Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo told New York City executives that donating to Mayor Eric Adams's re-election campaign could be a "suicide mission," one attendee said.
As former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo tries to make a political comeback in the New York City mayor's race, he met with business leaders on Wednesday in a move to secure their support.
Mr. Cuomo lost the Democratic primary in June to Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker and democratic socialist who ran on an affordability message.
Now Mr. Cuomo must prove that he is the strongest candidate to take on Mr. Mamdani in the general election in November by pushing aside Mayor Eric Adams, who, like him, is running as an independent.
At the meeting on Wednesday morning at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, Cuomo sought to make a case for his path to victory, according to five people who attended.
Many in the group were alarmed by Mr. Mamdani's momentum but unsure about whether there was a clear path to beating him, given his strong performance in the June primary. They were also worried about the prospect that Mr. Adams and Mr. Cuomo might split the votes of those who oppose Mr. Mamdani.
Mr. Cuomo candidly addressed his primary loss right off the bat, three attendees said, acknowledging that he had not given that campaign his all. He argued that he was embracing new strategies and noted that he had been campaigning throughout the city more than before.
Roughly 50 executives attended the fireside chat, which was hosted by the Partnership for New York, a group that represents some of the city's most powerful business leaders. The group previously met with Mr. Adams and Mr. Mamdani. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee, is also running in November and qualified for nearly $2 million in public matching funds on Wednesday.
Mr. Cuomo brought along the pollster Douglas Schoen, who recently joined his campaign and worked on the presidential campaign of Michael R. Bloomberg, the attendees said. Mr. Schoen highlighted Mr. Adams's flagging poll numbers and data regarding negative views of Mr. Mamdani.
Mr. Cuomo cautioned donors about giving to Mr. Adams in what could be a potential "suicide mission," one of the attendees said.
Menashe Shapiro, an adviser to Mayor Adams, posted on social media that it was Mr. Cuomo who was on a "suicide mission" by "investing in the same failure twice in the same campaign," arguing that Mr. Cuomo had already lost once to Mr. Mamdani.
Many of the business leaders at the meeting were interested in Mr. Cuomo's proposal that either he or Mr. Adams should drop out in September, depending on which of them is polling better. (Mr. Adams has not agreed to the plan.)
Albert Bourla, the chief executive of Pfizer and one of the event's moderators, asked Mr. Cuomo how his plan would work logistically, one of the attendees said.
The executives also asked Mr. Cuomo how he would ensure that New York maintains its competitiveness in the financial services industry as Texas and Florida vie for business, according to four people in attendance. Mr. Cuomo mentioned initiatives like working with artificial intelligence companies and increasing incentives to keep financial firms in the city, but he did not put forward a specific plan, the people said.
Mr. Cuomo pledged to release more detailed policy proposals after Labor Day, one of the attendees said.
While Mr. Adams has relied on his bully pulpit as mayor to highlight his record on crime and affordable housing, Mr. Cuomo has been appearing more frequently in public and agreeing to more media interviews than during the primary. Mr. Cuomo has also been active on social media in recent days, offering one-liners and mixing it up with his critics.
Mr. Cuomo's campaign criticized Mr. Mamdani on social media on Wednesday, calling him a "do-nothing assemblyman."
"I've built more airports than you've passed bills," read one post from Mr. Cuomo.
Another post bragged about his tireless work ethic, saying, "I don't think I've taken a nap since the 80s."
Mr. Mamdani has defended his record as a state lawmaker and argued that while Mr. Cuomo spent many years in government, he has a poor record and failed to address the city's growing affordability crisis.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the Cuomo campaign, joked that Mr.Cuomo’s posts were being written by A.J.Parkinson,a fictitious commentator created by Mr.Cuomo’s father,former Gov.Mario M.Cuomo.He declined to reveal the author of the posts,but said the campaign would make a staffing announcement soon about “new blood.”
When one critic with the username “Andrew Cuomo is a sex pest” wrote that he begrudgingly liked the former governor’s new campaign logo,Mr.Cuomo’s account responded:“Thank you we worked hard on it.”
Another person wrote to him:“I was not familiar with your game.”
Mr.Cuomo’s account replied,“Just getting started.”