Democrats who called on Andrew Cuomo to resign in 2021 are endorsing him in 2025

Four years ago, a chorus of fellow New York Democrats called on then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid sexual harassment allegations, saying he was not fit to lead the state.

Now, a growing group of them are endorsing him for mayor of New York City.

On Friday, progressive state Sen. Jessica Ramos became the latest former Cuomo critic to endorse his bid, following at least three members of Congress and additional local politicians who are lining up behind Cuomo for mayor despite once calling on the then-governor to resign.

It’s an arc reminiscent of of the Republican Party’s turnaround on President Donald Trump between the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and his 2024 presidential comeback, which saw many Republican critics from 2021 fall in line.

“Voters are doing for themselves in New York in many ways what Trump voters did during the presidential election, they are overlooking the allegations and the importance of the #MeToo Movement because what they want for their constituents or themselves is more immediately important,” said Basil Smikle, a New York Democratic strategist who previously served as the executive director of the state Democratic Party and ran Ray McGuire’s 2021 mayoral campaign.

“You can determine whether or not this is justifiable or reasonable or in line with what it means to be a public servant,” Smikle continued. “But you have someone with allegations against him, allegations made by a very credible individual in [state] Attorney General Tish James, and a lot of people are saying: ‘That isn’t as important to me as what this person could deliver for my constituents today.'”

In a story published on Friday, Ramos told The New York Times that Cuomo is “the one best positioned right now to protect this city” as Trump is “threatening to bulldoze New York.”

It’s a stunning reversal from Ramos’ criticism of Cuomo from just weeks prior, when she told the New York Post that Cuomo’s “mental acuity is in decline,” comparing him derisively to former President Joe Biden. In 2021, after Cuomo’s resignation amid sexual harassment allegations, Ramos posted on social media that “New Yorkers deserve better than a man who has played politics with our lives for a decade & couldn’t see beyond his ego.”

Asked about the change of heart Friday, Ramos told reporters that her endorsement “is not about forgiveness or about forgetting anything. This is a very sober take about where we are in this race and the type of leadership that is required at a time when I need workers and I need immigrants protected. I am not going to vacillate at the type of leadership that we need at such a critical juncture for our city.”

She’s not the only New York Democrat to back Cuomo after a previous call to resign. Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres, Gregory Meeks and Adriano Espaillat all signed onto joint statements in 2021 that called on Cuomo to resign; now, all of them have endorsed Cuomo’s mayoral bid. It’s the same story for at least five state or local politicians now in Cuomo’s corner after calling on him to resign.

Representatives for all three members of Congress did not reply to requests for comment.

Cuomo’s 2021 resignation was a stunning turn of events for the governor, whose prominent role in the state’s pandemic recovery made him a darling of many in the Democratic Party. Making the decision after an investigation by the state attorney general found he sexually harassed almost a dozen women, including his own employees, and broke laws, Cuomo said that he never would “intentionally disrespect a woman” but did acknowledge he “made mistakes.”

He’s since fought some of the allegations in court and more recently, he told The New York Times that “if i had to do it again, I wouldn’t have resigned.”

Like Ramos, many of these endorsements specifically point to the former governor’s past experience, his record of leadership and what the endorsers say is a need at this specific moment for the city.

In Espaillat’s endorsement of Cuomo, he specifically says that there’s “so much at stake for the city of New York” right now and the city needs ‘a strong and proven leader who will work to bring solutions to the most pressing issues facing New York City,” before coming to the conclusion that “Cuomo is the clear choice.”

Torres’ endorsement touts a similar note, pointing to his “competence and courage,” noting that Cuomo “has the courage to stand up to extremist politics — both from the far left and the far right.”

Some voters who want to give Cuomo another shot agree.

Carmen Perez, a 55-year-old city resident who spoke to NBC News earlier this month about her vote, said that she’d give Cuomo a second chance because “I’ve seen what Cuomo can do.”

“During the pandemic, he literally took over and said: This is how we’re going to do, this is how we’re going to get through this,” she said. “If we’re in a crisis, he’s the guy.”

The politics of it all, and the unique dynamics of the mayoral race, loom large over the decisions by key New York City Democrats to line up behind a candidate.

While Cuomo is seen as the front-runner in the Democratic primary, anti-Cuomo Democrats and candidates have been looking to strengthen the coalition against him by encouraging people not to rank Cuomo in any of their slots on the June ranked-choice ballot. Under this system, voters select their top five choices, in order, and votes cast for the lowest finishing candidates are redistributed to subsequent choices during multiple ballots until someone wins a majority.

Also this week, progressive New York City Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Cuomo’s top opponent, progressive state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, while also noting she would rank other candidates, and not Cuomo, to fill out the five slots on the ballot.

For Democrats who believe Mamdani may be too liberal, or worry that he might not fare as well against current Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent now that many Democrats have turned on him after Trump’s Justice Department stopped prosecuting him for corruption, Cuomo might seem like the best option.

“With Eric Adams now out of the primary, it’s only Andrew Cuomo who stands in the way of progressives taking power, and that’s bolstered his candidacy,” Smikle said.

“A lot of institutional players in the city of New York who are concerned about progressive politics in the city and need him as the firewall against that.”