Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that Cuomo faced sexual harassment accusations, accusations which he has denied.
In August 2021, now former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) resigned in disgrace due to numerous sexual harassment accusations that kept pouring in, though he has denied them. He was faced with a number of other scandals, including his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His lieutenant governor, now Gov. Kathy Hochul took over, and New York hasn't been much better under continuous Democratic leadership. Cuomo, it turns out, might be making a comeback.
As Townhall's Jeff Charles covered on Monday, the former governor is considering running for mayor of New York City as a way to get back into politics. His hypothetical and potential candidacy, which hasn't even been decided by the former governor yet, even became a trending topic on X.
POLITICO obtained a poll from Progressives for Democracy in America, described as "a 501(c)(4) founded 'to rectify the general population’s lack of engagement with politics and public policy between elections,'" showing Cuomo easily leading a crowded hypothetical field, including candidates who have said they don't even plan to run.
In a rank-choice system, those names and choice selections enjoy the following support among 800 likely Democratic primary voters:
- 32 percent for Cuomo
- 18 percent who say they are unsure
- 10 percent support former city Comptroller Scott Stringer
- 8 percent for Stringer's successor, Brad Lander
- 7 percent supporting state Sen. Jessica Ramos and former Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr., though the latter says he doesn't plan to run and supports current Mayor Eric Adams "as long as he's a candidate"
- Adams enjoys just 6 percent, as does state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani
- 3 percent went for "other"
- 2 percent support for Michael Blake
- 1 percent for state Sen. Zellnor Myrie
This isn't the only poll showing Cuomo leading the pack and leading the embattled Adams in particular. An October poll from The New York Times/Siena College poll of 853 likely voters found that Cuomo led Adams by 21-11 percent in a head-to-head.
The reasons for Cuomo's popularity? He's a known name, to be sure. The group's leader, Alan Minsky, is quoted as mentioning as much. "We commissioned the poll to see which candidates might be competitive with Cuomo, given his huge name recognition advantage," he said.
The concept of name recognition is discussed further regarding the poll being conducted so early, December 16-December 22 ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary:
The poll was conducted fairly early in the cycle — between Dec. 16 and Dec. 22 — and is partly driven by name recognition. The primary is on June 24, but most candidates are still waiting to receive taxpayer-backed matching funds and have not begun airing TV ads. Independent expenditures have yet to come together either. And the city’s political class is waiting to see how the indicted Adams’ legal case plays out and whether Cuomo ends up jumping into the field.
The poll provided a ranked-choice sample, which showed Cuomo leading in the first round with 39 percent to Stringer’s 12 percent. In that hypothetical, Cuomo surpasses the 50 percent victory threshold by the fifth round of voting, with Stringer maintaining his second-place status at 16 percent and Ramos and Lander tying at 14 percent. Díaz Jr. makes it to the fifth round with 10 percent.
What about Adams and his grim chances? That he's an embattled figure who has been indicted and is under investigation by the feds is inescapable. He and President-elect Donald Trump have also spoken positively about each other before, and not long after talking with Trump, Adams also made announcements about handling illegal immigration, an issue for New York, especially the city. Adams has also spoken out against fellow Democrats before, including the Biden-Harris administration over political persecution in his case.
Adams and his pollster are mentioned as well, though not within the context of Trump:
“When people unbiasedly look at this administration they’re going to say pound for pound, this is one of the greatest administrations in the history of the city,” Adams told POLITICO in a recent interview, making the argument for his difficult reelection. “Turned around our economy out of Covid, cycled us out Covid, cycled us out of the greatest humanitarian crisis this city has ever seen, cycled us out of the public safety issues, cycled us out of the economic issue.”
“When people go back and look over it and I’m in the New York City museum, they’re going to say wow, this dyslexic, South Jamaica, public school-educated mayor — blue collar — did something no one thought he could do,” Adams added. “No one thought I was able to govern this city; no one.”
In response to the survey, Adams pollster Ben Tulchin said, “Any polling is very premature — voters’ real feelings won’t be clear until they’ve had a chance to be reminded of what Eric has accomplished, including reducing crime, and where any opponents have failed.”
Trump could come further back into it, though, if Adams perhaps switches his party affiliation and runs as a Republican candidate for mayor, especially if Trump endorses him for another term. Adams hasn't ruled out joining the Republican Party, after all. That's when that head-to-head matchup between Adams and Cuomo may become that much more relevant.
There could also very well be buyer's remorse with electing Hochul to her first full term in 2022. She may have beaten former Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, but this is a bright blue state, and she didn't win by much.
Jeff Charles' piece also mentions that the former governor could be looking for his old job back. It's not hard to see why, given how his replacement has further run the state into the ground.
Another poll of registered New York voters from Siena College, which we covered last month, shows that 33 percent would reelect Hochul, while 57 percent want someone else. When it comes to a potential primary, it's quite possible that another candidate, including someone with such high name recognition as Cuomo, would enjoy more support, as just 48 percent of Hochul's fellow Democrats would reelect her, while 40 percent want someone else.