NEW YORK (AP) — The first debate of the New York City mayoral election got underway Thursday evening, with Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa looking to halt the momentum of Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, who already defeated the once-powerful New York governor in the primary this summer.
For Cuomo, who's now running as an independent, the stakes are high. The debate is one of his last chances to sway voters to his side and convince them that going with Mamdani would be a mistake.
The race is also Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback after he resigned as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. He denies wrongdoing but has been trailed by heavy criticism over the scandal, along with other damaging baggage he picked up during his tenure as governor.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is in a more comfortable position, though he will need to fend off two hours of sharp jabs from Cuomo while maintaining the hopeful, charming vibe that has characterized his campaign.
Meanwhile, Sliwa, the colorful creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, hopes to land a major upset in the deeply blue city. Sliwa received almost 30% of the vote when he last ran as the GOP candidate four years ago. This time around he's hoping Mamdani and Cuomo split the Democratic vote while he secures Republicans and centrists to come out on top.
The race has catapulted Mamdani to national political stardom, with Republicans, including President Donald Trump, trying to turn him into the face of the Democratic Party by highlighting his most controversial past comments and positions and casting him as dangerous, a communist, and an antisemite.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, suspended his reelection campaign late last month, after being deeply wounded by a now-dismissed federal corruption case and his relationship with the Trump administration.
Here are some key takeaways from tonight's debate:
Mamdani on defense
Mamdani came under attack straight out the gate, as Cuomo highlighted his relative lack of job experience.
Cuomo, stressing his own executive experience, said being mayor “is no job for on-the-job training”
“This is not a job for a first timer,” he said.
Mamdani hit back, criticizing Cuomo’s integrity and decision-making as the COVID-19 pandemic spread through nursing homes.
“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity. What you don’t have in integrity, you can never make up for in experience,” he charged.
Mamdani's brand of economic populism — a laser focus on lowering the city's astronomical cost of living through the idea that government should do more to help the lower and middle classes instead of wealthy people — has generated buzz and excitement.
At the same time, the state assemblyman's calls to raise taxes on wealthy people and intense criticisms of the Israeli government's military actions in Gaza have unnerved some centrists and conservatives. That's where Cuomo's rebooted campaign sees its path to victory.
The former governor has painted Mamdani as a potentially dangerous leader who would lead the city into financial and social ruin, while casting himself as a competent manager who can handle its expansive bureaucracy and finances.
Trump front and center
The president, who has threatened to arrest Mamdani, to deport him and even to take over the city if he wins, was invoked early and often.
Pressed on how they would handle Trump, Mamdani said he would stand up to him while also being willing to work with him on lowering costs and affordability.
Cuomo warned that if Mamdani wins, “It will be Mayor Trump.”
“I’d like to work with you. I think we could do good things together. But No. 1, I will fight you every step of the way if you try to hurt New York,” Cuomo pledged.
Sliwa warned that taking too contentious a tone against Trump would end up hurting the city.
“If you try to get tough with Trump,” he said, “New Yorkers will suffer.”
Will it be enough to change the trajectory of the race?
So far little has changed the trajectory, including Adams' departure.
A poll of New York City likely voters conducted by Quinnipiac University in early October, after Adams ended his bid for a second term, found that Mamdani continued to hold a lead over Cuomo. The poll suggested that Cuomo may have benefited somewhat from Adams’ departure, but the current mayor’s exit did not appear to have a meaningful impact on the state of the race.
Adams was not included in the poll but remains on the November ballot because he didn’t withdraw his candidacy before a balloting deadline.
The candidates are scheduled to meet for a second and final debate next week.