May 7, 2025
New York - New Yorkers, brace yourselves. The mayoral race is heating up, and the airwaves are about to be saturated with a wave of hard-hitting commercials targeting former Governor Andrew Cuomo. It seems the race has taken a sharp turn, with candidates launching aggressive attacks on the ex-governor's record.
Leading the charge is City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has made a significant splash with a $750,000 ad buy. His commercial, designed to paint him as the anti-corruption crusader, features him in a junkyard, literally "crushing" corruption. The message is clear: "Andrew Cuomo spent $60 million of your money to defend himself in court — that’s corrupt, but Brad Lander fights corruption."1
Lander isn't alone in his crusade. Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, consistently polling second, has also taken to television, albeit with a smaller initial investment of $100,000.2 Premiering his ads during a Knicks playoff game and later on "Saturday Night Live," Mamdani's message echoes Lander's: "Corrupt politicians like Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo have sold us out to billionaires and corporations rigging the economy against us."3
While the attacks are fierce, Cuomo isn't taking them lying down. His PAC, Fix the City Inc., has already launched a counter-offensive, pouring over $5.6 million into ad spending to defend his reputation.
Mamdani, who has impressively maxed out his campaign funding at $8 million, is well-positioned for future ad buys.4 Lander, with nearly $6 million in total funding, is now the third Democratic primary candidate to directly target Cuomo, following Mamdani and Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie.
Lander’s first commercial, the largest single ad buy in the mayoral race thus far, premiered Wednesday morning on major local broadcast channels, including MSNBC and NY1, signaling a significant escalation in the race.
New Yorkers, get ready for a barrage of political ads. The battle for the mayor's office is on, and Andrew Cuomo is firmly in the crosshairs.
