After a sexual harassment scandal resulted in his resignation as governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo has decided to join the mayoral race in New York City, marking his return to the political arena after years of being in exile.
The incumbent Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, is facing challenges as his administration grapples with federal corruption charges and top aides stepping down, opening the door for Cuomo to compete against him.
Cuomo, whose dad was also governor of New York, launched the campaign with a 17-minute video and claimed he wanted to “fight to save our city.”
“Our city is in crisis,” he added on X. “That’s why I am running to be Mayor of New York City.”
The former New York governor, 67, joins a growing pool of hopeful candidates looking to occupy City Hall in the nation’s largest city.
Other notable candidates in the mayoral race include Comptroller Brad Lander, Senator Jessica Ramos, Representative Scott Stringer, and activist Curtis Sliwa, creating a competitive field vying for the position of mayor in the Big Apple.
Cuomo has seemingly been out of the public eye since he resigned as governor in August 2021.
The move came after New York Attorney General Letitia James reported that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women during his time in office.
However, James declined to file charges against Cuomo.
Months before his resignation, Cuomo apologized for his behavior after several women came forward with accusations of sexual harassment and another alleged he made unwanted advances.
Still, Cuomo pushed back on the backlash, saying he “never touched anyone inappropriately.”
‘I HAVE BEEN VINDICATED’
“I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable,” he told reporters in March 2021.
“I never touched anyone inappropriately. I want New Yorkers to hear from me directly on this.
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable.
“It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it, and frankly, I am embarrassed by it, and that’s not easy to say but that’s the truth.”
In February 2022, Cuomo expressed regret for resigning over the sexual harassment allegations, defiantly saying that if he could relive the events, he would not have stepped down.
“I never resigned because I said I did something wrong,” Cuomo said, according to Bloomberg News.
“I said, I’m resigning because I don’t want to be a distraction.
“If you do an honest summary, which is what I get from people on the street, I have been vindicated.”
Last December, Cuomo submitted a notice in New York State Supreme Court where he indicated he would file a defamation lawsuit against Charlotte Bennett – one of the first women to accuse him of sexual harassment.
Bennett publicly accused Cuomo of sexual harassment in 2021, claiming he inquired about her sex life and questioned whether she had monogamous relationships, according to The New York Times.
Cuomo denied her accusations in court and said her false claims “harmed and will continue to harm him, both personally and professionally.”
Bennett dropped her federal lawsuit against Cuomo in early December 2024.
COVID-19 BACKLASH
The ousted governor also faced controversies over how his administration handled the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo, who gained national recognition for his daily Covid-19 briefings, was accused of deliberately covering up and downplaying the number of nursing home residents who died from the virus.
He disputed the claims in his testimony in front of a Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Covid-19 pandemic in 2024, saying the discrepancy was a delay as his office prioritized federal requests for data over state requests.
In addition, Cuomo also received criticism for publishing a controversial memoir about his response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Cuomo reportedly profited upwards of $5 million from the book.
In the years after his resignation from Albany, Cuomo had been working as a private attorney providing legal consulting work for clients, the New York Post reported.
Who is Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo was the 56th governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021.
- Cuomo is the son of Matilda Cuomo and Mario Cuomo, the 52nd governor of New York.
- He has four siblings, including NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo and radiologist Margaret Cuomo.
- Andrew Cuomo began his career in politics while working as a campaign manager for his father’s 1982 New York gubernatorial efforts.
- A law school graduate, Cuomo served as assistant secretary in the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1993 to 1997.
- He worked in the Bill Clinton administration as a secretary from 1997 to 2001.
- Following a failed attempt at the gubernatorial position in 2002, Cuomo was elected as New York’s attorney general in 2006.
- In 2010, he was elected as the 56th governor of New York defeating Carl Paladino by winning over 60 percent of the votes.
