New York City voters are deciding the outcome of a generational and ideological divide that will resonate across the country on Tuesday when 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 stir up a huge upset.
Mamdani’s victory would give the city its first Muslim mayor and youngest leader in generations, while elevating the democratic socialist to political stardom and putting his brand of economic populism into one of the most high-profile political positions in the United States.
If Cuomo wins, he will stage a remarkable political comeback four years later. resign as governor more than a series Sexual Harassment Allegations.
For Sliva — the creator of the Guardian Angels Crime Patrol and a longtime fixture in the New York tabloids — comes at a time when many New Yorkers are looking for a leader who can stop President Donald Trump, whose victory would put Republicans in charge of America’s largest city.
The race made Mamdani a national figure as he sparked outrage trump card and other Republicans who sought to cast him as the face of a new, more radical Democratic Party. Trump also threatened to take over the city If Mamdani wins, state legislators who were born in Uganda but are U.S. citizens will also be arrested and deported.
Trump reluctantly endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the election, saying Mamdani would bring a “disaster” to the city and encouraging Sliwa’s supporters to vote for the former governor.
Rematch with key differences
Mamdai is a 34-year-old state legislator. Already defeated Como once Inspired progressives unexpectedly defeated the once-powerful former governor in the Democratic primary with a campaign aimed at lowering the cost of living in one of the country’s most expensive cities.
This time, Cuomo hopes to win with the support of moderates and Republicans. He hopes that the current Mayor Eric Adams makes late exit from competition and final approval That would give him support among his overlapping base of centrists, black voters and ultra-Orthodox Jews. He also has the endorsement of former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who donated $1.5 million to a pro-Cuomo super PAC in the final days of the campaign.
Mamdani has generated national buzz and won the support of big-name progressives, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He promised to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and use the money to provide free city buses and free universal child care. He also promised to freeze rents for people living in about 1 million rent-controlled apartments.
Meanwhile, Mamdani’s past criticism of the city’s police department and the Israeli government’s military campaign in Gaza, which he calls genocide, has unsettled some centrists who believe he could hinder their efforts to broaden the party’s national appeal. Some Jewish leaders also seized on his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state, calling him a danger to Jews.
Although Mamdani has alienate oneself Judging from some of his past comments, some top New York Democrats are still concerned and have either Acknowledge him slowly Or refuse it outright.
Tuesday’s election was conducted in a traditional election, meaning the candidate with the most votes wins. The city’s party primaries are decided through ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Sliva’s path to victory is narrow in this overwhelmingly Democratic city, with his ability to secure Republican votes with a tough-on-crime message and Noo Yawk attitude while picking up moderates who don’t want to promote Mamdani or put Cuomo back in power.
Sliva, 71, ignored pressure from within his party to suspend his campaign and launch a one-on-one contest between Cuomo and Mamdani. Trump himself dismissed Sliva as “not exactly prime time.” In the final weeks of the campaign, Cuomo appealed to Sliwa’s supporters, arguing that a vote for the Republican was a vote for Mamdani.
Cuomo continues to hold on to his record but is still haunted by his past
Trump and other Republicans are eager to paint a dire picture of New York under Mamdani’s potential leadership.
Cuomo, 67, had a similar message. He has stuck to the independent party line, positioning himself as an experienced executive capable of running the city’s vast bureaucracy, in contrast to Mamdani’s relative inexperience.
Cuomo’s experience as governor may also be his greatest weakness.
He resigned in 2021 Attorney General’s Report It concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women. Some women complain of unwanted touching, flirting, kissing and suggestive comments. An aide filed a police report accusing him of groping her breasts, but the district attorney declined to prosecute.
Cuomo initially apologized for some of his actions, saying he was inconsistent with appropriate workplace behavior. In recent months, however, he has appeared defiant, calling his accusers liars and blaming political opponents for his downfall.