Cuomo surges with last-minute endorsements as NYC race with Mamdani tightens

As New York City’s whirlwind mayoral race winds down, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has picked up a slew of last-minute endorsements as the latest polls show the independent candidate making ground on Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

The verdict is still out on whether the late momentum will be enough to hand Cuomo a victory on Tuesday night, and Mamdani has maintained this week that he isn’t taking anything for granted.

“These next few days are really the most important days where New Yorkers really start to focus, and what you’re seeing is a tremendous turnout,” Cuomo told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer on Friday, arguing that “New Yorkers are afraid — that’s why you see this big turnout.”

Just as Cuomo was widely expected to win the Democratic nomination in June, Mamdani heads into Election Day with wind in his sails. While Mamdani’s lead has narrowed since early-October, the latest Fox News Poll shows Mamdani ahead by double-digits.

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But Cuomo said Friday that New York voters should be scared. 

“Mamdani could win,” Cuomo said. “He is wholly inexperienced.”

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Thursday’s poll finds Mamdani with a 16-point lead: 47% back him, while 15% favor Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and 31% go for independent candidate Cuomo.

Independent candidate and current mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Cuomo last week, received 2% support despite dropping out of the race Sept. 28. Adams will still appear on the ballot.

The latest Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows Mamdani’s 10-point advantage over Cuomo is down from his 13-point lead in Quinnipiac’s previous poll, which was conducted at the beginning of October. And this latest poll matches the Suffolk University poll released Monday that found Mamdani losing ground with a now 10-point lead.

Independent candidate and current mayor Eric Adams received 2% support despite dropping out of the race Sept. 28. Adams will still appear on the ballot.

“Make no mistake: The race is tightening, and Andrew Cuomo is closing in fast,” Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement following the latest Quinnipiac poll.

Cuomo has been working to close the gap on Mamdani for months, and a slew of high-profile endorsements seem to have catapulted his campaign through its final days.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg doubled down on his Cuomo endorsement Wednesday, despite reporting that he met with Mamdani last month.

“Andrew Cuomo has the experience and toughness to stand up for New Yorkers and get things done. I hope you will join me in supporting him,” Bloomberg said on X while sporting a “Manhattan votes early” sticker.

Cuomo has knocked Mamdani, a New York state assemblyman, for lacking the experience necessary to run the nation’s largest city. Cuomo resigned from his governorship in 2021 amid multiple scandals, including several sexual harassment accusations, which he has denied.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson also endorsed Cuomo Tuesday. 

“I’m proudly endorsing Andrew Cuomo today because I believe he is the best equipped to lead our beautiful city during these trying times,” Paterson said.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who represents a sliver of Queens on Long Island, affirmed his own support for Cuomo Wednesday, calling himself a “Democratic Capitalist, not a Democratic Socialist.” Suozzi has been critical of Mamdani’s campaign since he secured the nomination in June.

“I endorse Andrew Cuomo. I can not back a declared socialist with a thin resume to run the most complex city in America,” Suozzi said in a post.

While moderate Democrats have coalesced behind Cuomo, some Republicans have even affirmed their support for Cuomo, rejecting Mamdani’s democratic socialist policies, which includes rent freezes, fast and free buses, free childcare and city-run grocery stores, all of which he plans to pay for by raising taxes on the top 1% of corporations and New Yorkers.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who represents New York’s lower Hudson Valley just north of the city, said Cuomo is the “lesser of two evils” on WABC’s “Sid & Friends” Wednesday.

And Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., a House lawmaker who previously chaired the New York State Republican Party, told Fox News Digital it was a “no-brainer” backing Cuomo, despite their disagreements over Mamdani.

On Fox News Friday morning, Cuomo reiterated to New York Republicans that a “vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani,” a mantra echoed by the billionaires, including John Catsimatidis and Bill Ackman, who urged New Yorkers to vote Cuomo last week.

On Thursday this week, Cuomo hosted an endorsement event with prominent leaders from New York City’s Muslim and African communities.

Imam Souleimane Konate, the spiritual leader of the Masjid Aqsa Mosque in Harlem, Sheikh Ibrahim Niass, head of the Ansarudeen Islamic Center in the Bronx, Imam Qazi Qayyoom, founder of the Muhammadi Community and Interfaith Center in Jackson Heights, Theresa Obioma and Halimatou Konte, members of the African Leaders Coalition and El Hadji Ndao, Senegalese Businessman and Community Leader, were among those endorsements.

“I’m deeply grateful to these leaders and to the Muslim and African communities for their support and for the vital role they play in our city’s life,” Cuomo said at an event with Adams.

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But Mamdani has been making his own inroads this week, meeting with taxi drivers and hosting a midnight press conference, attending a “Paint and Sip” event with seniors in Brooklyn and securing the endorsement from the United Bodegas of America — a union that was once critical of his city-run grocery store plans but has since joined his coalition.

“You can never take anything for granted,” Mamdani told Fox News this week. “If you want to take something for granted, that’s Andrew Cuomo, what he did in the primary. We don’t want to end up like Andrew Cuomo.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.