To say the least, Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the New York Mayoral Primary over Former Governor Andrew Cuomo was a massive political earthquake, the consequences of which are only beginning to reverberate through the Democratic party. The elected officials and stakeholders who joined the Mamdani bandwagon before the June primary are certainly feeling politically bolstered, but the same cannot be said for those who stuck themselves with the scandal-ridden former governor, assuming his brand and name-recognition would be too much to overcome against a divided field of unknowns.

Cuomo’s loss has now put a number of these legislators and power-brokers  in hot water with an ascendant, passionate, left-wing base of support in the city. Many of these people, let’s call them “converts” to Cuomo,  had previously called on then Governor Cuomo to resign in 2021 in the midst of the sexual harassment and nursing home Covid death reporting scandals that would eventually become his downfall. The below is a non-exhaustive list of these “Cuomo Converts”, the reasons they stated for their change of heart, as well as our best guess of why they actually came to the Former Governor’s defense, how their constituencies ended up turning out in the June primary, and whether or not their political careers could now be in jeopardy as a result of their lost gamble on Cuomo. 

ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (US HOUSE REP, NY-13

In 2021, Espaillat called for Cuomo to resign, but ended up endorsing his Mayoral campaign in May. He announced his support along with the Coalition for Community Coalitions in north Manhattan, saying he was “the clear choice” in the primary contest. His district’s voters did not seem to agree. Mamdani won Espaillat’s district by 13 points in first-round voting over Cuomo, with Comptroller Brad Lander notching another 10% of the vote.

Following the loss, Espaillat joined a lineup of a few New York Democrats who were initially unwilling to endorse Mamdani’s general election campaign. In the weeks since the primary however, Espaillat seemed to come to his political senses and was the first among this group to defect, endorsing Mamdani near the end of July. In Washington, Espalillat has done little to draw the ire of the Democratic base, with GovTrack placing his ideology on a scale with the likes of Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley and California Rep. Mark Takano. Coming around to Mamdani in the end will most likely prevent any real primary challenge to Espaillat next year, and his support as an NYC Latino stakeholder is a real value add for Mamdani.

GEORGE LATIMER (US HOUSE REP, NY-16)

Latimer is a different case from the generally progressive Espaillat. He entered Congress only last year after knocking out then-Congressman Jamaal Bowman in a contentious primary surrounding the latter’s rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war and the broader Israeli-Palestine conflict. The most expansive primary ever, being bolstered by over $10 million of anti-Bowman spending by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). Latimer has a controversial past when it comes to Cuomo. When the initial allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo erupted, the then Westchester County Executive compared those presuming Cuomo’s responsibility for these allegations to the mob that lynched Emmett Till in 1955. Following the report of New York Attorney General Tish James, Latimer also backed the calls wanting Cuomo to resign.

The now Congressman switched to backing Cuomo once again in the mayoral primary, stating he would “stand up to Trump’s withering attacks on our democracy, fight the scourge of antisemitism and deliver real results for working families in the Bronx”. Latimer’s support is not surprising in general considering who the race came down to, with Mamdani being seen from the progressive-wing of the party which Latimer just went to war with less than a year ago against Bowman. His endorsement came in the final days before Election Day, becoming the first (and only local) member of Congress willing to get on board with Cuomo in the brutal home stretch. For anyone wishing to challenge him though, any Mamdani-mentum is unlikely to inspire the cause as Cuomo secured almost 65% of the vote in Latimer’s district.

GREGORY MEEKS (US HOUSE REP, NY-5)

Meeks, who also is the chair of the Queens County Democratic Party, backed Cuomo, as most of the city Democratic Party establishment followed. He jumped on the train early on in March, when Cuomo was seen in polls to have a commanding and possibly insurmountable lead. During the ensuing rally, Meeks, surrounded by local Queens politicians, promoted the former Governor as the man who could stand up to the president and that he would be the last person those in the capital would want to see in Gracie Mansion. When Meeks asked Cuomo to resign from Albany in 2021, he followed with the next Congressman on this list, Tom Suozzi, and then Democratic Conference Chair, now House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries in releasing a joint statement of condemnation following AG James’ report. While an anti-establishment candidate could catch fire with voters who backed Mamdani, his district is Cuomo +20, and with more moderate strength among African-Americans voters right now, he joins Latimer as someone who shouldn’t need to worry much at this moment. 

TOM SUOZZI (US HOUSE REP, NY-3)

Suozzi is the only member of Congress on this list who endorsed Cuomo mostly outside of New York City (until Jim Clyburn’s bizarre late intervention). New York’s 3rd district is a swing district that mostly includes portions of Nassau and Suffolk counties, but also has some neighborhoods in Queens. He joined the Cuomo camp in the final month of the contest, praising the former Governor as “common sense” and using as examples construction projects he brought to the city during his time in Albany. Once again, he followed the AG report in 2021 to call for his resignation along with both Meeks and Jeffries. Unlike the earlier members of Congress, Suozzi has waded into the debate over the consequences of what Mamdani’s upset victory means for the Democratic Party.

Suozzi posted on Twitter/X that his concerns remained over Mamdani, and for the first time directly tied those concerns as a reason for backing Cuomo. The portion of Queens which resides in his district was close, with Cuomo +9, but under 50 percent of the vote in the first round -- overall though, his district resides in territory where a left-wing challenger could be the impetus of a flip opportunity for Republicans. Nassau County voted for Donald Trump last year by 4 points, the first time it had voted for a Republican since George H.W. Bush’s landslide in 1988, and Suffolk County voted Trump +10, the first double digit win for the GOP on the presidential level, also since 1988. 

RITCHIE TORRES (US HOUSE REP, NY-15)

Torres backed Cuomo, taking similar stances of the other members in this article, pointing out how strong he believed Cuomo to be and crediting his experience as Governor. Torres went one step further though, in his opposition to Mamdani. Torres has been floating himself as a potential primary opponent to incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has caused internal unease with her high level of unpopularity. Torres threatened to not run for Governor, claiming a Mamdani win would “so revolutionize the political landscape” that it would be unlikely for him to take the plunge in that case. After the stunning win, Torres joined Suozzi in continuing to express concerns for the Jewish community in New York City, after initially dodging reporters and their questions on the matter. Now, over just the Cuomo vote, it would be hard to justify any major concern for Torres. His 15th district went Cuomo +20 in the first round of primary voting. 

JESSICA RAMOS (NY STATE SENATE, DISTRICT 13)

The primary campaign has not changed anybody's image within the New York Democratic party quite as much as Jessica Ramos. Her district stretches much of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s territory in Queens (Corona, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights), and she had both progressive and New York Times backing in her 2018 primary challenge. In office, she has slowly started feuding with the congresswoman, claiming she doesn’t meet with her and those in her district. All of this boiled over in the mad dash to May. After bagging early support from labor groups and a fifth-spot endorsement from the Working Families Party, she turned around expressing some jealousy over Mamdani’s ability to capture the left lane, and backed Cuomo in a late surprise. Cuomo refused to even vote for her on his ranked-choice ballot, and her political career could soon be in tatters with the potential of a DSA-backed primary challenge. Whoops!