After losing the Democratic primary in June, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo promised to be more visible to voters and aggressive in courting their support as a third-party candidate in the New York City mayor’s race.
He has largely kept to his word. There have been far more sightings, in street-side meet-and-greets with voters and with potential donors in the Hamptons. He has visited places like Shirley Chisholm State Park in eastern Brooklyn to remind voters of his accomplishments as governor.
He adopted an acid-tongued voice on social media that now regularly engages with haters and fans, treating the Democratic nominee, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, like an exemplar for his social media savvy, but also as a political pariah for his brand of democratic socialism. He even had his campaign logo redesigned.
It’s hard to tell if this pivot will be enough to overcome the steep odds of defeating Mr. Mamdani in a city where about two-thirds of the electorate are registered Democrats. Recent polls suggest Mr. Cuomo is still a distant second to Mr. Mamdani, but his battle is not confined to winning over voters.
Mr. Cuomo’s re-energized underdog spirit appears to be also geared toward rallying the city’s donor class, some of whom are still skeptical of Mr. Mamdani and seem open to supporting someone else.
“Andrew has to prove that he has a new spunk, and I think he’s doing better,” said Ruben Diaz Jr., the former Bronx borough president, who supported Mr. Cuomo in the primary and served on the board of the super PAC that raised close to $25 million for the former governor in the spring. The group, however, has raised only about $700,000 since the primary.
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The post Can Cuomo’s New Attack Mode Win Back Voters and Donors? appeared first on New York Times.
