Mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos Friday joined a string of unions, interest groups and elected officials lining up to endorse former governor Andrew Cuomo’s bid for mayor despite previously demanding his removal from office in 2021 amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.Ramos, who slammed Cuomo over the allegations as recently as Wednesday, has said it took "tremendous courage" for the accusers to come forward publicly. But she said the former governor’s potential to stand up to President Trump largely outweighs her concerns about the allegations.The explosive claims that rocked Albany just four years ago appear to be playing little role amid Cuomo’s political comeback run and his current status as the frontrunner heading into the Democratic mayoral primary. Polls consistently show Cuomo coming out on top, even as his unfavorability ratings remain high.It is a remarkable and rapid turnaround for Cuomo, who stepped down from his post as governor after an investigation found he had sexually harassed nearly a dozen women, accusations he denies, and amid an imminent threat of impeachment from state lawmakers.Two key factors have helped fuel Cuomo’s run: Shifting attitudes about sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement and the demand for a strong leader to navigate a fraught political landscape marked by the chaos of President Trump’s second stint in the White House.‘This today is not about forgiveness or about forgetting anything,’ Ramos, who in 2021 was among the first to call for Cuomo’s resignation, said Friday. ‘This is a very sober take on 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.’A changing climateAt the time of Cuomo’s resignation, public outrage at the sexual misconduct and harassment carried out by men in power was running high.The leak of Trump’s infamous “Access Hollywood” tape shortly before his election in 2016 and the revelations about Harvey Weinstein in the New York Times and the New Yorker in 2017 touched off a powerful movement that spread to Hollywood, sports, business and politics.Over the past couple of years, though, many see the movement as having lost some momentum, especially with Trump’s election to a second term.‘The people who are going to vote for him have clearly made a decision that whatever he was accused of doing, it’s forgivible, to a point, because whatever they feel is happening in the city now, is more important to their immediate lives,’ Basil Smikle, a Democratic strategist told the Daily News.‘They are willing to look past what he is accused of, because whatever they feel is happening in the city now, is more important to their immediate lives.’Both the upcoming mayoral election and last November’s presidential contest unfolded against a national backlash to not only #MeToo, but to Black Lives Matter and the broader concept of “wokeness,” which became a key talking point for Trump during the 2024 campaign.Some of those national sentiments may be trickling into New York’s mayoral race. Trump himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women and was found civilly liable for sexually assaulting E Jean Carroll in 2023.Cuomo’s ability to mount a comeback is a ‘feature of the Trump era,’ Smikle said.

KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty ImagesNew York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo attends an event at New York City Council of Carpenters in New York on March 2, 2025. (Photo by KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images)Cuomo’s steady lead in the race has held despite his opponents’ attempts to resurface the scandals and stir public outrage, especially right after Cuomo entered the race. During a radio appearance earlier this month on 97.9 La Mega, for example, Cuomo flirted with a radio host half his age.‘Are you asking me to go dancing mernengue with the Dominicans?’ Cuomo responded.After the music stopped, he followed up: ‘I want to know if we have a date?’Cuomo’s camp maintained that the interaction was a joke.The incident generated backlash on social media, with users calling him a ‘sex pest’ and ‘gross.’Regardless, it barely made a dent in the campaign.And at Wednesday’s debate, where Cuomo faced attacks on all manner of issues, the allegations weren’t a major line of attack.Brad Lander said that having ‘sexually harassed 13 women’ should disqualify Cuomo from being mayor. And Michael Blake, a former state assemblymember who’s polling poorly, said that ‘the people who don’t feel safe are the young women, mothers and grandmother’s around Andrew Cuomo.’During the debate, Cuomo pointed out that he was never charged in connection with the allegations. ‘I said at the time that if I offended anyone, it was unintentional, but I apologize, and I say that today,’ he said. His team declined to comment for this story.Cuomo’s seeming ability to brush past the allegations doesn’t sit well with some.‘He has been welcomed back into the political class with open arms as opposed to being required to take responsibility for his actions,’ Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, said. ‘He continues to harass and re-taliate against the women he already sexually harassed and re-talitated against and there’s no indication that he’s going to change his ways.’Vladmier was referencing to Cuomo’s circle of lawyers and aides efforts since the accusers went public to discredit them, challenging their credibility including in court proceedings. The former governor’s legal expenses, have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars, according to the state comptroller.Karen Hinton, who claims Cuomo acted sexually inappropriately towards her in 2000, when she worked for him as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said she was disappointed about his bounce back into the limelight.‘It’s shocking in many ways and sad that New Yorkers are not standing behind these women,’ Hinton.‘It’s just not an issue for people,’ she continued. ‘People don’t care. People voted for Trump even though he sexually assaulted a woman in a department store in New York. People don’t care, so maybe it’s not that big a deal.’Karen Hinton is pictured in Manhattan on Saturday, May 7, 2016. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)

Cuating leadershipWith White House policies sowing uncertainty and fear in New York City amid threats of slashing federal support for critical programs like Medicaid and SNAP, many see a need for a strong leader to stand up to the president.Mayor Adams is no longer a factor in the Democratic primary. He announced he’d run as an independent in November following widespread criticism for being overly acquiescent to Trump after the president’s DOJ dismissed the mayor’s corruption case.The rest of the mayoral field mostly leans further left than either Cuomo or Adams, with no strong center-left candidate, so far, posing a significant challenge to the former governor.His closest rival is Zohran Mamdani, a socialist campaigning on free buses and freezing rent for stabilized tenants. Mamdani risks alienating moderates, especially pro-Israel voters.Not everyone is convinced.Vladimer, with the Sexual Harassment Working Group, said that she doubts that Cuomo will truly be able to effectively confront Trump.‘The perception of Cuomo standing up for New Yorkers — that’s all it really is — a perception. It is not reality. Cuomo has only shown us through his actions that he can only and will only punch down and that includes on young women government staffers.’But power players, politicians and union leaders have largely coalesced behind the former governor, even though some had pressed for his removal in 2021.Super PACs in his support have collected millions in donations, including a $1 million donation from Doordash and $2.5 million by the Housing for All PAC, which is funded by the New York Apartment Association.Manny Pastreich, the president of Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and 32BJ, said in April the union was endorsing the former governor in part because Cuomo would be able to fight back against Trump’s ‘attacks.’Others, like Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, have not outright supported Cuomo but have stayed silent as he makes his comeback — a sharp contrast to her condemnation of him in 2021.‘””