Andrew Cuomo Might Come Back To Haunt Us by Bo Rabarsky
Andrew Cuomo was elected Governor of New York in 2010 and then reelected in 2014 and 2018. Then Governor Andrew Cuomo was the father of the 2013 SAFE Act. As the 56th governor of New York State, he was, at that time, also the longest serving governor in America, having served 3,887 days in office until he resigned on August 23rd, 2021.
In 2021 governor Andrew Cuomo decided to - or had to - resign in disgrace rather than face further accusations and a possible investigation into his committing sexual harassment. He also faced intense criticism for the way he handled Covid-19 and the nursing home scandal.
In 2022, he decided not to try a comeback and run for governor against his successor, Governor Kathy Hochul; his poll numbers were very low.
Cuomo’s last New York State financial filing before he resigned (July Periodic, 7/15/21) showed he left with $18,256,818 in his campaign account which could only be used by Andrew Cuomo.
His latest financial filings (January Periodic, 1/14/25) shows Cuomo has $7,709,231 left in his campaign fund. What did he spend $10.5 million on in the past few years?
Cuomo still wanted a political life and decided to spend some of those funds with Bulldog Strategies, a public affairs and consulting company founded and owned by Rich Azzopardi, who was Cuomo's spokesman while he was in office. Cuomo used Bulldog Strategies to help rebuild his image, do polling and now Cuomo wants to run for Mayor of New York City.
In 2024, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was having issues with illegal aliens. Since Eric Adams considered New York City a Sanctuary City, it had been flooded with illegals. The New York State Legislature also provided $2.5 Billion in aid to house and feed illegals. Mayor Adams was on his way to Washington D.C. to see President Biden for even more federal financial aid, when he received a phone call from one of his aids that the FBI was at his office. A visit from the FBI is generally not a good thing! Legal problems had begun for NY City Mayor Eric Adams.
A recent poll showed Cuomo leading with 30% of the vote amongst possible NYC mayoral challengers. Of course, he is currently the benefit of the highest ‘name recognition’ amongst those challengers. Will New York City voters forget the Covid 19 nursing home scandal and the sexual harassment charges? 30% have!
New York State's election laws are a complex set of rules & regulations and will only allow Cuomo to use a small amount from his state campaign funds in the mayoral race. He'll have to go out and raise more funds for his mayoral race. Meanwhile his millions sit collecting interest.
Or maybe…
Albany is looking dysfunctional for the 2026 governor’s race. After assuming the governorship, Kathy Hochul’s first choice for Lieutenant Governor, Brian Benjamin, resigned from office after being indicted on federal bribery and wire fraud charges. Hochul then appointed Antonio Delgado as Lieutenant Governor. Now, Delgado has divorced himself from Governor Kathy Hochul. And with Kathy Hochul’s popularity slightly lower than a communicable disease…
Who knows what the future holds for Democrats in Albany and the governor’s seat. Could Andrew Cuomo use the 2026 New York City mayoral race to get himself back in good graces with Democrats/Progressives and set himself up for another run at governor of the Empire State in 2030? Or will he see a sooner opportunity in 2026 amongst the ashes of Hochul’s governorship?
And remember, he still has $7.7 million he could use in a race for governor.
