麻豆传媒

BUFFALO, N.Y. - After Andrew Cuomo lost the New York City Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani, the former New York State governor announced that he’ll run for the position as an independent candidate. While Cuomo may face an uphill battle, there are examples of candidates losing their party’s primary and then going on to win the general election.

麻豆传媒o political scientist Jacob Neiheisel says the City of Buffalo 2021 mayoral election shows that “losing a primary is not a death blow to candidates.” Byron Brown was reelected to a fifth term with a write-in campaign after being upset in the Democratic primary by political newcomer India Walton, who, like Mamdani is a democratic socialist.

“I do think that Cuomo has a legitimate shot at being mayor still,” says Neiheisel, PhD, associate professor of political science in the UB College of Arts and Sciences. “Buyer's remorse is a real thing and there have been a number of entities that have attacked Mamdani in recent days, likely hurting his favorability among voters.”

Neiheisel adds: “We saw this locally here in Buffalo, India Walton caught Byron Brown off guard and won the primary. However, Walton immediately made a lot of political enemies by announcing socialist campaign promises and went on to lose against a write-in campaign.”

Brown was able to win reelection in 2021 with nearly 60% of the vote.

“The difference in the Mamdani/Cuomo case is that the party appears to be rallying around Mamdani and he isn’t making grand statements about ushering in a new socialist regime citywide. Still, he’s playing defense now against a very seasoned opponent,” said Neiheisel.