The Rev. Al Sharpton says he’s concerned about Andrew Cuomo’s place in history, which is why he is urging the former governor to drop out of the race for New York City mayor.
During an interview on MSNBC on Wednesday morning, Sharpton said Cuomo “should look at what is best for the city” and step aside so that Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani can take on incumbent Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, as well Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and independents Jim Walden and Joseph Hernandez.
“I think, in the best interest of the legacy of Andrew Cuomo, that he ought to let them have the one-on-one race,” Sharpton said, referring to Mamdani and Adams. “He can endorse one or the other, and let them have a battle over what is best for New York.”
Asked about Sharpton’s remarks, the Cuomo campaign issued the following statement:
“Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion — we understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer. Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists. The majority lies in the middle. We will continue to assess the current situation in the best interest of the people of the City of New York,” spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.
Cuomo on the ballot but determining next steps
A few days after being stunned at the polls by Mamdani in the Democratic mayoral primary, Cuomo said he would remain on the ballot. He cited the primary’s relatively small turnout numbers compared to a general election as the compelling reason to continue his campaign.
“The Democratic primary is always an interesting situation, right?” Cuomo said in an exclusive interview with CBS News New York. “There are about 5 million voters in New York City. There are about 8 million people in New York City, and about 1 million people vote in the Democratic primary. So it’s not necessarily representative of the city at large.”
Cuomo ended up finishing 12 points behind Mamdani after ranked choice voting, a factor that has him considering whether he will actively campaign going forward.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we thank the 428,530 New Yorkers who chose to rank Governor Cuomo as their choice for mayor and who believed in his vision to get the city back on track. While it’s 24,017 more votes than Eric Adams received four years ago, this primary saw a massive spike in voters under 30, and those who had never voted before — completely changing the overall electorate, which is why no poll or model predicted the outcome, an outcome which was also felt in council races citywide,” Azzopardi said in a statement on Tuesday.
He went on to say, “Extremism, division and empty promises are not the answer to this city’s problems, and while this was a look at what motivates a slice of our primary electorate, it does not represent the majority. The financial instability of our families is the priority here, which is why actionable solutions, results and outcomes matter so much.”
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