Cuomo launches attack ad at Mamdani after AOC endorsement
NEW YORK — It's the kind of support that has been sought after for months, and now Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has made her endorsements for ranked-choice voting in the Democratic mayoral primary.
The backing from the prominent, popular, and influential voice is significant, but if history is any guide, it's not a guarantee of an electoral victory.
More Local News
In an interview with the New York Times, AOC endorsed Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani for the No.1 spot on the primary's ranked-choice ballot. She endorsed City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as the Number 2 choice.
On Thursday afternoon, the Super PAC for the front-runner in the mayoral primary, Andrew Cuomo, launched an attack ad against Mamdani. It was an indication of just how impactful the endorsement may be.
Shortly after the AOC endorsement for the top position was published, Mamdani held a news conference to welcome the news.
'I can't wait to win this race with her,' he said in front of cameras and reporters on the street near Madison Square Park, in Midtown. He spoke just hours after the Democratic mayoral primary debate.
It featured all nine candidates seeking the Democratic Party's nomination for mayor, but it felt more like eight candidates against one: the front-runner, Andrew Cuomo. The former governor's opponents brought up a variety of issues with his record, including the dozen-plus sexual harassment allegations against him, for which he's said he's apologized and has denied.
Michael Blake, a former state assemblymember from the Bronx, took aim at Cuomo's harassment situation, even though Blake was talking about public safety issues.
More Local News
'The people who don't feel safe are young women, mothers, and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo,' Blake said on the debate stage. 'That's the greatest threat to public safety.'
Then, after moderators asked candidates to talk about their biggest political regrets, Cuomo opened himself up to criticism after answering that Democratic Party policies—rather than any of his—had fallen short in recent years.
'No regrets when it comes to cutting Medicaid or healthcare?' City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams interjected. 'No regrets when it comes to cutting child care? No regrets when it comes to slow-walking PPE and vaccinations in the season of Covid to black and brown communities?' she asked. 'Really, no regrets?'
Cuomo responded that he'd handled the COVID-19 crisis responsibly.
His most notable challenger in the debate was Mamdani, who has polled within single digits of Cuomo, the front-runner, in recent polls.
Mamdani focused on Cuomo, having received the most donations from ultra-wealthy New Yorkers.
'My campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C.,' Mamdani said during the debate. 'I don't have to pick up the phone from Bill Ackman or Ken Langone.'
Cuomo struck back, criticizing the three-term Democratic socialist assemblymember's inexperience.
'Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter,' Cuomo said. 'He's been in government 27 minutes, passed three bills. That's all he's done. He has no experience with Washington, no experience with New York City. He would be Trump's delight.'
AOC apparently doesn't agree, as her endorsement shows.
PIX11 News reminded Mamdani that Ocasio-Cortez had backed attorney and Civilian Complaint Review Board Chair Maya Wiley in the last Democratic mayoral primary in 2021. Wiley came in third place in that contest.
At the debate, when the moderators asked who the most effective Democratic Party politician is, none of the candidates, including Mamdani, named AOC. Still, after winning the congresswoman's support, Mamdani said that its effect would be powerful.
'I am confident that this endorsement,' said Mamdani, 'it's not just something that we're so proud to have earned, it is ultimately something that is going to be key to winning this race.'
Early voting for the mayoral primary begins on June 14.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Miami Herald
42 minutes ago
- Miami Herald
Veteran investor makes surprising Fed rate call after jobs report
Okay, Jerome Powell, now it's your turn. President Donald Trump on June 6 took a break from bashing Elon Musk to vent his spleen - again - at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter Trump took to his social media platform to call on Powell to slash interest rates by a full percentage point. "'Too Late' at the Fed is a disaster!" Trump said on Truth Social. "Europe has had 10 rate cuts, we have had none. Despite him, our Country is doing great. Go for a full point, Rocket Fuel!" Trump made his demand even though the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. hiring in May rose more than predicted. Nonfarm payrolls rose 139,000 for the month, exceeding estimates for 125,000. The last time the central bank made a single rate cut of a full percentage point was in March 2020 to address economic fallout from the onset of the Covid-19 Fed cut rates by one full point in total during President Joe Biden's final year in office. "If 'Too Late' at the Fed would CUT, we would greatly reduce interest rates, long and short, on debt that is coming due," Trump said, using the two-word name he calls Powell. "Biden went mostly short term." More Economic Analysis: Hedge-fund manager sees U.S. becoming GreeceA critical industry is slamming the economyReports may show whether the economy is toughing out the tariffs "There is virtually no inflation (anymore), but if it should come back, RAISE "RATE" TO COUNTER. Very Simple!!! He is costing our Country a fortune. Borrowing costs should be MUCH LOWER!!!" It seems like only yesterday when the president was giving Musk - Tesla's (TSLA) CEO and a big-time Trump backer - all kinds of misery after the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency decried Trump's "big beautiful bill" of tax breaks and spending cuts as pork-laden and a "disgusting abomination." Actually, it was yesterday, come to think of it, when Trump suggested that an easy way to save "Billions and Billions of Dollars" was to terminate all of Musk's government contracts and subsidies. Tesla and Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, both benefit from a a number of government programs. Musk, who took credit for getting Trump elected, also decided it would be a good idea to bring up Jeffrey Epstein's name while Tesla shares nosedived. TheStreet Pro's Peter Tchir says that if you're looking for excitement, this is the social-media donnybrook to watch. Unlike the payroll data. The veteran investor said in a recent TheStreet Pro column that the report looked decent on the surface but "there are a lot of things to pick on." "The prior two months were revised down by 95,000," he said. "That negates much of this month's reported gain in the Establishment Survey." The Establishment Survey, also known as the Current Employment Statistics survey, provides monthly data on employment, hours and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. "The Household Survey, used for the unemployment rate, lost over 600,000 jobs," Tchir said. "The unemployment rate remained unchanged only because labor-force participation dropped by a similar amount." Related: An investor looks at navigating tariff wars The birth/death model, which estimates the number of jobs created by new businesses and lost from defunct businesses, added 199,000 jobs, he added. "With low survey response rates, etc., there are a lot of things to question about the quality of the data (the seemingly endless downward revisions validate that 'questioning'), but this number is back to 'bothering' me,'" Tchir said. Without this calculated number, he explained, "we would have lost jobs in the Establishment Survey "kind of like the Household Survey indicated." "Sure, it is possible that in a time of peak uncertainty, lots of new businesses were formed, but the number seems high," Tchir said. "It is the second month in a row when there is a lot of uncertainty, where birth/death adjustment was bigger than the number itself. That is why I would weigh this into being more dovish, if I was at the Fed." Foul weather might have also had a negative impact on the data. "If the Fed was looking to cut rates, it could probably come up with a story around this data to let it do so," Tchir said. "Since the Fed doesn't seem to be looking to cut rates, though, there is enough of a narrative in this report to keep it on hold." "After this data, I remain in the three-to-four-cuts-this-year camp, starting in July." Related: Fund-management veteran skips emotion in investment strategy The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Kentucky leaders see change in voter registration trends: ‘Candidates should take note'
FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) — State leaders are seeing a spike in voter affiliation shifting away from Republicans or Democrats. Secretary of State Michael Adams announced on Friday in a news release that Kentuckians registered under 'other' political affiliations have outpaced Republican and Democratic registrations combined for three straight months. 'As the Democrats move further left and the Republicans move further right, more voters are registering as Independent,' said Adams. 'Kentucky has a large and growing political center; candidates should take note and court this growing bloc of voters.' Owensboro's blue bridge to close for up to 3 months Kentucky gas tax to see reduction next month Kentucky health officials urge vaccines after infant deaths State officials said in a news release that Republican voter registration made up 47% of the electorate in Kentucky, with 1,582,699 voters, gaining an increase of 1,026 voters for an increase of 0.07%. Democratic registration makes up 42%, with 1,391,172 voters, seeing a decrease of 838 registrations. Adams wrote that by comparison, voters registered under other political parties saw an increase of 0.38%, or 1,352 voters. Secretary Adams' office wrote in a news release that 4,157 voters were removed in May, including 3,173 who died, 440 who moved out of state, 402 convicted felons, 65 who voluntarily de-registered, 49 voters adjudged mentally incompetent, and 28 duplicate registrations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Far-left House candidate rallies around healthcare for illegal immigrants: 'How is it controversial?'
Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Democratic candidate for Illinois' ninth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives, said "every single person in the world deserves healthcare," even illegal immigrants. "How is it controversial?" Abughazaleh asked a CNN "NewsNight" panel on Thursday night. The young progressive candidate, with a campaign website that reads, "I don't have health insurance, and I'm running for Congress," repeatedly told the panel that every person is entitled to healthcare when asked if that includes illegal immigrants. "I'm such a monster… How is it controversial that I don't want someone to die in the hospital if they can't afford it?" Abughazaleh asked. Dems Warn House Republicans Will Pay Price At Ballot Box For Passing Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act is currently under consideration by a Republican-led White House and Congress. The president has championed the legislation as fulfilling his key campaign promises, including border security, American energy production and tax cuts. Read On The Fox News App Gop Rails Against 'Blatantly False' Dem Claims About Medicaid Reform In Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' House Republicans have celebrated Medicaid reform included in the megabill, which they say eliminates waste, fraud and abuse in the welfare program to deliver for Americans who need coverage most. Removing illegal immigrants from Medicaid is one of the key provisions of that Medicaid reform. Meanwhile, Democrats have railed against possible Medicaid cuts since Trump was elected in November. Every House Democrat voted against the bill, and Democrats are already defining Medicaid cuts as a driving issue ahead of competitive midterm elections in 2026. The bill does not cut Medicaid for the most vulnerable, according to Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., who served on three major committees leading budget markup in the reconciliation process. Houchin told Fox News Digital that targeting waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program cuts benefits to illegal immigrants, those ineligible to receive benefits who are currently receiving benefits, duplicate enrollees in one or more states and those who are able-bodied but are choosing not to work. "Your bill is going to cut coverage for 11 million Americans and it'll still cost more than universal healthcare. Healthcare is a human right, you absolute ghouls," Abughazaleh said in response to a Republican National Committee (RNC) rapid response account calling her comments, "madness." Abughazaleh said she is running for the U.S. House of Representatives because, "Our leaders are out of touch." The young Democrat is challenging Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., who has served decades in congress. Abughazaleh is a former staffer for the progressive watchdog group, Media Matters, and a progressive article source: Far-left House candidate rallies around healthcare for illegal immigrants: 'How is it controversial?'
