Andrew Cuomo is staying in NYC mayor's race as an independent after losing Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has decided to run in the general election for New York City mayor, urged on by supporters anxious that his withdrawal would nearly guarantee Zohran Mamdani's victory and put the city in the hands of the far left.

The decision by Cuomo, who had been questioning whether to run after his crushing Democratic primary defeat by Mamdani, a state Assembly member and a democratic socialist, will be announced in a video that is expected to be released this week, according to three people familiar with his decision.

If the polls show that he is not the highest-ranked challenger to Mamdani by early September, he will pledge to drop out of the race, the people said. He will encourage the other challengers -- Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee; and Jim Walden, an independent -- to do the same. (The plan was hatched by Walden.)

Cuomo was the prohibitive favorite for much of the Democratic primary for mayor, leading in most polls until the very end. A super political action committee spent more than $22 million to promote his candidacy and launch a late-stage attack on Mamdani, once it became clear that he posed a threat to Cuomo.

Mamdani, who had been a relatively unknown Assembly member from the Queens borough, was a distant second in most polls, but closed the gap after the race's two debates. He ultimately defeated Cuomo by more than 12 percentage points.

Democrats outnumber Republicans by 6 to 1 in New York City, and the winner of the Democratic primary is usually a heavy favorite to win the general election.

The primary defeat seemed to temporarily humble Cuomo, who credited Mamdani with running a better race and openly questioned whether he still had a viable path to becoming mayor. His rededication to running as an independent on his Fight and Deliver ballot line was first reported by NewsNation, a conservative news network where Cuomo's brother, Chris Cuomo, hosts a show.

Some of his allies have already defected and endorsed Mamdani. Others, especially in the business and real estate communities, are more focused on trying to prevent Mamdani's victory and would like to clear the field for either Adams or Cuomo.

Jeffrey Lerner, a spokesperson for Mamdani, said that Cuomo's renewed interest in the race, as well as the potential deal with other challengers, did not serve New York City's interests.

"While Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams are tripping over themselves to cut backroom deals with billionaires and Republicans, Zohran Mamdani is focused on making this city more affordable for New Yorkers," Lerner said in a statement. "That's the choice this November."

Adams and Sliwa have both said they have no intention of dropping out of the race.

Adams said at a news conference on Monday that he did not trust Cuomo to abide by any deal, adding that voters have already made their rejection of him clear in the primary.

"Andrew is a double-digit loser in the primary," Adams said, adding: "He had his opportunity."

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, said that he received more votes in this year's primary than Adams did in 2021 and argued that Cuomo still had an opportunity to win.

"This is a primary that the mayor didn't participate in," he said. "Cuomo got 24,000 more votes three weeks ago than the mayor got four years ago, when he was at the height of his popularity and people actually wanted to give him a chance."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.