Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill, on June 11, 2024. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
"New York City is not for sale. The backroom scheming from Donald Trump and the billionaire class is backfiring, as New Yorkers see Zohran Mamdani is the only candidate who will fight to make the most expensive city in the country more affordable," Mamdani campaign spokesperson, Dora Pekec, said in a statement responding to the latest poll.
TRUMP SAYS CUOMO'S GOT A 'GOOD SHOT' OF BEATING MAMDANI IN NYC MAYOR ELECTION
The poll follows last week's report by The New York Times indicating President Donald Trump's advisors are floating roles in the administration for Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa if they drop out of the race.
"I don't think you can win unless you have one on one," Trump told reporters before a White House dinner on Thursday, while also denying that he's personally encouraged any candidate to drop out.
Both Sliwa and Adams have affirmed their commitment to staying in the race through November.
Cuomo dismissed the poll when questioned by reporters on Tuesday, arguing that he doesn't take "any of them all that seriously." He said that even if Adams and Sliwa stay in the race, "people aren't going to waste their vote" and it will eventually become a two-person race between him and Mamdani.
New York City Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, spoke to supporters at a canvass launch event in Prospect Park on Aug. 17, 2025. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
"He never managed anything. So for me, I want a mayor who's competent. I don't want someone who's just paying lip service and giving things for free," he said, while adding that it's time for Adams to leave the race.
Cuomo's push to consolidate support against Mamdani also comes as another independent candidate, Jim Walden, dropped out of the race last week and urged the other candidates to unite against Mamdani.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who rallied against "oligarchy" with Mamdani in Brooklyn on Saturday responded on X to The New York Times, which first reported the details of Cuomo's meeting with business leaders on Tuesday.
"The oligarchs are panicking. They will spend as much as it takes to try to defeat Zohran Mamdani. They’ve got the money. We’ve got the people. Together, let’s elect Zohran and stop billionaires from buying elections," Sanders said on X.
Fox News' Kirill Clark contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-rallies-business-leaders-against-socialist-candidate-nyc-mayoral-race-reaches-boiling-point