SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
In New York City, Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani continues picking up support for his general election campaign. His primary win last month over former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was regarded as a major upset. But Cuomo says he's not out of the race yet. Member station WNYC's Brigid Bergin reports.
BRIGID BERGIN, BYLINE: Andrew Cuomo is doing something he's rarely known to do. He's apologizing.
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ANDREW CUOMO: To the 440,000 New Yorkers who voted for me, a sincere thank you. Thank you for believing in me and my agenda, and in my experience. And I am truly sorry that I let you down.
BERGIN: The notoriously tough-talking former governor, who resigned over sexual harassment allegations he denies, lost to Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani by double digits in the city's ranked choice primary election last month. Cuomo says he made mistakes and relied too much on polls that showed him in the lead. But in a 90-second video released on X yesterday, he says he'll actively campaign as an independent.
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CUOMO: The general election is in November, and I am in it to win it.
BERGIN: He's not alone. There's a Republican and two other independent candidates, including Mayor Eric Adams. He announced his bid on an independent line the day after a federal corruption case against him was officially dropped at the direction of President Trump's Justice Department. Last week on CNBC, the mayor says Cuomo called to ask him to get out of the race. And he thinks it should be the other way around.
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ERIC ADAMS: I said, Andrew, are you that level of arrogance? I'm the sitting mayor. (Laughter) I'm the sitting mayor of the city of New York, and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to Zohan (ph) by 12 points?
BERGIN: An hour before Cuomo's announcement, Mamdani picked up his latest endorsement. This from a local musicians' union.
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BERGIN: Asked about Cuomo's plans, Mamdani says New Yorkers are hungering for a new kind of politics.
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ZOHRAN MAMDANI: And I understand that it is difficult for the former governor to come to terms with that because it is a repudiation of the politics that he has practiced, that he has known for so many years.
BERGIN: Mamdani will pick up another union endorsement later today.
For NPR News, I'm Brigid Bergin in New York.
(SOUNDBITE OF BILLY JOEL SONG, "NEW YORK STATE OF MIND") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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