Cuomo's Candidacy Is a Symptom of a Bigger Democratic Problem

New York Times

19-06-2025

To understand what ails the Democrats, consider the mayoral primary unfolding in New York City.
Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is one upset away from winning the Democratic nomination, leaving much of the political establishment stunned. But the actual problem for Democrats is Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor insisting on a comeback bid despite representing so much of what many voters have come to disdain about the Democratic Party. The dynamics of the race are a warning for Democrats everywhere.
Mr. Cuomo has few new ideas, moved to the city only months ago and resigned as governor in 2021 after 11 women accused him of sexual harassment. (At the time, Mr. Cuomo apologized. During his mayoral campaign, he has denied wrongdoing and downplayed the accusations.) His candidacy has been propelled by name recognition in a state where he and his father served as governor, and by TV ads casting him as an expert manager and a tough guy willing to stand up to Donald Trump.
Never mind that he shares some of the president's donors, or that over his 10 years as governor, he made many decisions that hurt New York City.
Faced with more of the same, a significant part of the Democratic base seems to be veering toward drastic action by supporting Mr. Mamdani, a talented and charismatic Queens assemblyman who would have a shaky path to victory in the general election and who is making promises that could be difficult to deliver on. Polls suggest Mr. Mamdani, who has vowed to freeze rents on rent-stabilized apartments, could win 31 percent of the initial vote in the ranked-choice mayoral ballot.
After years of being told to fall in line, Democratic voters are rejecting their party's establishment in large numbers — movement that could portend unpredictable primaries in the midterms and 2028 presidential race.
Despite its national image as a liberal bastion, New York City often elects centrist mayors by way of sleepy campaigns. Mr. Mamdani is challenging that dynamic. A Mamdani spokesman told me the candidate's field operation, powered by roughly 40,000 volunteers, had knocked more than one million doors across the city.
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