Politics
NEW: Andrew Cuomo Lashes Out, Blames Failed Mayoral Bid On Republican Rival
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is pointing the finger at Curtis Sliwa — the multi-time Republican candidate in New York City’s mayoral race — after he once again came up short against self-styled socialist Zohran Mamdani on Election Day.
Cuomo initially ran against Mamdani in the city’s Democratic Party primary, but was ultimately defeated after a late surge. The mayor-elect allied with two fellow progressive candidates in New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and former state assemblyman Michael Blake, a strategy that gave him an advantage in the city’s ranked choice voting primary.
Lander and Mamdani jointly campaigned at rallies, in social media videos, and on national TV, urging supporters to rank Mamdani #1 and Lander #2 while excluding Cuomo from ballots. This was the first such pairing in the race and aimed to merge their progressive bases to overtake Cuomo’s lead.
Mamdani also ran a campaign focused on retail politics while painting Cuomo as corrupt and out of touch, a strategy that ultimately netted him a narrow victory in the crowded primary field.
Both Cuomo and scandal-plagued outgoing Mayor Eric Adams then launched independent bids, while Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa secured the Republican nomination for the second consecutive cycle. Adams ultimately dropped out and threw his support behind Cuomo, while Mamdani detractors repeatedly called on Sliwa to do the same.
Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels neighborhood watch group and longtime New York City activist, ran against Cuomo and Mamdani as a Republican
Mamdani went on to win the general election by a rather comfortable margin, securing 50.4 percent of the vote to Cuomo’s 41.6 percent. Sliwa came in a distant third with 7.1 percent, while additional candidates secured a little under one percent.
Now, less than a month since Election Day, Cuomo is blaming his loss directly on Sliwa.
While speaking with WABC host David Paterson on Monday, Cuomo labeled Sliwa as a “total fraud” and insisted he “would’ve won” had the election been a two-man race between himself and Mamdani.
“I always believed he [Sliwa] would drop out because there was no way for him to win,” Cuomo said. “All he could do is be a spoiler and be responsible for Zohran’s victory. I couldn’t believe that as a Republican, he would, could, live with himself, and that Republicans could live with him as the person who elected Zohran, which is exactly what happened.”
Cuomo pointed to Sliwa’s low vote total in claiming that his decision to drop out would have given him the necessary momentum to defeat the self-styled socialist in the general.
“If he had dropped out, I would have won, I’m convinced,” the former governor added. “Because I would have gotten that 7%. I would’ve been about a point from Zohran, but it would have changed the whole dynamic.”
JUST IN 🚨🚨 @andrewcuomo: "Sliwa has been a total fraud for decades… I believe he cost me the election…"@NYGovPaterson55
Listen Here: https://t.co/GYwhwzUPoO pic.twitter.com/LavFHdCdPj
— TalkRadio 77 WABC (@77WABCradio) November 24, 2025
Sliwa repeatedly refused calls to drop out, pointing to the former governor’s numerous past scandals, including sexual misconduct allegations and placing COVID-19 patients in nursing homes during the pandemic.
“New Yorkers are tired of Andrew Cuomo, but Andrew Cuomo doesn’t seem to understand when ‘no’ means ‘no,'” Sliwa said in an October 31 campaign statement.
Despite the defeat, Cuomo has left the door open to running for office once again in the future. “Democrats are on the cusp of a political opening created by Republican failure. But opportunity is not destiny. If we run on an ambitious but realistic vision, competence, moderation, courage, and real results, we can prove to the American people why ours is the party that deserves their confidence and their vote, and lead the country again,” he told Patterson, positioning himself against what he described as the “socialist” faction of the Democratic Party.
He currently resides in New York’s 12th Congressional District, currently represented by the retiring Jerry Nadler. Some reports have linked Cuomo to a primary bid for the seat, though he was noncommittal about specific races in the WABC interview.
