New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to endorse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the independent candidate in the city’s mayoral race, on Thursday to prevent Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani from winning the general election in fewer than two weeks.
Adams and Cuomo are expected to participate in a joint appearance later Thursday, according to reports. The two were last seen together during a New York Knicks basketball game following the final mayoral debate Wednesday night.
The Democratic mayor confirmed he will appear with Cuomo later in the day, during a Thursday morning press conference focused on free childcare for city workers. He threatened to leave the morning press conference if reporters’ questions weren’t “on topic.”
The high-profile endorsement is slated to come two days before early voting starts in New York City.
“I think that it is imperative to really wake up the Black and brown communities that have suffered from gentrification on how important this race is,” Adams told the New York Times, confirming his coming endorsement of Cuomo.
“They have watched their rents increase in terms of gentrification and they have been disregarded in those neighborhoods,” he said, “And I’m going to go to those neighborhoods and speak one on one with organizers and groups and I’m going to walk with the governor in those neighborhoods and get them engaged.”
Adams dropped out of the mayoral race late last month. The incumbent was rumored to back Cuomo over the Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, who remains behind in the polls.
In the three-way race as it stands, Mamdani remains the front-runner. However, if Sliwa were to suspend his campaign, Cuomo would gain on Mamdani and make the matchup virtually neck-and-neck. Sliwa has vowed to stay in the race despite outside pressure.
CUOMO AND SLIWA TURN UP HEAT ON MAMDANI IN FINAL NYC MAYORAL DEBATE BEFORE EARLY VOTING
Adams has vocally opposed Mamdani’s socialist policies if he were to win.
Last week, Adams said he is actively fielding multiple job offers after his single term expires in January. While he has not disclosed what the “dream jobs” are, it has been rumored that the Trump administration is considering offering Adams a federal position.
