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Since he resigned as governor of New York after a state investigation found he sexually harassed multiple women in 2021, Andrew Cuomo has tried (sort of) to stay in the public eye. Once a towering figure in state politics, the disgraced former governor now hosts a podcast and occasionally appears on cable news shows.
But recent reports suggest that Cuomo sorely misses being in power and that he's considering a run for mayor of New York City in 2025.
Politico reported last week that Cuomo is thinking about running against the current embattled mayor, Eric Adams, who is facing criticism over a string of budget cuts to public services and an FBI investigation into his campaign contributions (Adams hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing). Politico quoted several Cuomo allies who expressed cautious confidence that he could win a mayoral election. A mysterious Cuomo-vs.-Adams survey that came out in mid-November also led to speculation about whether Cuomo had commissioned the poll himself.
Cuomo, who is reportedly sitting on about $7 million in leftover campaign funds, is only one among the handful of prominent New York figures considering runs for mayor, Bloomberg News reported. According to Bloomberg News, who cited people who've spoken to Cuomo, he is so thirsty for public office that he's even thinking about mounting a challenge against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who is up for re-election in 2024. Cuomo didn't respond to Bloomberg's request for comment, and Gillibrand's campaign said she doesn't anticipate running against him.
Cuomo himself hasn't publicly denied or confirmed the reports. On "Good Day New York" this month, he criticized the way the FBI questioned Adams in its investigation, saying agents were "very heavy-handed" with the mayor. "I haven't heard anything that suggests behavior that would justify what they're doing," he added.
Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's spokesperson, has also avoided giving a direct answer about the former governor's ambitions. "The future is the future, and he gets these questions often, which I think are fueled by the fact that many people are facing a crisis in confidence in government at many levels and now view the circumstances in which he left office as the political railroading that it was," Azzopardi said.
As governor, Cuomo didn't just bask in the spotlight of political theater; he enjoyed being liked, particularly when his popularity surged in the early months of the pandemic. But Cuomo, whose thorough rejection by his constituents in 2021 led to his resignation, should remember that New Yorkers are famously prone to disliking their mayors. He might want to think twice before throwing his hat in the ring.