By Michael McKee
Correspondant
A few months ago, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, D-N.Y., defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York Democratic mayoral primary. This was seen by many as a shocking upset, and has led to questions of what it means for the general election.
Americans are wondering who the candidates are, what they stand for and who will win. With these questions in mind, it helps to examine the candidates and their dynamics in order to make a well-informed analysis of the election.
Mamdani started his campaign with low name recognition and was way behind the other Democratic candidates. The assembly member ran as a socialist and was able to quickly rise in the polls due to a variety of factors, including his charismatic personality and his effectiveness at communication.
Another factor was his savvy use of social media, where his charisma was able to reach politically disengaged and unaware voters. He was also able to tie his left-wing policies back into concerns relatable to New Yorkers, specifically in how he made the theme of his campaign affordability.
An additional aspect to his victory was his ability to create coalitions with important political figures and voting blocs. Mamdani has received endorsements from well-known progressive figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., Robert Reich, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and the Working Families Party and even former rivals such as Brad Lander, D-NY, and Michael Blake, D-NY. He was also endorsed by Sen. John Liu, D-N.Y., an important figure in New York’s Chinese American community who is pro-Israel, unlike Mamdani who is pro-Palestine.
Mamdani’s willingness to reach out to voters who disagree with him on this contentious issue showcases his political flexibility resulting in positive outcomes. He has made non-English language advertisements to appeal to immigrant communities starring politicians from those communities, Liu being one of them.
During the Democratic primary, Cuomo was for some time the race’s frontrunner. He is the son of legendary Gov. Mario Cuomo and the brother of political pundit Chris Cuomo.
Cuomo served in various positions including as President Bill Clinton’s secretary of housing and urban development and as New York’s attorney general before being elected Governor in 2010.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, his handling of the global emergency was so praised that he was even considered a potential future presidential candidate. That was until it was revealed that he allegedly covered up COVID-19 deaths that took place in nursing homes and allegedly sexually harassed several women, after which he was forced to resign.
In this most recent election, Cuomo had an early lead in the polls by 40-point margins due to his high name recognition. The most important factor in his loss, other than Mamdani’s charisma, is Cuomo’s personal issues, which helped massively in chipping away at his lead. After losing the Democratic nomination, he continued running as a candidate of Fight and Deliver, a political party he created.
Curtis Sliwa is a Republican activist as well as the founder and leader of the New York-based vigilante group the Guardian Angels. Sliwa has been an eccentric figure in New York City for years, starting when he began the Guardian Angels in the 1970s to combat a crime wave.
Sliwa later became incredibly vocal about animal rights, advocating no-kill shelters, which many see as an unorthodox position for a Republican. In 2021, he ran for Mayor of New York City, though he lost to Eric Adams by a wide margin. This year, Sliwa won the Republican nomination again.
Adams began his career as a policeman before becoming a state senator and then the president of Brooklyn Borough. In 2021, he ran in the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor as a tough-on-crime moderate and won against more progressive candidates.
During his mayoralty, he governed in a pro-police, tough-on-crime manner and received criticism for collaborating with the Trump administration in Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. In 2024, Adams fell into hot water when it was revealed he was allegedly being bribed by Turkish government officials leading to federal charges, later dropped by the Trump Administration. On Sept. 27, Adams dropped out of the race though his name remains on the ballot.
With all these candidates explored, it is worth analyzing how their various strengths and weaknesses will affect the general election.
Mamdani has become very well known for his charisma and communication strategies which has gained him a lot of support from young voters and has expanded his voter base. Mamdani’s savvy approach to voter outreach also has to be noted, including his appeals to pro-Israel voters by focusing on common ground issues like affordability, and New York’s heavy migrant population by doing appearances with prominent figures within those communities and delivering messages in their languages. Mamdani’s ability to expand his base of support is perhaps his best asset. So far, Mamdani has a pretty comfortable lead.
Cuomo has an uphill battle if he wants to win. Cuomo's base of support, Jewish and Black voters, is being eaten into by Mamdani at a concerning rate for his campaign. Cuomo’s strategy seems to consist of utilizing his experience and name recognition, highlighting Mamdani’s perceived radical positions and portraying himself as a strong figure who can stand up to Trump.
While these strategies do work for some subsets of older voters, many find the idea that he can stand up to Trump unconvincing, especially after allegations that he was conspiring with Trump to win the election, which both Cuomo and Trump deny. Cuomo’s attempts to reach out to other voting blocs has also fallen flat after he was heckled during a visit to a mosque. Cuomo’s perception as a figure worthy of contempt and loathing has been hard to control and has hindered any attempt to sell himself to voters.
However, there are some bright spots for Cuomo, in that strategic Republicans will see Cuomo as the lesser evil and choose him in order to prevent a Mamdani victory, as well as Adam’s dropout leading to more potential Cuomo voters. While things look grim for the former Governor, if he can improve his image and consolidate an anti-Mamdani coalition behind him, he might just pull off an upset.
To be frank, Sliwa has no chance of winning the race; however, that does not mean he will have no effect. Sliwa has so far adamantly refused calls to drop out of the race, which will continue to divide the anti-Mandani voting bloc. Sliwa’s base of support mainly consists of Republican Party loyalists from Staten Island who will vote for the Republican candidate no matter what.
If Sliwa stays in the race, that will prevent New York Republicans and Staten Island from falling into Cuomo’s column, thereby cutting off his main route of victory against Mamdani. Much of Cuomo’s chances against Mamdani hinge on what Sliwa will do, so Sliwa remains a very important player in this race even if he won’t win.
All that being said, the NYC mayoral race is certainly shaping up to be very interesting.
