Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw himself into the public eye on Monday regarding the future of the Democratic Party, doing little to quiet speculation about his political future.
Cuomo has not made extensive public remarks since his election loss to New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani earlier this month. However, he ended the drought with a lengthy open letter criticizing his party and an appearance on a conservative radio station.
He went after Mamdani and his socialist allies early and often, criticizing them for not having plans behind their actions.
“Democrats must redefine themselves with conviction and action. Americans will not elect a socialist, anti-police, divisive party,” he wrote in a letter titled, Democrats’ Dilemma: A Philosophical Schizophrenia. “It is still the economy, stupid, but how do you improve it — not with rhetoric, but with results?”
Cuomo said the Democratic Socialists of America platform “only deepens the problem, offering aspiration, not realism.”
He added that Democrats must embrace things such as raising the federal minimum wage, gun control, codifying Roe v. Wade, and launching a national housing strategy.
“Democrats are on the cusp of a political opening created by Republican failure,” he wrote. “But opportunity is not destiny. If we run on an ambitious but realistic vision, competence, moderation, courage, and real results, we can prove to the American people why ours is the party that deserves their confidence and their vote, and lead the country again.”
Cuomo’s goals are not achievable on a local scale, but the former governor could push for them as a member of the House or Senate. He has denied speculation that he will run in New York’s 12th Congressional District, which features a myriad of Democrats, including commentator Jack Schlossberg and New York state Assemblyman Alex Bores.
On 77 WABC, a conservative radio station once championed by Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, Cuomo elaborated more on his letter, relitigated his campaign against Mamdani, and condemned socialism.
“You can win a city as a socialist. You can’t win a state. You can’t win nationally as a socialist,” he said, before noting socialists could push out moderates in primaries.
“You’re going to see [socialists] push the state government now to do a lot of the socialist agenda, and that then hurts the Democratic Party in the general [election],” he added.
The former governor returned to his old attack lines against Mamdani, suggesting that his fast and free buses initiative would turn them into “mobile homeless shelters.” He also repeated that the mayor of New York does not have the authority to freeze the rent — the city’s Rent Guidelines Board does — as Mamdani has promised.
“Government works … because I see it doing tangible things. And that’s another problem I have with the socialist agenda,” he said. “You’re going to fail at it. There are not going to be free buses. There is going to be no freeze the rent. That is not going to happen, and then voters are going to say, again, I got lied to, again, promises that never deliver.”
Cuomo also criticized Sliwa, blaming him outright for losing the election.
“Sliwa has been a total fraud for decades … I believe he cost me the election. If he did not run, I would have won,” he said.
Cuomo will have opportunities to continue his political career in 2026 and 2028. He lives in Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) district, where he saw a significant amount of support in the mayoral election. The Manhattan neighborhoods of Midtown East, Upper East Side, Upper West Side, and Flatiron District also largely backed Cuomo over Mamdani.
In one Upper East Side precinct, Cuomo won by nearly 70 points over Mamdani.
Cuomo would have another opening if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who has become increasingly unpopular, decides not to run for another term in 2028. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has been named as a candidate for the Senate seat, and Cuomo could drive the centrist lane in a theoretical matchup.
CUOMO WINS ODD ALLIES IN CLOSING HOURS OF NYC MAYORAL RACE
Some are chomping at the bit to see a possible Cuomo versus Ocasio-Cortez Senate matchup in 2028.
“Every part of my soul needs a AOC vs. Cuomo 2028 Senate race,” pollster Adams Carlson wrote on X.
