NEW YORK — Former Gov. David Paterson endorsed Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for mayor on Tuesday, putting himself back in the former governor’s camp after initially backing Mayor Eric Adams in the general election.
Paterson, who had backed Cuomo in the Democratic primary, praised Cuomo at a joint appearance with the candidate and Adams at a Bronx senior center.
“No one’s going to get a free ride, no matter what some people are promising, but there is a great opportunity for this city if we elect this gentlemen right now, next Tuesday,” Paterson said, in a dig at Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda.
“For all of you who have already voted, thank you for that, we hope we were supported, for those of you who have not, we got about seven days before we elect our next mayor. I propose that next mayor is standing right next to me.”
The endorsement comes just a week before Election Day, with early voting already underway. Mamdani is leading in the polls by double digits, although in what could be an optimistic sign for Cuomo, city data shows older voters have flocked to the polls during the first three days of early voting.
Paterson has gone back and forth when it comes to his support in the mayoral race: He backed Cuomo in the Democratic primary, which the ex-governor lost to Mamdani. Paterson then jumped to support Adams before the mayor dropped his reelection bid last month.
Adams, who just last month lambasted Cuomo as a “snake and a liar,” himself endorsed Cuomo last week.
“We need our young people for the future, but never forget it is our older adults that made this city what it is … and sometimes it takes the wisdom of older adults to make sure we do not go backward,” Adams said on Tuesday, characterizing his vitriol towards Cuomo as simply a bit of family infighting.
Cuomo slammed Mamdani supporters as a “far-left extremist group” and attacked his opponent’s relative lack of experience.
“I am not going to trust my family’s safety, or you are not going to trust your family’s safety, to a rapper who wants to be mayor,” the former governor said.
Cuomo and Paterson have some past bad blood between them.
In 2010, Paterson faced controversy and terminated his reelection campaign for governor while Cuomo was New York’s attorney general. Cuomo’s office investigated him on allegations he helped cover up domestic violence accusations against a staffer and improperly accepted New York Yankees World Series tickets.
Paterson’s political downfall then was partly attributed to Cuomo, who went on that year to mount his own campaign for governor and won.
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