Past-it lawmaker's desperate new ad copying charismatic young rival who's set to hammer him

Daily Mail​

15-07-2025

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a desperate grab for votes with a new ad that closely resembles that of his rival, Zohran Mamdani, after announcing his continued stake in the New York City Mayoral election.
Cuomo posted the warm-toned, cinematically staged video of himself talking to the camera before the ad cut to clips of him roaming the streets of the city greeting the people of New York.
The casual and friendly tone of the advert appeared to copy that of his charismatic younger rival Mamdani.
Mamdani, who stood out as the favorite for the Democratic primary for mayor hopeful, has many clips of himself connecting with the city in a similar way.
Cuomo was filmed shaking hands of people on the streets, chatting, and taking selfies. He stood with an MTA worker, visited a local business, and had his picture taken with a child.
The choppy cuts and 'walk the streets' nature of the ad resembled Mamdani's similarly warm-toned, cinematic ads of himself chatting and taking pictures with supporters across the city.
Cuomo's video was accompanied by another of him helping a young man jump start his car, which appears to imply a similar connection to the youth of New York City that Mamdani has conveyed in his adverts.
While Mamdani's social media is peppered with videos such as these, Cuomo's first crack at the campaigning method comes after a blow to his hopes for mayor following the primary.
The casual and friendly tone of the advert appeared to copy that of his charismatic younger rival Zohran Mamdani, who stood out as the favorite for the Democratic primary for mayor hopeful
The advert announced his continued 'fight' in the election despite the loss, as he said: 'I am truly sorry that I let you down. But as my grandfather used to say, when you get knocked down, learn the lesson and pick yourself back up and get in the game.'
'And that is what I'm going to do. The fight to save our city isn't over,' he added.
Cuomo promised that if by mid-September he is not the highest-ranked challenger to Mamdani, then he would drop out of the race, according to a letter to his supporters.
Mamdani closed the wide gap between himself and Cuomo after the race's two debates, due largely to his strong presence campaigning on social media and a strong effort by volunteers on the ground.
Mamdani defeated Cuomo by more than twelve percentage points, the New York Times reported.
The defeat was chalked down to Cuomo's lack of campaign activity, believed to be the result of a sense of inevitability, as well as Mamdani's strong focus on affordability - a hot topic for many New Yorkers.
Cuomo himself admitted he had 'made mistakes' in the run up to the primary after he was questioned on his true desire to hold the mayoral position following a streak of evasive behavior.
The former governor soured for many after he drove to events in his Dodge Charger and avoided appearing onstage at forums with his opponents.
'All my life I've been known for pushing too hard, but this time I played it safe, believing in the polls that said our campaign was way ahead, and not giving New Yorkers the campaign they deserved,' Cuomo wrote in a letter to his supporters, NYT reported.
'I was not aggressive enough in communicating my vision for a fairer, safer, more affordable New York, or in debunking and exposing Zohran Mamdani's unrealistic proposals and divisive agenda. I promise you, I will not make that mistake again,' he said.
Cuomo promised a 'very different kind of campaign' with a focus on meeting the people of the city, discussing their struggles and how to reach solutions.
Mamdani said on Monday at a rally in Manhattan: 'I think he's struggling to come to terms with what Tuesday meant. We spent an entire campaign being told that it was inevitable for Andrew Cuomo to be the next mayor, and he believed that himself.'
Responses on the platform to Cuomo's new advert show the new campaign effort was not well received, despite his re-vamped attitude toward the race.
'Sounds like your plan is to steal Zohran's platform for November...' one commenter wrote.
'The awkward dap up with the black guy for street cred is killing me,' another said.
'Sounds like you are copying Zohran's campaign with zero charisma. Good luck with that!'
In response to Cuomo's advert, Mamdani commented on X with a link to donate to his own campaign.
Cuomo's advert garnered 5.1k likes and 4.2k reposts, while Mamdani's comment managed to grab 166k likes and 10k reposts.