NEW YORK (AP) — When New York City voters choose the next mayor to run the nation’s largest city on Tuesday, they are deciding the outcome of a generational and ideological divide that will reverberate across the country.
The first state and local elections will be held on Tuesday since Donald Trump took back the White House and began a dramatic expansion of executive power.
Zoran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, is facing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican perennial candidate Curtis Sliwa, who is looking for a major upset.
A victory for Mamdani would give the city its first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations, while also elevating the democratic socialist to political stardom and giving his brand of economic populism one of the most visible political positions in the United States.
If Mr. Cuomo takes the top spot, it would be a remarkable political comeback four years later. resign as governor with a barrage of Allegation of sexual harassment.
In the case of Suriwa A win would put the Republican in charge of the nation’s largest city, as the founder of the Guardian Angels crime-patrol group and longtime New York tabloid figure, comes at a time when many New Yorkers are looking for a leader who can keep President Donald Trump at bay.
Because of his ethnicity, Mamdani incurred the wrath of the public and became a national figure. playing cards And other Republicans are trying to make him the face of a new, more radical Democratic Party. Trump too threatened to take over the city If Mamdani wins, a Ugandan-born U.S. citizen state lawmaker will also be arrested and deported.
On the eve of the election, President Trump reluctantly endorsed Mr. Cuomo, saying Mr. Mamdani would be a “disaster” for the city, and encouraged Sliwa’s supporters to vote for the former governor instead.
A rematch with a decisive difference
Democratic candidate criticized President Donald Trump’s support for opponent Andrew Cuomo (AP Video by David Martin)
Mamdani is a 34-year-old state lawmaker. He already beat Cuomo once. In the Democratic primary, his campaign focused on lowering the cost of living in one of the nation’s most expensive cities, emboldening progressives to an unexpected victory over the once-powerful former governor.
This time, Mr. Cuomo is counting on the support of moderates and Republicans to win. And he wants his current job. Mayor Eric Adams leaves office late From lace final approval It will boost him among an overlapping base of centrists, black voters and ultra-Orthodox Jews. He also has the support of billionaire former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who donated $1.5 million to a super PAC supporting Cuomo in the final days of the contest.
Mamdani has made national headlines and won support from prominent progressives such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He promised to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers and use the money to make city buses free and provide free universal child care. He also promised to freeze rents for people living in about 1 million rent-regulated apartment units.
At the same time, Mamdani’s past criticism of the Gaza City police and the Israeli government’s military action in Gaza, which he called genocide, has upset some centrists who see him as a potential setback in his party’s efforts to expand its national appeal. Some Jewish leaders have called him a danger to Jews, capitalizing on his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state.
While Mamdani is there, distanced Some of New York’s top Democrats remain concerned because of his past statements. slow to support him Or flatly refused.
Tuesday’s general election will be held as a traditional election, with the candidate receiving the most votes winning. The city’s party primaries were decided using ranked-choice voting, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference.
Mr. Sliwa’s path to victory in the overwhelmingly Democratic city is narrow, depending on whether he can secure Republican votes with his tough-on-crime message and New York stance, while drawing support from moderates who don’t want Mr. Mamdani elevated or Mr. Cuomo returned to power.
Mr. Sliwa, 71, has ignored pressure from within his own party to halt his campaign and create a showdown between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Mamdani. Trump himself dismissed Sliwa as “not exactly prime time.” In the final weeks of the campaign, Mr. Cuomo told Mr. Sliwa’s supporters that a vote for the Republican was a vote for Mr. Mamdani.
Cuomo achieved records but is haunted by his past
Mr. Trump and other Republicans have been keen to paint a dire picture of New York under Mr. Mamdani’s potential leadership.
Mr. Cuomo, 67, has a similar message. Operating on the Independence Party line, he has positioned himself as an experienced executive capable of managing the city’s vast bureaucracy, in contrast to the relatively inexperienced Mamdani.
Mr. Cuomo’s experience as governor is also perhaps his greatest weakness.
He resigned in 2021. Report from the Attorney General The report concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women. Some women complained of unwanted touching, flirting, kissing and suggestive comments. One of her aides filed a police report alleging that he had touched her breasts, but the district attorney refused to press charges.
Mr. Cuomo initially apologized for some of his actions, saying they departed from what is considered appropriate workplace behavior. But in recent months, he has been defiant, calling his accusers liars and blaming political opponents for his downfall.
