Cuomo\u2019s defiant stance comes after his stunning loss to socialist contender<\/a> Zohran Mamdani in Tuesday\u2019s Democratic primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n The former governor conceded Mamdani\u2019s win that night, but played coy on whether he would continue to run on his \u201cFight and Deliver\u201d ballot line in the general election.<\/p>\n A campaign source Friday confirmed that Cuomo \u2014 who faced a deadline of 5 p.m. to effectively withdraw from November\u2019s ballot and growing calls to drop out <\/a>\u2014 will not decline his independent line.<\/p>\n It remains unclear whether Cuomo will actually mount an active general election campaign.<\/p>\n Even if he doesn\u2019t, staying on the general election ballot could siphon votes from Mayor Eric Adams,<\/a> who will also be running on an independent line.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Cuomo stays in the race, he splits the anti-Mamdani vote and helps Mamdani,\u201d said state Conservative Party chairman Gerard Kassar, a Dyker Heights resident.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s playing the spoiler \u2014 100 percent. He has no chance of winning and only takes votes from Adams and Curtis,\u201d Kassar said, referring to GOP nominee Curtis Sliwa.<\/p>\n Lawyer Jim Walden<\/a> is running as an independent candidate in the general election, too.<\/p>\n Cuomo pulled a similar maneuver during his last stinging electoral defeat in 2002 \u2014 when he was trounced in the Democratic gubernatorial primary <\/a>by Carl McCall.<\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/2025-11-candidates-ballot-democratic-107099424.jpg\")
Andrew Cuomo will not decline to run on an independent ballot line, sources confirmed. John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n![\"Zohran](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/democratic-mayoral-candidate-zohran-mamdani-107103103_c9303f.jpg\")
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks on stage with fellow candidate Comptroller Brad Lander at his primary election party. AP<\/p>\n