A terrible tale of entitlement
Andrew Cuomo’s independent campaign for New York City mayor represents a stunning display of entitlement from a man who left the governor’s office amid accusations of sexual misconduct just four years ago—allegations that he continues to dispute. That he now expects New Yorkers to overlook this disgrace and hand him the keys to City Hall is an insult to every voter who values accountability.
When NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW” asked whether he harbored any regrets about the sexual misconduct accusations, Cuomo flatly refused, characterizing them as nothing more than politically motivated attacks without substance. This brazen denial reveals a man who has learned nothing from being forced out of office. He only acknowledged to NBC that he’s become more cautious about ensuring that witnesses are present in his interactions, which is not an expression of remorse, but rather a calculated adjustment to avoid future consequences.
The polling data reveals what Cuomo refuses to acknowledge: that New Yorkers remember. A New York Times/Siena poll showed that roughly one-third of probable voters indicated they would absolutely not vote for Cuomo, with the overwhelming majority of these voters (87%) identifying as Democrats. Among Democratic voters who refuse to support him, more than two-thirds pointed to concerns about his character and personality as their primary objection. Respondents described him in harsh terms, including references to inappropriate sexual behavior, corruption, and excessive appetite for power. A Marist poll revealed that Cuomo carries a negative approval rating of 59%, which is well above that of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s 40%.
These aren’t abstract political concerns; they’re the voices of voters who refuse to forget. That Cuomo now campaigns as if none of this matters reveals a contempt for those he harmed and the voters whose trust he violated.
This expectation of societal amnesia becomes even more galling when viewed through the lens of the Cuomo family’s political dynasty. Andrew Cuomo is the son of Mario Cuomo, who served three terms as New York Governor, representing decades of dynastic politics that treat public office as family inheritance rather than public trust. This sense of entitlement explains why Cuomo believes he deserves another chance despite his disgrace.
The political calculations behind Cuomo’s campaign are equally cynical. After losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, Cuomo launched a bid for mayor as an independent. Various news outlets documented how President Trump and his team worked to consolidate the field in Cuomo’s favor by dangling federal positions before Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa as incentives to withdraw their mayoral bids. While Cuomo told NBC he would reject any support from Trump, insisting his political coalition has limits, his campaign has clearly benefited from this interference; Trump even pushed Cuomo to “remain in the race”.
Among voters who reject Cuomo based on policy grounds, many pointed to his poor performance as governor, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis. One Republican woman indicated he mismanaged the pandemic response, resulting in considerable suffering and loss of life. The New York Times documented how Cuomo and his senior staff manipulated a state health department report to hide the true number of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
Similarly, when questioned about his failure to address housing costs during his tenure as governor, Cuomo offered a remarkably tone-deaf defense, noting that his previous role was at the state level rather than the municipal level. He wants credit for parts of his record while disclaiming responsibility for everything else, and he has shown the same pattern of evasion regarding the harassment allegations.
The structure of the current race reveals Cuomo’s strategy: counting on a divided field despite being broadly unpopular. Since Adams’s withdrawal from the race on September 30th, Cuomo’s polling numbers have improved up to 30%, though he still trails Mamdani significantly. In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Cuomo would capture 39% of the vote in comparison to Mamdani’s 49%. Even in his most favorable scenario, Cuomo would enter office with the active opposition of the vast majority of Democrats, important both to the running of the city and to his ability to advance to a higher office.
The contrast with Mamdani is striking. According to the Marist poll, Mamdani is the sole candidate whom a majority of New Yorkers view positively—52% compared to Cuomo’s 40%. This gap in approval ratings exists because Mamdani hasn’t spent years accumulating a record of scandal and ethical failures.
New Yorkers who vote for Cuomo aren’t just overlooking his harassment allegations—they’re actively rewarding dynastic entitlement that treats public office as personal property. The voters who refuse to support Cuomo understand what’s at stake. As one Democratic woman bluntly stated, Cuomo is “a sex pest”.
Election Day on November 4th offers New Yorkers a clear choice. A vote for Andrew Cuomo is a vote for dynastic politics over democratic accountability, a vote that tells the women Cuomo allegedly harassed that their experiences don’t matter, and a vote confirming that in New York, if your last name is Cuomo, the rules don’t apply to you. The audacity of his campaign isn’t just that he’s running; it’s that he genuinely believes New Yorkers owe him this office. They don’t.
