Governor Cuomo is building a commanding lead in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, but could the Covid nursing home scandal — or the millions in taxpayer funds he’s used to defend himself from sexual misconduct lawsuits — put a dent in it?

So far, the former New York State governor is like Teflon. The latest Democratic primary poll suggests that Mr. Cuomo will earn 53 percent of the vote in the first round of ranked choice voting, making the process “largely an academic exercise,” according to the pollster, Honan Strategy Group.

Far-left state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani comes in second in the same poll, with 25 percent support. The field of other progressive candidates all earn in the single digits, with City Comptroller Brad Lander in third place. Mayor Adams announced last month that he is forgoing the Democratic primary to run for re-election as an independent and wasn’t included in the poll, though he still calls himself a Democrat.

Yet the Cuomo scandals aren’t going away — and President Trump’s Department of Justice may soon get involved. The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, James Comer, sent a referral to the Justice Department on Monday asking it to prosecute Mr. Cuomo for lying to Congress when he testified last year on New York’s response to the Covid pandemic.

The previous chairman of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Congressman Brad Wenstrup, had referred Mr. Cuomo to the Biden Justice Department, but no action was taken. Mr. Comer said in a statement that he wants Mr. Cuomo to be prosecuted “to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Andrew Cuomo is a man with a history of corruption and deceit, now caught red-handed lying to Congress,” Mr. Comer said. “This wasn’t a slip-up — it was a calculated cover-up by a man seeking to shield himself from responsibility for the devastating loss of life in New York’s nursing homes.”

A director for Voices for Seniors, Tracey Alvino, tells The New York Sun she is “elated” at the prospect that the Justice Department will prosecute Mr. Cuomo. “It feels different now,” she says of the new referral, noting that Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House. 

Voices for Seniors advocates for families who lost their loved ones to Covid in nursing homes. Ms. Alvino lost her father to Covid he contracted in a nursing home rehabilitation center on Long Island, after Mr. Cuomo signed an order in March 2020 forcing these homes to admit patients regardless of Covid status.

“His decisions killed in the past. They can kill in the future,” Ms. Alvino says of Mr. Cuomo. She says he could spin a Justice Department prosecution around to say, “Look, Trump is going after me,” but she says she is hopeful Attorney General Bondi will hold him accountable.

The Department of Justice did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment. A spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, told the Sun in a statement that Mr. Comer’s referral is “election interference and law-fare.”

“This is nothing more than a meritless press release that was nonsense last year and is even more so now,” Mr. Azzopardi said. “Referrals like these — which have been also made against Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci — don’t have to be resubmitted with a new administration, so the only point to doing this is politics.”

Mr. Mamdani is hitting Mr. Cuomo hard on his handling of Covid and the coverup of the nursing homes death count. He released a video Monday with two men who lost their father to Covid in a New York City nursing home. “Cuomo has yet to admit responsibility or apologize. My thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones because of Cuomo’s mismanagement,” Mr. Mamdani posted to X.

Mr. Cuomo’s opponents are also hitting him on the millions in taxpayer funds he’s used to defend himself from sexual misconduct lawsuits. Cuomo accuser Charlotte Bennett settled her lawsuit with the state last week for $450,000, after dropping her suit against Mr. Cuomo earlier. The state has paid for Mr. Cuomo’s legal defense in these suits since he was in office at the time of the alleged actions.

Mr. Azzopardi called the $450,000 a “nuisance settlement.” Mr. Cuomo filed a notice of claim on Friday to counter-sue Ms. Bennett for defamation. He resigned from the governorship in 2021 after Attorney General Letitia James filed a 160-page report detailing sexual misconduct accusations against Mr. Cuomo from 11 women, including Ms. Bennett.

“New York’s taxpayers have now spent a staggering $63 million due to Andrew Cuomo’s scandals, enough funds that could pay to house every single person who’s sleeping on our streets and subways today,” Mr. Lander said in a statement.

Mr. Adams made a similar statement at a press conference Tuesday morning. “I’m running on my record. He’s running from his record,” Mr. Adams said. 

“The opposition now is himself. Andrew Cuomo is running against himself,” a Democratic strategist, Hank Sheinkopf, tells the Sun. Mr. Mamdani is the real threat and will likely do better than polls are predicting, Mr. Sheinkopf says. He also says not to count Mr. Adams out.

“Adams has a shot to win in the fall whether Mamdani wins or not,” he says. “The more facts people get, the more likely they are to make a rational choice. Again, the stats. Crime is down. Jobs are up. Tourists are here. Streets are better. That’s Adams’ case. He’s got to make it.”

Mr. Adams, newly freed of his legal woes, let it rip against his political foes on Tuesday. “I was the moderate first. I didn’t pass bail reform,” he said of Mr. Cuomo. “I’m not living in my daughter’s house. I have my own house in New York.”

Mr. Adams dismissed a reporter’s question that Mr. Adams, running as an independent, could help Mr. Mamdani win the general election, even if Mr. Cuomo wins the Democratic primary and Mr. Mamdani runs on the Working Families Party line. Messrs. Adams and Cuomo are both vying for the center lane and working class and Black voters.

“If anything, he’s taking votes away from me. I’m the mayor. Why is he in my race?” Mr. Adams said.