I want to thank you very much for the generous support you've shown me in the past, including during the recent primary election for NYC Mayor. While our campaign garnered more than 440,000 votes, that obviously wasn’t enough.
I made mistakes in the primary. All my life I’ve been known for pushing too hard, but this time I played it safe, believing in the polls that said our campaign was way ahead, and not giving New Yorkers the campaign they deserved. I was not aggressive enough in communicating my vision for a fairer, safer, more affordable New York, or in debunking and exposing Zohran Mamdani’s unrealistic proposals and divisive agenda. I promise you, I will not make that mistake again.
I fully understand the political forces at work in this nation: frustration, anger, and even fear generate the need for a response, and there is significant energy, especially among young people, that Mr. Mamdani effectively tapped into. However, I do not believe the response to the extreme irrational right is to forge an extreme irrational left.
I do not believe that New York City voters affirmatively voted for a socialist form of government that is hostile to business and economic growth, and I do believe that Zohran Mamdani poses a serious threat to the future of the city we love. I will give it my all to stop him.
I also believe that all of us who love New York City must be united in running the strongest possible candidate against Zohran Mamdani in the November general election for mayor. Our common goal must be to run the strongest candidate against Mr. Mamdani. That is why I have accepted the proposal put forth by former Governor David Paterson and candidate Jim Walden that, in mid-September, we will determine which candidate is strongest against Mamdani and all other candidates will stand down, rather than act as spoilers and guarantee Mamdani’s election.
In the next several months, I will run a very different kind of campaign. I am putting together a new team, communications plan, strategy, and field operation. And most important, I will be out there, every day in every corner of this city, meeting you where you are to talk about the struggles you face, and the solutions to address them. Learning the lessons from the past, relaunching toward the future.
Only 13% of New York City residents participated in the Democratic primary. In the coming months, I will reach out to 100% of New Yorkers, visiting their communities, learning more about their priorities, and talking directly with them about their futures.
I am all in and I hope you are, too.
New York City’s best days are ahead – together, we can make them a reality.
Thank you again and I humbly ask for your continued support.
Best personal regards,
