Pity the Cuomosexual, for his or her hero has fallen thus far.
Andrew Cuomo, as soon as the swaggering face of Democratic energy in New York, misplaced twice to Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who’s now mayor-elect of New York Metropolis. First got here June’s Democratic primary, then Tuesday’s general election, the place Cuomo, clinging to political relevance, ran as an independent and was trounced once more.
For a person who had beforehand gained 4 statewide races—one for New York legal professional common and three for governor—the collapse is staggering. New Yorkers turned out in record numbers to reject him, delivering a transparent verdict on greater than only one marketing campaign.
They usually had purpose.
Cuomo’s unraveling didn’t start with the #MeToo motion or the COVID-19 pandemic, however far earlier, throughout his first time period as governor. In 2010, he cast himself as a reformer, promising to tackle Albany’s entrenched pursuits and vowing to establish an unbiased redistricting course of. By 2012, these guarantees were gone. Cuomo reduce a cope with Republican state Senate chief Dean Skelos, permitting the GOP to draw its own maps and protect management—betraying these who had helped elect him.
In return, lawmakers gave Cuomo what he wished: a brand new pension plan that raised the retirement age for some workers, and a vast expansion of the state’s DNA database to incorporate misdemeanor convictions.
The brand new map traces led to years of GOP dominance within the state Senate—sustained by districts drawn by a person who later went to prison for corruption. Cuomo let it occur.
For him, being feared was at all times higher than being liked. Throughout his practically 11 years as governor, he dominated through intimidation, utilizing the state authorities as a weapon to punish rivals and reward loyalty. He appeared untouchable—till he wasn’t.
When COVID-19 hit, Cuomo’s picture crumbled underneath the load of scandal. His administration reportedly undercounted deaths at nursing homes, then allegedly tried to cowl it up. Across the similar time, he launched a self-congratulatory e book titled “American Disaster: Management Classes from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” And fewer than a yr later, a state report accused him of sexually harassing a minimum of 11 ladies, which he has denied.
Lastly, in August 2021, Cuomo resigned.
However the actual humiliation got here this week.
It started with a surreal twist: On Monday, President Donald Trump endorsed him for mayor.
Five years in the past, Cuomo was seen as a number one anti-Trump determine in Democratic politics. His day by day COVID-19 briefings have been handled because the sane counterpoint to Trump’s chaos, through which the president instructed treating the virus by injecting disinfectant, amongst a litany of different scientifically unfounded claims.
All through the mayor’s race, Cuomo benefited from the very right-wing media equipment that he was as soon as purportedly towards. Trump and Cuomo each called Mamdani excessive, with Trump even falsely labeling him a “communist.” Fox Information suggested Mamdani should be deported.
After initially denying Trump’s endorsement, Cuomo admitted on Election Day that the president’s assist might be “very useful” to him.
It wasn’t.
MAGA politics don’t play in New York Metropolis, and voters recoiled on the sight of a disgraced Democrat embracing the identical president who terrorized their communities and threatened to cut off federal funds if Mamdani gained the race.
Cuomo’s comeback bid had at all times felt like a fever dream. He entered the race satisfied that outgoing Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption scandals had created a vacuum solely he might fill. For a time, the numbers backed him up: Early polls of the Democratic major showed him leading, and nostalgia for his pandemic-era briefings lingered. However that goodwill evaporated after he misplaced the first, didn’t take “no” for a solution, and compelled himself on voters as an unbiased.
The mayor’s race was speculated to be his comeback—the fallen governor clawing his method again to energy at Metropolis Corridor. As a substitute, it’s his curtain name. Nearing 70, Cuomo is out of tips. To beat Mamdani, he wanted to maintain his base and win over Republicans and independents. He did neither. Voters have been completed with him.
Mamdani, for his half, said Wednesday on NY1 that neither Cuomo nor Adams referred to as to congratulate him on his victory. He did, nonetheless, get a name from Sliwa—proof that in New York politics, unusual bedfellows abound.
On Tuesday, New Yorkers noticed one thing recent and thrilling in Mamdani. And in Cuomo, they noticed solely the weary shadow of an city boss long gone his prime.
Andrew Mangan contributed reporting.
