Cuomo surges with last-minute endorsements as NYC race with Mamdani tightens

As New York City’s whirlwind mayoral race draws to a close, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has garnered a slew of endorsements in the final minutes as recent polls show the independent candidate making way for Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

It’s still unclear whether the late momentum will be enough to give Cuomo victory on Tuesday night, and Mamdani suggested this week that he’s not taking anything for granted.

“The next few days are the most important days that New Yorkers really start to focus on, and here’s what you see. a tremendous turnout“New Yorkers are afraid, which is why you’re seeing such a large turnout,” Cuomo told Fox News’ Bill Hemmer on Friday.

While Cuomo is expected to win the Democratic nomination in June, Mamdani is heading into Election Day with the wind. Although Mamdani’s lead has narrowed since early October, the latest Fox News poll shows Mamdani ahead by double digits.

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But Cuomo said Friday that New York voters should be afraid.

“Mamdani can win,” Cuomo said. “He’s completely inexperienced.”

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Thursday’s poll shows Mamdani with a 16-point lead: 47% support her, while 15% support Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and 31% support independent candidate Cuomo.

Independent candidate and current mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Cuomo last week, received 2 percent support despite dropping out of the race on Sept. 28. Adams will still be on the ballot.

Quinnipiac University’s latest poll, released Wednesday, shows Mamdani’s 10-point advantage over Cuomo has narrowed from a 13-point lead in a previous poll conducted by Quinnipiac in early October. And this latest poll matches a Suffolk University poll released Monday that found Mamdani losing ground by a 10-point margin.

Independent candidate and current mayor Eric Adams received 2 percent support despite dropping out of the race on Sept. 28. Adams will still be on the ballot.

“Make no mistake: The race is tightening and Andrew Cuomo is closing in fast,” Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement following the latest Quinnipiac poll.

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani accepts the endorsement of United Bodegas of America in the Bronx, New York City, on Wednesday, October 29, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)

Cuomo has been trying to close the gap with Mamdani for months and appears to have ramped up several high-profile endorsement campaigns in his final days.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg doubled down on his support for Cuomo on Wednesday. He reported that he met with Mamdani last month.

“Andrew Cuomo has the experience and stamina to advocate for New Yorkers and get things done. I hope you’ll join me in supporting him,” Bloomberg said. said in x While holding a “Manhattan votes early” sticker.

Cuomo fired New York state assemblywoman Mamdani on the grounds that she lacked the necessary experience to lead the nation’s largest city. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple scandals, including multiple accusations of sexual harassment, which he denied.

Former New York Gov. David Paterson also endorsed Cuomo on Tuesday.

“Today, I proudly endorse Andrew Cuomo because I believe he is best equipped to lead our beautiful city through these difficult times,” Paterson said.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Y), who represents part of Queens on Long Island, confirmed his support for Cuomo on Wednesday, calling himself a “Democratic Capitalist, not a Democratic Socialist.” Suozzi has criticized Mamdani’s campaign since she secured the nomination in June.

New York City mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa speaks to reporters in Manhattan on Monday, Oct. 20, 2025, two weeks before Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)

“I support Andrew Cuomo. I cannot support a self-proclaimed socialist with a weak resume running the most complex city in America,” Suozzi said. he said in a post.

While moderate Democrats united behind Cuomo, some Republicans even affirmed their support for Cuomo by rejecting Mamdani’s democratic socialist policies, such as rent freezes, express and free buses, free child care, and city-run grocery stores; He plans to pay for all of this by raising taxes on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-Y., who represents New York’s lower Hudson Valley just north of the city, said on WABC’s “Sid & Friends” on Wednesday that Cuomo is “the lesser of two evils.”

And Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-Y., a House lawmaker who previously chaired the New York State Republican Party, told Fox News Digital it was a “no-brainer” to support Cuomo despite their disagreements over Mamdani.

On Fox News Friday morning, Cuomo reiterated to New York Republicans that “a vote for Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani”; That mantra has also been echoed by billionaires including John Catsimatidis and Bill Ackman, who last week urged New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo.

From left, mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo Curtis Sliwa and Zohran Mamdani participate in the mayoral debate on Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, in New York City. (Angelina Katsanis/AP Photo, Pool)

On Thursday this week, Cuomo hosted an endorsement event attended by prominent leaders from the Muslim and African communities in New York City.

They included Imam Souleimane Konate, spiritual leader of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Harlem, Sheikh Ibrahim Niass, president of the Ansarudeen Islamic Center in the Bronx, Imam Qazi Qayyoom, founder of the Muhammadan Community and Interfaith Center in Jackson Heights, African Leaders Coalition members Theresa Obioma and Halimatou Konte, and Senegalese Businessman and Community Leader El Hadji Ndao. approves.

“I am deeply grateful to these leaders for their support of the Muslim and African communities and the vital role they play in the life of our city,” Cuomo said at an event with Adams. he said.

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But Mamdani is stepping up to the plate this week, meeting with cab drivers and holding a late-night press conference, attending a “Paint and Sip” event with seniors in Brooklyn and winning the endorsement of United Bodegas of America, a union that once criticized plans for grocery stores in the city but later joined his coalition.

“You can never take anything for granted,” Mamdani told Fox News this week. “If you want to take things for granted, that’s what Andrew Cuomo did in the primary. We don’t want to end up like Andrew Cuomo.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.