(The Center Square) — New York City voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide a nationally watched race to replace outgoing Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, with President Donald Trump’s shadow looming over the election.
Democratic primary winner Zohran Mamdani faces former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is attempting a political comeback as an independent, and Republican Curtis Silwa, in a mayoral race with significant implications for the future of the nation’s largest city and the Democratic Party. The latest polls show Mamdani holding a double-digit lead, although Cuomo has narrowed the gap in recent weeks.
Many New Yorkers weren’t willing to wait until election day. More than 735,000 voters cast their ballots during a weeklong early voting that wrapped up Friday after setting new records for preliminary turnout, according to the New York City Board of Elections.
The three candidates crisscrossed New York City’s five boroughs at a breakneck pace over the weekend and into Monday to sway last-minute voters with their closing messages and rally their supporters ahead of Tuesday’s election.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, led an early Monday march with his supporters across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall, where he spoke of “turning a page” on the city’s leadership, criticized Adams’ tenure as mayor and blasted Cuomo for his record as governor.
“We stand on the verge of ushering in a new day for our city,” the Queens assemblyman said. “This march reflects the story of the movement that we have built over the past year. Our time is now.”
Speaking to supporters at a church on Sunday, Cuomo, 67, stressed his experience as a former governor, referring to Mamdani as a “kid” who lacks the chops to take over the nation’s largest city.
“To actually get something done, you need to know how government works,” Cuomo said in remarks. “How the city works, how the state works, how the federal government works.”
Sliwa, 71, the Guardian Angels founder, also spent the final days of the election canvassing New York City streets in his signature red beret and rejecting calls to drop out of the race to blunt Mamdani’s lead over Cuomo in the polls.
“This is an election that will not be determined by billionaires, influencers or insiders, but you, the people, the blue-collar working class that are not represented,” Sliwa said in remarks. “I’m the only real New Yorker running in this race.”
Mamdani sent shockwaves through the political world when he defeated Cuomo in the June primary with an energetic campaign focused on making the city a more affordable place to live.
But he has faced skepticism over his controversial proposals to tax the city’s top earners and businesses to pay for free bus service, universal child care, and a rent freeze for stabilized apartments. Critics of his proposals have warned that it could prompt an exodus from the city. He’s also been criticized for previous comments about Israel’s war against Hamas and the city’s police department.
Trump has casted his long shadow over the race, warning that New York City’s federal funding would be at risk if it elects Mamdani as mayor. In a CBS News “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday, he called Mamdani a “commie” and said he would “pick” Cuomo for mayor.
“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” Trump said.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday as voters cast the final ballots for mayor, along with several other city offices and six ballot questions.
