NEW YORK (WABC) — Contenders for City Hall have their eyes set on November as they place their bid for New York City mayor.<\/p>\n
It appears the gloves are off between Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Mayor Eric Adams, who announced his reelection bid Thursday.<\/p>\n
Also, it appears former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who fell short in the primary, is still deciding whether he will run as independent as we head into November, a source tells ABC News.<\/p>\n
The former governor expected to wait until Tuesday when he’ll get a first look at the rank choice voting results.<\/p>\n
Friday, the Board of Elections did have a deadline set for candidates to remove themselves from the ballot.<\/p>\n
Cuomo did not take that step.<\/p>\n
Thursday, Mayor Adams had an enthusiastic and engaging kickoff for his reelection bid on the steps of City Hall.<\/p>\n
Many of his supporters from around the boroughs in the faith community, including Rev. Daughtry, stood by his side, fired up saying, “Four more years.”<\/p>\n
While there may have been prayer, it is a political race, and it kicked into high gear as Mayor Adams appeared on Don Lemons show, calling Mamdani an antisemite, establishing where the race is headed, and a campaign led differently than the former governor.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the president called him a communist.<\/p>\n
“He’s a communist, he’s a communist, it’s so bad for New York,” President Donald Trump said.<\/p>\n
But Mamdani has taken the high road in his responses.<\/p>\n
“That’s what I’m focused on, dignity and income inequality and for too long politicians have pretended that we’re spectators to that crisis of affordability,” Mamdani said.<\/p>\n
Mamdani picked up the backing of two big labor unions on Friday, unions that previously backed Cuomo’s bid for mayor.<\/p>\n
The young, charismatic assembly member who has drummed up much support has quite the road ahead of him.<\/p>\n
He’s up against political heavyweights like Mayor Adams and former Governor Cuomo, who might challenge him yet again in the general election.<\/p>\n
Former New York Gov. David Patterson told Eyewitness News that he endorsed Cuomo for the primary, but if he wants a shot at winning, he needs new energy and a new strategy.<\/p>\n
“I think in the primary he thought he just had it, meanwhile the other candidates are running around,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n
As for Mamdani, Patterson says the campaign could be his to lose, but he will need to defend his primary ideas, like his stance on immigration and his limited partnership with ICE.<\/p>\n
“He’ll be challenged to prove how we can have $30 minimum wage, to prove how the city can own stores and that will make things better,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n
When Adams was asked on Friday whether Cuomo should drop out of the race, the mayor walked away, refusing to answer.<\/p>\n
Patterson says he’s fairly certain about one thing if Cuomo and Adams don’t remain silent about each other over the next six months.<\/p>\n
“They could beat each other up and Mamdani wins a victory pretty easily,” Patterson said.<\/p>\n