Governor Cuomo is reaching out to key labor leaders ahead of a potential run for mayor of New York City in 2025, according to a new report. The scion of one of the state’s most famous political families has slowly made his way back into public life since resigning in 2021. 

According to the New York Daily News, Mr. Cuomo has been keeping in touch with union bosses to assure them that he would be the candidate to beat in 2025 if he launched a campaign for mayor of New York City. 

“He would win hands down if he decided to get in,” one of those union leaders told the Daily News. “He’s largely just staying on top of people and trying to reaffirm that he’d be the goliath in the race.”

A source close to Mr. Cuomo told the outlet that the only time the former governor has talked about primary polling with a union leader was to discuss a potential primary run against Governor Hochul, who replaced him at the governor’s mansion. 

Mr. Cuomo has reportedly insisted to allies in both the labor union and real estate development world that he would not get into a Democratic primary against Mayor Adams next year, though he has hinted in the past that he would be open to running if something stopped the incumbent mayor from seeking reelection. During an interview with “Good Day New York”, Mr. Cuomo said “we should stand behind the mayor unless they give us a reason to say otherwise.”

The former governor’s spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, told Vanity Fair that the governor would rule out any hypotheticals about a mayoral run. “The future is the future and he gets these questions often, which I think are fueled by the fact that many people are facing a crisis in confidence in government at many levels and now view the circumstances in which he left office as the political railroading it was,” Mr. Azzopardi said. 

Mr. Cuomo resigned from the governorship in 2021 after more than a decade of serving in the office. His announcement that he would resign came just days after the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, found in a report that he sexually harassed 11 women over the course of several years. 

Speculation about Mr. Cuomo’s reemergence into elected politics began after it was disclosed that Mr. Adams’ campaign may have illegally worked with foreign interests to aid his 2021 bid for Gracie Mansion. 

The FBI has already raided the home of the mayor’s chief fundraiser and even seized electronic devices from Mr. Adams himself. The agency is investigating whether or not Turkish officials and businesses improperly helped raise money for the campaign in exchange for the mayor’s help in getting proper permitting for a proposed Turkish consulate in the city. 

He has denied all wrongdoing and says he is cooperating with the FBI’s investigation. 

Mr. Adams’ approval has nonetheless remained low. According to a survey from April, just 24 percent of New Yorkers believe he is doing his job well, and only 16 percent say he is their first choice for the 2025 election. The poll shows that 65 percent of respondents would vote for “someone else” next year. 

The breakdown of those approval numbers are especially dire, with just four percent saying they strongly approve of his job performance while 46 percent strongly disapprove. 

The mayor is already inviting primary challengers from his party’s left-flank, including a former city comptroller and 2021 candidate, Scott Stringer, and a state senator, Zellnor Myrie. Both men have formed exploratory committees for the 2025 election. City councilwoman Diana Ayala and state senator Jessica Ramos have also said publicly that they are interested in running.