Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has officially entered the New York City mayoral election, attempting a political comeback after resigning as governor.

“Our city is in crisis. That’s why I am running to be Mayor of New York City. We need government to work. We need effective leadership,” Cuomo wrote, accompanied by a long video.

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The Hill reports:

Cuomo’s entrance comes as little surprise after months of speculation that he would attempt a political comeback years after resigning as governor amid multiple controversies that eventually engulfed his administration.

Cuomo appears likely to be the immediate frontrunner in the race based on recent polling conducted that includes him, Adams and the half-dozen other candidates already running for the nomination.

One poll from December showed him with 32 percent in the first round of the city’s ranked choice voting system, while the next closest competitor only received 10 percent. Cuomo eventually reached the majority required to win in the system in the fifth round of voting.

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Another from January showed him with 43 percent in the first round with his next-closest opponent, Adams, with 13 percent.

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“New York must show the way forward and remind this country who we are at our best,” Cuomo said, accompanied by a video from a campaign event.

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At the campaign event, held at a carpenter’s union headquarters on Manhattan’s West Side, the former Democratic governor praised his administration’s COVID-19 response.

“COVID, my friends, was the greatest threat faced in a generation,” Cuomo said, according to the New York Post.

“It was life and death, it was as serious as it gets and it was as scary as it gets. And New York, we had it first and we had it worst and we were on our own, and no one knew what to do? But what did we do? We came together, we stood tall, we stood strong and we faced the challenge head on,” he continued.

From the New York Post:

“Everyone did their part,” he said. “And we kept this place, we kept this place running and we saved lives and we led the nation. So can we handle this challenge? You’re damned right we can.”

The son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo entered the mayoral race Saturday after months of speculation and is now part of a crowded field of candidates hoping to unseat Mayor Eric Adams.

His entrance into the race makes him the immediate frontrunner, with big name recognition and polls that show him holding a dominating lead over the competition

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Cuomo piloted the Empire State during the COVID crisis, providing regular press conferences to keep the public informed and issuing a series of mandates to try to stem the pandemic.

But the ex-governor came under fire for his handling of the crisis following a March 2020 directive that admitted thousands of COVID patients into the state’s nursing homes.

Critics have blamed the move for as many as 15,000 nursing home deaths during the pandemic.

 

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