It is not often you see a president, past or present, get involved in a mayoral primary race, but Bill Clinton just did.
Clinton endorsed Andrew Cuomo, a former player in his administration, and Cuomo needs the boost, as he is quickly falling behind an upstart candidate.
Clinton and Cuomo go way back, as Clinton tapped Cuomo as his Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 1993.
When Secretary Henry Cisneros left the administration, Cuomo stepped in to take over the office in 1997, serving through the rest of the Clinton administration.
Clinton and Cuomo have more in common than their time in that administration, however.
Like Bill, Cuomo has been tied to some nasty allegations.
First and foremost, there is the sex scandal that resulted in Cuomo resigning his office.
Cuomo had been accused of sexually harassing several women dating back to December 2020. While he denied having done anything wrong, Cuomo eventually stepped down, being replaced by Kathy Hochul.
During COVID, Cuomo was also rocked by a massive nursing home scandal, accused of juking the numbers on nursing home deaths.
According to reports at the time, Cuomo may have misreported thousands of deaths by not including people who died at hospitals after being transferred from their homes.
I could not help but laugh at Clinton’s endorsement for Cuomo, as it was a softball that should have been knocked out of the park by the media, but they chose to remain silent instead.
Clinton stated, “The election will decide the next mayor of New York, and I urge you to vote for Andrew Cuomo. As president, I chose Andrew to be my secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and he never let me down.”
Cuomo responded to Clinton’s support, “I am honored to have the support of President Bill Clinton — a personal mentor, friend, and hero. His administration was one of the most accomplished in modern political history.”
According to recent polling, Cuomo is now in danger of finishing in second place in the Democrat primary, with Zohran Mamdani taking a shocking lead in late primary polling. If Cuomo is upset, it is not only a crushing blow to the Democrat establishment, but it could open the door to having a GOP mayor in NYC.
