(The Center Square) — Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams is throwing his support behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to succeed him in a last-ditch effort to peel votes away from Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani.
Adams, who abandoned his bid for reelection last month, was expected to endorse Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent, on Thursday, with early voting in the mayoral election set to begin on Saturday.
“I can confirm that the Mayor will endorse former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo for mayor and intends to campaign alongside him,” Adams spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement. “The time and locations for their joint appearances are currently being finalized.”
It’s a major reversal for Adams, who on the campaign trail lashed out at Cuomo for pressuring him to drop out of the race calling him “a snake and a liar.” Adams dropped his reelection bid after concluding he had no path to victory.
But Adams wasted no time Thursday attacking Mandani, highlighting his unwillingness to say how he will vote on key ballot questions during Wednesday night’s debate.
“Mamdani supposedly built his whole campaign on “affordable housing.” Adams posted on social media. “But three days before New Yorkers begin voting on a plan that could unleash the biggest housing boom in NYC history, he still can’t pick a side. You can’t call yourself a fighter when you’re afraid to take a swing.”
Adams had hinted at the endorsement earlier in the day by posting a photo on social media of him sitting next to Cuomo at Wednesday night’s Knicks game.
“Great win for the Knicks,” he wrote in the caption, after the team’s 119-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at home. “We need to win for the city. Can’t go backwards.”
Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and democratic socialist who has a double-digit lead in the polls, shrugged off Adams’ endorsement of his chief rival in the race.
“Today confirms what we’ve long known: Andrew Cuomo is running for Eric Adams’ second term,” Mamdani said in a statement Thursday. “It’s no surprise to see two men who share an affinity for corruption and Trump capitulation align themselves at the behest of the billionaire class and the President himself.”
“We are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas that these two disgraced executives embody and build a city every New Yorker can afford,” he added.
It’s not clear whether the Adams endorsement will help or hurt Cuomo in the Nov. 4 election. Before he dropped out of the race, Adams was trailing behind all three candidates in the polls.
During Wednesday night’s final debate between the top three candidates, they were asked by moderators whether they would accept an Adams endorsement.
Cuomo was the only one who said yes. Republican Curtis Sliwa replied: “put that crook in jail.”
