NYC Mayor’s Race: Reverend Al Sharpton says Andrew Cuomo should not pursue general election bid

Prominent civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton urged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to drop out of the New York City mayoral race during a Wednesday interview on MSNBC.

Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire

Prominent civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton urged former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to drop out of the New York City mayoral race during a Wednesday interview on MSNBC.

Sharpton, who did not endorse a candidate, said it would be in Cuomo’s and New Yorkers’ best interests for him to abandon his pursuit of the mayor’s office through an independent ballot line in the November general election. Cuomo lost the Democratic primary to Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani but will appear on the November ballot as an independent candidate.

Sharpton said Cuomo should not distract from the competition between Mamdani and sitting Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who is also running as an independent.

“I think, in the best interest of the legacy of Andrew Cuomo, that he ought to let them have the one-on-one race,” Sharpton said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show. “He can endorse one or the other, and let them have a battle over what is best for New York.”

“Andrew Cuomo should look at what is best for the city,” Sharpton added.

It is unclear if Cuomo will actively campaign in the general election, but New Yorkers will be able to vote for him on an independent ballot line in November.

A spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign, Rich Azzopardi, told amNewYork that Cuomo is still considering whether or not to keep his name on the ballot.

“Everyone is entitled to their own political opinion — we understand President Trump supports Eric Adams, and do not believe socialism is the answer,” Azzopardi wrote in a statement. “Most New Yorkers are not Trumpers, and most New Yorkers are not socialists — the majority lies in the middle.”

Mamdani has ‘real momentum’: Sharpton

Sharpton said attacks on Mamdani’s character are unfounded, but he did not endorse any candidate in the interview.

“All of this about trying to paint Mamdani as some kind of hater, I didn’t sense that at all,” Sharpton said. “I think that he is somebody who sincerely wants to pull the city together.”

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, focused his campaign on affordability, pitching himself to working-class voters. Sharpton hosted him at the headquarters of the National Action Center, a New York-based civil rights organization, on June 29, where Mamdani pitched his platform, which includes a rent freeze, lowering grocery prices and taxing billionaires.

Mamdani said in a statement that he would not weigh in on whether Cuomo should drop out of the race but he was encouraged by increasing support for his campaign.

“I leave the decisions of who will or will not run up to them,” Mamdani said. “But what I have appreciated is the fact that this coalition continues to expand each and every day.”

Sharpton said Mamdani should speak with New York Jewish leaders about accusations of antisemitism in order to continue to gain ground in the race.

“I have said that he should meet with Jewish leaders and really deal with some of the statements that have been brought up, and I think that if he does that, he can continue to move,” Sharpton said. “But he has shown real momentum, real traction.”