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New York’s mayoral race becomes a national test of economic populism as Mamdani challenges Cuomo’s comeback
New York City’s voters are deciding the outcome of a generational and ideological divide that will resonate across the country Tuesday as they choose the next mayor to run the nation’s largest city.
Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, faces former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and perennial Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who is trying to land a massive upset.
A victory for Mamdani would give the city its first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations, while elevating the democratic socialist to political stardom and giving his brand of economic populism one of the most visible political perches in America.
If Cuomo comes out on top, he will have staged a remarkable political comeback four years after resigning as governor over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations.
For Sliwa — the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group and a longtime New York tabloid fixture — a win would put a Republican in charge of the nation’s largest city at a time when many New Yorkers are seeking a leader who can keep President Donald Trump at bay.
The race has made Mamdani a national figure as he has drawn the ire of Trump and other Republicans, who have tried to cast him as the face of a new, more radical Democratic Party. Trump has also threatened to take over the city if Mamdani wins, as well as arrest and deport the state Assembly member, who was born in Uganda but is a U.S. citizen.
Trump reluctantly endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the election, saying Mamdani would bring “disaster” to the city and encouraging Sliwa backers to vote for the former governor instead.
A rematch with key differences
Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker, already defeated Cuomo once in the Democratic primary, energizing progressives to score a surprise victory over the once-powerful former governor with a campaign that focused on lowering the cost of living in one of the country’s most expensive cities.
This time, Cuomo is counting on support from moderates and Republicans to win. And he’s hoping incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ late exit from the race and eventual endorsement will give him a boost among their overlapping bases of centrists, Black voters and ultra-Orthodox Jews. He’s also received the endorsement of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire who donated $1.5 million to a super PAC supporting Cuomo in the final days of the contest.
Mamdani has generated national buzz and won endorsements from big-name progressives, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He has promised to raise taxes on the richest New Yorkers and use the money to make city buses free and provide free, universal child care. He has also promised to freeze rent for people living in about 1 million rent-regulated apartments.
At the same time, Mamdani’s past criticism of the city’s police department and the Israeli government’s military actions in Gaza — which he has called genocidal — have unnerved some centrists who see him as a potential setback in their effort to broaden the party’s national appeal. Some Jewish leaders have also seized on his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state, calling him a danger to Jews.
While Mamdani has distanced himself from some of his past rhetoric, some top New York Democrats remain concerned and have either been slow to endorse him or outright refused to.
Tuesday’s general election is being conducted as a traditional one, meaning the candidate who gets the most votes wins. The city’s party primaries were determined using ranked choice voting, which allowed voters to rank candidates in order of preference.
Sliwa’s path to victory is narrow in the overwhelmingly Democratic city, resting on his ability to secure the GOP vote with his tough-on-crime message and Noo Yawk attitude, while picking up moderates who don’t want to elevate Mamdani or return Cuomo to power.
Sliwa, 71, has ignored pressure from within his own party to suspend his campaign and create a one-on-one race between Cuomo and Mamdani. Trump himself dismissed Sliwa as “not exactly prime time.” In the race’s final weeks, Cuomo appealed to Sliwa’s supporters, arguing that a vote for the Republican was a vote for Mamdani.
Cuomo runs on his record but is dogged by his past
Trump and other Republicans have eagerly painted a dire picture of New York under Mamdani’s potential leadership.
Cuomo, 67, has carried a similar message. Running on an independent party line, he has positioned himself as a seasoned executive capable of managing the city’s vast bureaucracy, drawing a contrast with Mamdani’s relative inexperience.
Cuomo’s experience as governor is perhaps also his biggest vulnerability.
He resigned in 2021 following a report from the attorney general that concluded that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Some of the women complained about unwanted touches, flirting, kisses and suggestive comments. One aide filed a police report accusing him of groping her breast, though a district attorney declined to prosecute.
Cuomo initially apologized for some of his behavior, saying he had fallen out of step with what is considered appropriate workplace conduct. However, in recent months, he has been defiant — calling his accusers liars and blaming his downfall on political adversaries.
