesn’t beat the democratic socialist, New York City will suffer catastrophe.
Cuomo told the outlet that Mamdani’s anti-Israel views and socialist policies "would mean death for the City of New York."
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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's policies will cause the "death" of the city. (AP/Reuters)
The former three-term governor of the state lost the Democratic mayoral primary to Mamdani in June by double digits. However, he is continuing his run for mayor as an independent candidate in a field that includes current Mayor Eric Adams, independent candidate Jim Walden, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani is the current favorite in the crowded field.
"Only 13% of New Yorkers voted in the June primary. The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it," Cuomo declared in a video posted to social media. He charged that Mamdani "offers slick slogans but no real solutions."
In his NY Mag interview, the former mayor mentioned the mistakes he believed cost him the primary.
"I was not as aggressive as I should be, which is really ironic because my whole life people have been saying about me, ‘Oh, he’s too aggressive, too combative, pushes too hard.’ And then in this campaign, it’s ‘I’m not aggressive enough,’ which is actually true," he said. "And it was just a mistake, and it’s not a mistake I’m going to make again."
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Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is still running for NYC mayor despite suffering a brutal loss in the Democratic primary. ( REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado)
Despite losing to the democratic socialist, Cuomo viewed polls showing him to be the strongest candidate to take on Mamdani in the general election, the outlet said, noting those numbers convinced him to continue running.
Cuomo stated that while he thinks Mamdani is good at connecting with people, he doesn’t have actual solutions to the city’s problems.
Cuomo skewered Mamdani’s housing policies, for example, stating he has "no real answer." He slammed the candidate’s rent-freezing policy proposal, saying the policies that would work involve building affordable housing, lowering taxes, and cutting government.
"That is really the only truth. That’s not pithy or sexy, I know, but it’s also the truth," he said.
Reps for Mamdani did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.