Billionaire ex-Mayor Bloomberg endorses Cuomo in NYC Democratic primary showdown

Former three-term New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is taking sides in New York City’s Democratic mayoral race.

Bloomberg, the billionaire entrepreneur and media magnate who launched a brief and unsuccessful run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday.

The move came two weeks before the June 24 primary in the nation’s most populous city and four days ahead of the start of early voting June 14.

“I care deeply about the future of our city, and since leaving office, it has been difficult to watch its struggles, especially since the pandemic. 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 in a statement.

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Bloomberg, in his statement, acknowledged past political “differences” with Cuomo during their overlapping tenures as New York City mayor and New York State governor.

But he highlighted that “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.”

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Fox News confirmed that Cuomo and Bloomberg met Monday to discuss the mayoral race after the former governor stopped by Bloomberg Media’s offices in New York City to record a radio segment.

Cuomo, in a statement, called Bloomberg New York City’s “preeminent statesman” and highlighted that “after 9/11, when New York City was in crisis, torn apart and broken, under Mike Bloomberg’s leadership our city was rebuilt — both our buildings and our soul.”

The former three-term governor, who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, is aiming for political redemption as he works to pull off a campaign comeback.

Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations, which he has repeatedly denied, forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. 

Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic.

But thanks in part to his near-universal name recognition among New Yorkers, Cuomo was topping the mayoral polls even before he announced his candidacy March 1.

Bloomberg, a lifelong Democrat, ran for mayor in 2001 and re-election in 2005 as a Republican. He had become an independent by the time he won a second re-election in 2009. Bloomberg later switched his voter registration back to the Democratic Party.

Similar to Cuomo, Bloomberg is no fan of the Democratic Party’s left flank and is also a strong supporter of Israel. That may have been a motivating factor in Bloomberg’s endorsement of Cuomo, which comes as Zohran Mamdani has been rising in the most recent public opinion polls in the mayoral primary race and is now a clear second to Cuomo.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens, is a person of color and a democratic socialist who is originally from Uganda. 

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His primary bid was boosted last week after landing an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive champion and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left.

With multiple progressive candidates in the primary race, the endorsement of Mamdani by Ocasio-Cortez was seen as a move to unite fractured progressive voters toward a single candidate in an attempt to block the more moderate Cuomo from returning to power.