Former Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce a political comeback bid, launching a third-party run in the New York City mayoral general election against Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who trounced him in the Democratic primary earlier this summer.
Sources say the former three-term governor will call on both New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Republican radio host Curtis Sliwa, both also rumored to be eyeing independent bids, to join him in pledging to consolidate support behind whichever candidate is best positioned to defeat Mamdani by mid-September. New York City’s general election will be ranked-choice voting, as is done in Alaska.
The novel political maneuver borrows from an emerging trend in Alaska politics, where ranked-choice voting and nonpartisan primaries have upended traditional partisan battles.
In 2024, Alaska Republican Nick Begich pioneered a similar pledge during his run for Congress, vowing to exit the race if polling showed he was not the strongest Republican contender. The tactic pressured other conservatives, notably then-Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, to bow out after finishing behind Begich, clearing the path for him to mount a more effective challenge against Democrat Mary Peltola, the incumbent he had lost to in 2022.
Now, Cuomo is attempting to replicate that model in New York’s first-ever high-profile ranked-choice general election for a major city office.
Governor Cuomo believes that if Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans unite around one candidate, there is a clear pathway to defeat Mamdani’s radical agenda, sources are reporting.
Under the plan, Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa would monitor polling through the summer and, by mid-September, publicly commit to dropping out if their candidacy risks splitting the vote against Mamdani. The goal: ensure voters can consolidate their rankings behind a single viable challenger to the left-wing incumbent.
Mamdani, who ousted Cuomo in a resounding primary victory driven by young, left-leaning voters, dismissed the idea.
Political observers note that while the pledge strategy helped reshape Alaskan politics, it remains untested in New York’s complex urban environment.
Still, the Cuomo camp is betting on voter fatigue with ideological extremes and a desire for experienced leadership. With ranked-choice voting giving voters the option to rank candidates rather than pick just one, Cuomo hopes to recast himself as a consensus alternative capable of drawing cross-party appeal.
The technique worked in Alaska to defeat a radical member of Congress. But will it work in New York City?
Cuomo’s farewell speech from three years ago when he left office as governor:
Part of the problem is polling itself.
NYC politics fatigue.
Liberal cities are done – the slow bleed towards utopian Hell.
When the choice is between a hardcore communist versus a hardcore socialist who murdered tens of thousands with the Covid fraud – step back and do an honest assessment of the future of NYC.
Good luck Andrew your still a leftist That is not what NEW YOURK needs. Liberty ed
The outcome has left many supporters feeling let down, fueling further conspiracy theories and calls for accountability from Bondi and Bongino, but not so Andrew Cuomo, who breathed a sigh of relief and sent fist bump 👊 emojis to his fellow WOP political shysters.
I don’t really care~whether Cuomo or Mamdani (Madmani), it will be one of them. Let NYC residents pay the consequences…..simple.
Ranked choice voting is NOT utilized in NYC General Elections. Only in NYC the Democratic Primary and in Special Elections
‘https://advocate.nyc.gov/blog/ranked-choice-voting-explained
By Alaskan twist I thought you meant NYC and Anchorage are both run by Elected Communist rulers.
Mamdani is the logical conclusion of leftwing woke ideology, a wealthy foreigner from an upper class intelligensia upbringing who was overly educated (indoctrinated) at prestigious leftwing centers of “education” who pretends to be for the working class. This exact scenario has played out in every socialist and communist country since their verifiably failed ideology has been around.
Ironically the best and worst thing for New York is for Mamdani to be elected. He will utterly destroy what is left of New York City which will lead to an actual awakening of the people to correct the failures brought upon them by a system that has historically led to ruin.
The masses in NYC are too stupid to understand what’s going to happen when Mamdani wins in November. Even seeing it with their own eyes and feeling the pain, they’ll blame the consequences on everyone else obstructing Mamdani from creating a Utopia. Never underestimate the stupidity of the average Democrat voter.
Give it up, Mario.
I so want Mamdani to win in November. NYC deserves this. What a disgusting soul-crushing feceshole.
The families of the thousands of parents who died in nursing homes because Cuomo forced them to take COVID patients KNOWING that the elderly would contract the virus and die will have something to say about this. Cuomo is like a cat turd baked into a pie. Everything he touches is tainted. He should have just shut up, dried up and blown away.
There must be some good-looking babes in the mayoral secretary pool.