A cast of scandal-plagued candidates tests the limits of what New York City voters will forgive

Few political operatives have it easier than opposition researchers in New York City this year

Few political operatives have it easier than opposition researchers in New York City this year.

New York’s 2025 municipal races feature a scandal-laden cast of characters whose alleged or proven misdeeds have made front-page headlines for years. They include the front-runner heading into Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spent much of his bid to become New York’s next mayor cleaning skeletons out of his closet, whether he’s wanted to or not. The scion of a storied political family, Cuomo resigned in disgrace from the governorship in 2021 after an investigation led by state Attorney General Letitia James found that he had harassed 11 women and subjected some of them to unwanted touching and groping. A formal agreement between the state executive chamber and the U.S. Justice Department, released in 2024, found Cuomo had subjected at least 13 female employees to a “sexually hostile work environment.”

But Cuomo isn’t the only candidate seeking political redemption in New York City this month. Should he win Tuesday’s Democratic primary, he’ll take on incumbent Eric Adams, a Democrat running for re-election as an independent. Adams was indicted in September on federal corruption charges, which were dropped this year when the Justice Department argued, among other things, that the case distracted from Adams’ ability to enact President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media at City Hall on Jan. 21.Alejandra Villa Loarca / Newsday via Getty Images fileAnd then there’s Anthony Weiner.