Andrew Cuomo will not drop out of the NYC mayoral race by the Friday deadline to remove himself from the general election ballot. That leaves in place contingency plans he had established before the Democratic primary to challenge Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November. Notably, NY Governor Kathy Hochul as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have praised Mamdani since Tuesday but declined to endorse him. Republicans have sharply criticized Mamdani and tried to tie national Democrats to him. Mamdani is poised to face Adams, who opted out of this year's Democratic primary and is running as an independent himself, as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo was long considered the front-runner in the mayoral race but faced progressive anger over sexual harassment cases as well as his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic while governor. Cuomo resigned in disgrace and was stripped of his Emmy Award.