WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s largest cities will choose their next mayors Tuesday in an election that has sparked debate over the future of the Democratic Party.
Democratic candidate Zoran Mamdani is a 34-year-old state representative and democratic socialist. shocked the party This will be his second match against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who won the New York City primary in June. Mr. Cuomo lost in the Democratic primary. working independently. Curtis Sliwa is the Republican candidate for the second consecutive year.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams originally planned to seek re-election as an independent, but as his underground support ratings slumped, I dropped out in late September. He will remain on the ballot.
New York City voters will also vote in elections to the City Council and other offices. Manhattan is among the candidates. District Attorney Alvin Braggwho oversaw the hush-money case against President Donald Trump and is running for re-election.
Mamdani has come to represent the younger, more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In New York and across the country, moderate Democrats keep your distance Mamdani highlighted progressive solutions to the cost of living issue in a sophisticated digitally focused campaign. Congressional leaders, including those in New York, were slow to embrace Mamdani: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries I supported him on October 24th. As of Wednesday, the day before early voting begins, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had not yet issued an opinion. meanwhile, More leftist members of the caucus I hugged Mamdani.
Republicans are happy to link Mamdani and his far-left policies to the Democratic Party. Trump, a former New Yorker, attacked mamdanieven labeled candidates “communists” and threatened to deport them.
In a city where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 6 to 1, Mamdani enters the general election as the candidate to beat. As of Oct. 28, he has spent nearly $12.8 million this year and has another $4 million in the bank, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Commission. In comparison, Mr. Cuomo put $900,000 in the bank and spent $12.1 million. Sliwa spent about $5.1 million and has $866,000 left.
Four years ago, Mr. Adams was elected mayor with more than two-thirds of the vote, losing only Staten Island, the most Republican-leaning borough, to Mr. Sliwa. Mr. Cuomo’s campaign is focused on appealing to black and Orthodox Jewish voters, as well as more moderate voters. entrenched his coalition In the primary.
Other races on Tuesday’s ballot
New York state’s second-most populous city will also elect its next mayor on Tuesday, when the entire state will vote on an amendment to expand the Adirondack Mountains sports complex.
Buffalo will have its third mayor within two years. The three include state Sen. Sean Ryan, former Erie County District Attorney James Gardner, and nonprofit founder Michael Gaynor. The winner will succeed Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon, who replaced Mayor Byron Brown. Longest serving mayor resigned last year I have accepted the position of President and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting.
Mr. Ryan defeated Mr. Scanlon in the Democratic primary.
He significantly outperformed his opponents. In the run-up to the election, Ryan reported spending just over $1.5 million. As of Oct. 28, Mr. Gardner, a Republican, has spent just over $9,700 and Mr. Gainer, an independent, has spent just under $9,400.
The last Republican to serve as mayor of Buffalo was Chester A. Kowal, who served as mayor from 1962 to 1965.
A “yes” vote on Proposition #1, the only statewide ballot measure this year, would allow up to 323 acres of land at winter sports facilities around Lake Placid to be developed into new Nordic ski and biathlon trails. This land is currently set aside as a state forest preserve.
A “yes” vote would expand the forest preserve by about 2,500 acres. The state Legislature must approve the expansion.
Under New York state election law, in races with more than 1 million votes cast, automatic recounts are triggered if the difference in votes is less than 5,000 votes. For smaller races, automatic recounts are triggered if the margin of victory is 0.5% or less, or up to 20 votes. In ranked elections, all ballots in an election are recounted each round if the difference between the final two candidates meets the recount threshold. The Associated Press may declare a winner in a race subject to a recount if the lead is determined to be too large to change the result through a recount or legal challenge.
The Associated Press does not make predictions and will only declare a winner if there is no scenario in which a successor candidate closes the gap. Even if a race is not called, The Associated Press will continue to report on newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. At that time, The Associated Press will clarify that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
Let’s see what happens on Tuesday.
election day
Elections and ballot proposals for New York mayor, city council, other municipal offices, and Buffalo mayor will be held Tuesday. Voting ends at 9pm ET.
What does the ballot say?
The Associated Press will release the results and announce the winners of the New York City and Buffalo mayoral elections, as well as one statewide ballot measure.
Who can vote?
Voters registered in a municipality can participate in mayoral elections, and voters registered in a state can vote on ballot proposals.
What will voter registration and turnout look like?
As of February 20, there were 5.1 million registered voters in New York City. Of those, 65% were Democrats and 11% were Republicans. Approximately 1.1 million voters were not registered with any political party.
New York State had 13.1 million registered voters statewide. Of these, 48% were Democrats and 23% were Republicans. Approximately 3.9 million voters were not registered with any political party.
In the last New York City mayoral election, just over 1.1 million voters, or about 21% of registered voters, voted.
How long does it usually take to count votes?
In the 2024 presidential election, the Associated Press first reported New York City’s results at 9:01 p.m. ET, about a minute after polls closed. Election night counting in New York City ended in Queens at 12:25 a.m. ET, with about 90% of the citywide vote totals counted.
Have you arrived yet?
As of Tuesday, there are 364 days until the 2026 midterm elections and 1,099 days until the 2028 general election.
___
Follow AP’s coverage of the 2025 election. https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2025/.
