Cuomo is calculating that the full city’s electorate would be significantly different from Democratic primary voters who were energized by Mamdani’s focus on affordability and his campaign’s online videos. His camp also believes Mamdani and his policy ideas, from a rent freeze to city-operated grocery stores, will receive increased scrutiny now that Mamdani is positioned to secure a Democratic primary win once ranked-choice votes are allocated next week.

“Ultimately Andrew’s decision and my decision matters less than the decision that voters already took on Tuesday night,” Mamdani told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday.

Asked about possibly running against Cuomo in November, he said on “OutFront”: “We did it once and it turned out pretty well.”

Notably, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have praised Mamdani since Tuesday but declined to endorse him. And two House Democrats from swing districts in the New York suburbs criticized him after Tuesday’s results put him in position to win the primary, while Republicans have sharply criticized Mamdani and tried to tie national Democrats to him.

Mamdani is poised to face Adams, who opted out of this year’s Democratic primary and is running as an independent himself, as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Cuomo staying on the November ballot leaves the door open for the former governor to resume his bid for a political comeback, four years after he resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment that he has denied. Cuomo was long considered the front-runner in the mayoral race but faced progressive anger over the sexual harassment cases as well as his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic while governor, driving much of the liberal enthusiasm for Mamdani.

Cuomo’s bet would be that he could become a safe harbor for moderates and progressives concerned about Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, or Adams, who was indicted on federal bribery charges before President Donald Trump’s administration moved to drop them.

He could also keep his ballot line without campaigning, as he did in 2002 when he dropped a Democratic primary bid for governor but remained on the ballot as the Liberal Party candidate.

For now, however, Cuomo has not set a timetable for making a final decision on whether to actively campaign or when to re-launch a prospective campaign.

“There’s no clock ticking,” one source said.

This story has been updated with additional details.