NEW YORK − Scandal-plagued outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams will endorse former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to replace him to lead the nation’s largest city, a spokesperson confirmed to USA TODAY on Oct. 23.
Cuomo, the 67-year-old independent candidate, has sought to shore up moderate and conservative votes to mount a double-digit deficit in polls to Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist state assemblyman, before the Nov. 4 general election.
The endorsement is a stark change for Adams, 65. Just over a month ago, he called Cuomo a “liar and a snake” trying to kneecap his reelection as the city’s second Black mayor. Adams, a Democrat, dropped his independent campaign in late September after having previously bowed out of the Democratic primary, which Mamdani won.
Polls had shown Adams, who will remain on the ballot, with just single-digit support, due to corruption charges against him and many high-level members of his administration.
In the closing days of the mayor’s race, Adams seems to have had a change of heart about his former opponent. The New York Times first reported on Adams’ endorsement of Cuomo.
