In the last few days of the New York City mayoral race, independent candidate Andrew Cuomo has picked up support from prominent political figures, including former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, New York Rep. Tom Suozzi and former Gov. David Paterson.
Though some of the most notable support has come from across the aisle, as Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy, who was once critical of the former governor, is now backing him.
“No one was a fiercer critic”
In an interview with CBS News on Friday, Langworthy, the New York State representative and former state GOP chairman, said of Cuomo that “no one was a fiercer critic of his time as governor than I was.”
In 2020, when then Governor Cuomo closed several correctional facilities, citing a drop in the state’s inmate population because of criminal justice reforms, Langworthy attacked, “Andrew Cuomo deserves an Emmy after all–for his real-life portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge, but unlike Scrooge, there is no redemption for his destruction of New Yorkers’ lives.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., left, poses during a ceremonial swearing-in with Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., in the Rayburn Room at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.
Mark Schiefelbein / AP
Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who also has been critical of Cuomo, got behind him this week in an interview on WABC radio, saying, “I don’t like Andrew Cuomo. I have been very clear about my problems with Andrew Cuomo,” but indicated he is the best option among the candidates.
“We fought him tooth and nail every step of the way,” Langworthy told CBS News. “But he would be a far superior choice for the people of New York than Zohran Mamdami.”
Republican concern about Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani
Langworthy, along with others in the Republican Party, voiced concern about Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, citing his proposed policies that would provide free buses, freeze rent on rent-stabilized units, and increase taxes on wealthy New Yorkers.
President Trump has frequently called Mamdani a “communist.”
“These ideas will take our city and state backward,” said Langworthy, adding that some Republicans like the idea of Mamdani winning, “because they think he’ll do a poor job and he’ll be the new face of the Democratic Party.”
Langworthy also expressed concern about the implications he says Mamdani’s victory would have across the country, saying, Mamdani’s policies would become “contagious around the country if he has a platform to talk to vast sums of people.”
Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, speaks during a mayoral debate with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, center, and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York.
Angelina Katsanis / AP
When asked why Langworthy isn’t backing Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, he challenged Sliwa’s likelihood of winning based on polling data and questioned his motives for staying in the race.
“Are you in this for a vanity run, for, for self-promotion, or do you want what’s best for the city?” Langworthy asked rhetorically of Sliwa.
Spokespeople for both Sliwa’s and Mamdani’s campaigns did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on Langworthy’s endorsement.
Cuomo and Sliwa trail Mamdani in polls
A recent poll from Quinnipiac University shows that Mamdani leads Cuomo 43 percent to 33 percent, with Sliwa in third at 14 percent support.
Mamdani recently received an endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, but told Jon Stewart in an interview on “The Daily Show” that, “In many ways … the days of endorsements deciding elections, those days have come to an end.”
The frontrunner said that he will instead win the election by continuing his neighborhood canvassing and phonebanking efforts, with support from the more than 90,000 volunteers assisting the campaign.
And, despite calls to drop out of the election to clear a possible path to victory for Cuomo, Sliwa is defiantly in until the end, saying the people have the right to determine the next mayor of New York City, not “billionaires or the professional political class.”
Nearly half a million New Yorkers have already cast their ballot in early voting, ahead of the election on Nov. 4th.
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