THE HILL: Cuomo seeks to woo centrists in NYC mayor’s race

Andrew Cuomo is aiming to supplant New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) as the top centrist candidate in the city’s upcoming election, appealing to voter concerns about crime and stressing his leadership bona fides as Adams finds himself mired in controversy.

Cuomo finally entered the mayor’s race a week ago after months of build-up and immediately jumped in front of the pack as the early frontrunner. Many other candidates have been in the race for months but have mostly stayed in single or low double digits in polling.

The former governor of New York, Cuomo has focused his messaging on his ability to get things done at a time when New York City voters have expressed anxiety about the quality of living and outrage at allegations that Adams engaged in a quid pro quo with the Trump administration over immigration.

“It’s not just this big grand vision,” said Democratic strategist Jon Reinish, who is supporting Cuomo. “It’s also ‘I am capable and know how to pull the levers of government, involve the private sector, incentivize the private sector to achieve a result that answers a crisis that New Yorkers are experiencing.’”

Cuomo declared as he launched his political comeback attempt that the city is in “crisis” and needs “effective leadership” to ensure that government works. And he’s remained steady in that message as he’s methodically rolled out his campaign over the past week. 

He started his campaign with a 17-and-a-half-minute video detailing his political experience, previously overseeing the New York City Homeless Commission and serving as secretary of Housing and Urban Development, state attorney general and governor. He touted raising the minimum wage, adding gun control laws, being a leader in approving same-sex marriage, protecting abortion rights and executing numerous major infrastructure projects.

Reinish said Cuomo reminding people of his record could make a difference, getting them to recall his successes as governor for more than a decade. While Cuomo has developed a reputation as a moderate, he used the word “progressive” to describe his past accomplishments and referenced it more than a half dozen other times in the video. 

But analysts have said the race will likely be mostly about who can prove themselves an effective leader who can accomplish their goals and keep the city safe, and at least one poll suggests this dynamic could give Cuomo an advantage.

The poll from Gotham Polling & Analytics released last month showed Cuomo clearly leading in the first round of a ranked-choice voting matchup and pulling out a win in the final round with 51 percent to city Comptroller Brad Lander’s 31 percent and state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani’s 18 percent. 

The top three qualities that respondents said they wanted in a mayor were strong ethical standards, the ability to manage complex crises and proven leadership experience. A majority said they view Cuomo as a tough leader who can get things done or someone who handled the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilt infrastructure. 

Cuomo’s best performance came with those 50 and older, and those are also the ones who said they cared the most about public safety and are the most likely to turn out in the primary, said Stephen Graves, the president of Gotham Polling. 

“These things are surely known to the Cuomo campaign,” he said. “This is certainly not his first time in politics, but this is clear that he’s going to focus on those issues.” 

The Hill has reached out to Cuomo’s campaign for comment. 

The state of crime in New York is complicated, with mixed statistics telling the story of some positive and negative trends. Adams has sought to emphasize the successes, but he, Cuomo and other candidates have widely acknowledged a feeling of fear of crime in the city.

While the candidates have recognized that fear, they’ve taken different approaches on how to address it. Mamdani and state Sen. Jessica Ramos, who are running on more left-wing platforms, have called for scaling back the role of the police and finding alternatives in certain instances. 

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Lander all previously leaned more to the left on policing and criminal justice, with Stringer and Lander expressing support for cutting police funding in 2020. 

That leaves Adams and Cuomo in the more consistently moderate lane and potentially competing for the same types of voters, but with Adams facing the major stumbling block of ethical questions and concerns about his independence from Trump.

“Eric Adams was the kind of one guy who had rejected [‘defund the police’] from day one,” said one New York Democrat. “He did appeal to moderates, and he appealed, obviously, to the Black and brown communities, but in terms of the actual message and what people were offering… 2021 is nothing like 2025.” 

The Democrat noted that many officials who have endorsed Cuomo, including former state Comptroller Carl McCall, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., are Black or brown. These were communities that were key parts of Adams’s victory four years ago. 

They said Cuomo also benefits from his charisma, giving a feeling that he’s the candidate to “shake up” the system even if other candidates have some similar proposals to him. Without him in the race, none of the other candidates against Adams have broken through yet months after they entered.

“People often have a very strong opinion about him,” they said. “But what’s interesting is… sometimes it’s beyond the for-or-against, it’s people that just simply know him. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, he’s a real asshole, but I think that’s what we need.” 

But pollsters warn that even with polls showing him clearly in front, he still must find ways to make gains to clinch the win, which may be difficult. 

Mary Snow, an assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, noted that although Cuomo led by 20 points over his closest competitor in a poll released Wednesday, the 16 percent who said they’re undecided could still swing the race.

“That really indicates that there is opportunity for candidates to grow their support,” she said. “And the big question is, how is that going to factor into the race? This primary is just a little more than three months away, so it’s not a ton of time.” 

Graves said Cuomo’s goal should be to at least “soften” some negative feelings about him to get more voters to be willing to place him as their second or third choice in ranked-choice voting. While Cuomo has a big lead in the first round in the Gotham poll, he sees a big drop in how many named him as their second choice. 

“If you can’t get them to vote for you as the first, if you can at least get them to put you on as second, that’s almost as good,” he said.

And Cuomo may be dogged by continuing questions about the controversies that led to his resignation as governor, including his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic and several accusations of sexual misconduct against him, which he has consistently denied. He appeared to acknowledge “mistakes” during his campaign launch and said he has learned from them and hopes to show he is a better person because of it. 

He then steered his statement back toward his competency. 

“But I promise you this, I know what needs to be done and I know how to do it, and I will give it my all to get the job done — and it will get done,” he said. 

Reinish said Cuomo’s focus should be on his record and his vision, but he should be prepared for the questions he’ll face. 

“There are questions that people still have, and you answer them calmly, thoughtfully and carefully, and I believe that’s exactly what he’s going to do,” he said.