Former President Bill Clinton endorsed former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the New York City mayor’s race on Sunday, giving a last-minute boost of support to Mr. Cuomo as he urged supporters to head to the polls for the last day of early voting.
Mr. Cuomo worked in the Clinton administration as the housing secretary, and the former president’s backing, as well as a taped robocall providing his support, could help turn out older voters in the tightening Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.
Mr. Clinton said in the robocall that he had hired Mr. Cuomo “because he knows how to get things done” and that he believed he would “stand up and protect the people of this city” from President Trump.
Mr. Clinton, 78, who lives in a Westchester County suburb north of New York, has not often weighed in on city primary races. His endorsement is another indication that some establishment Democrats prefer Mr. Cuomo to Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker and democratic socialist who is second in the polls.
The endorsement came as Mr. Cuomo and his rivals attended campaign events across the city, trying to convert undecided voters and to ensure that their supporters showed up at the polls. The push appeared more urgent this weekend, with a forecast heat wave on Primary Day potentially depressing turnout.
Mr. Mamdani planned to appear at a rally on Sunday evening with the left-leaning Working Families Party and Letitia James, the state attorney general who has been a forceful critic of Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Mamdani was the group’s first choice on a slate that also includes Brad Lander, the city comptroller; Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker; and Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn.
Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Lander have cross-endorsed each other, with each candidate encouraging his supporters to rank the other second. Mr. Mamdani continued to receive his own endorsements from elected officials and cultural figures, including Ras Baraka, the mayor of Newark, and the performer Lorde, who posted support for him to her 11 million followers on Instagram.
A flood of other endorsements have arrived during the final weeks of the campaign, reflecting the ideological and generational divide between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Mamdani and within the Democratic Party nationally. Mr. Mamdani, 33, was endorsed by prominent progressive leaders, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mr. Cuomo, 67, was endorsed on Friday by Representative Jim Clyburn, who was once the highest-ranking Black member of Congress, and by some newspapers, including The Daily News.
Mr. Cuomo on Sunday thanked Mr. Clinton for his support and called him a “personal mentor, friend and hero” whose “administration was one of the most accomplished in modern political history, and that’s what government is supposed to be all about.”
Some of Mr. Cuomo’s critics drew a parallel between him and Mr. Clinton, who had an affair with Monica S. Lewinsky, a White House intern, when he was president. Mr. Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after multiple sexual harassment allegations that he denies.
Erica Vladimer, the founder of a group that combats sexual harassment in Albany, said she was not surprised that two leaders who “took advantage of young government staff” were sticking together.
Mr. Cuomo did not mention Mr. Clinton’s endorsement during a speech on Sunday before the Catholic Council of an electrical workers’ union. He highlighted his accomplishments as governor, and said he was running for mayor because he believed the city and the Democratic Party were in trouble.
He contended that the party had been “taken over by this far-left socialist mentality: dismantle the police, abolish the jail system, legalize prostitution, invest all the money in education.”
“It is just a fantasy,” he added. “But you know what? It sounds good. Everything free. Who’s against everything free? I’m in favor — everything free. I’m in favor. And that’s what they’re selling, this story that is nonsensical, but it sounds great.”
After his speech, Mr. Cuomo directly linked his comments to Mr. Mamdani, comparing his opponent’s plans to offer free buses and universal child care to “every family gets a free Ferrari or Maserati.”
Mr. Cuomo also used the United States’ attack on Iran to suggest that Mr. Mamdani was unsuited to lead the city when it was on “high alert” over potential retaliation.
“This is not a job for on-the-job training,” Mr. Cuomo said.
Mr. Mamdani released his own statement on the strikes on Iran, criticizing Mr. Trump’s “unconstitutional military action” and saying it would “plunge the world deeper into chaos.”
“While Donald Trump bears immediate responsibility for this illegal escalation, these actions are the result of a political establishment that would rather spend trillions of dollars on weapons than lift millions out of poverty, launch endless wars while silencing calls for peace, and fearmonger about outsiders while billionaires hollow out our democracy from within,” he said.
Mr. Cuomo took a different position, arguing that Mr. Trump should have consulted with Congress.
At the same time, Mr. Cuomo said, “I think the world is a safer place without Iran having nuclear weapons.”
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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