Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has made an endorsement in the race for his former job. Bloomberg released a statement Tuesday announcing his support for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo ahead of the upcoming June 24 primary election in the city.
Bloomberg, a three-term mayor who left office in 2013, has thrown his support behind Cuomo in the race's final two weeks.
"In sizing up the field in the race for mayor, there is one candidate whose management experience and government know-how stand above the others: Andrew Cuomo," Bloomberg said a statement.
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WATCH HERE"History holds endless examples of friction between mayors and governors," Bloomberg goes on to say in his endorsement. "During my 12 years in City Hall, I served with four New York governors and had differences with all of them, including Cuomo. But I also know his strengths as a leader and manager. Of all the candidates, Andrew has the skills our city needs to lead us forward."
According to two people briefed on how the endorsement came to be, Cuomo was at the Bloomberg offices on the east side of Manhattan on Monday, where he appeared on the Bloomberg Surveillance podcast. After that, he met with Bloomberg directly, where they discussed the endorsement.
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One of Cuomo's opponents, Zohran Mamdani, said Bloomberg endorsed Cuomo because he will keep the "broken status quo."
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"The billionaires are consolidating around Andrew Cuomo because they know he will preserve the broken status quo," Mamdani's camapgin said in a statement. "New Yorkers are rallying behind Zohran Mamdani because they are ready for a new generation of leadership that puts working people first. On June 24, we will shock the political establishment and win a city we can all actually afford."
On Friday, Cuomo received the endorsement of one of his competitors, State Sen. Jessica Ramos. Her endorsement came just months after she called the former governor a "corrupt bully."
With her endorsement, Ramos joined lawmakers such as Rep. Adriano Espaillat, state Assembly member and Brooklyn Democratic Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn and Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, along with others who have changed positions on Cuomo and now welcome his leadership ahead of the city’s Democratic primary later this month.
“There are a lot of elected officials that have decided they want to look past any bad behavior because they want to look at more immediate needs,” said Basil Smikle, a Democratic political strategist and professor at Columbia University. “They seem him as a strong person. They probably think he’s the only one that can push back against Donald Trump.”
Cuomo left office after the state attorney general released a report that determined he sexually harassed at least 11 women. He has said he did not intentionally mistreat the women but had instead fallen behind what was considered appropriate workplace conduct, while at the same criticizing the pressure for his ouster politically motivated.
For Cuomo, securing the endorsements of those who once castigated him could ease voter concerns about his past scandals and bolster his long-held thesis that he was wrongfully forced to resign.
In a statement, Cuomo said he was proud to have Ramos' support and looked forward to working with her to "put this city back on the right track and make this a stronger and more affordable place for all working men and women.”
“We’re both proud Queens kids and with it comes a ‘Queens attitude’ that is both tough and protective of our families and our neighbors and by extension all New Yorkers,” he said.
Ramos' endorsement came a day after U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her weight behind mayoral hopeful Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist who has surged in the months leading up to the primary.
Ramos has grown critical of Mamdani as the left flank of the Democratic Party has coalesced behind him.
She jabbed at the social media-savvy Mamdani during a debate on NBC New York and Telemundo 47 last week, saying she wished she'd run for mayor sooner but “I thought I needed more experience but turns out you just need to make good videos."
