New York City mayoral election could be a 4 or 5-way race in November
Whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Assembly Member Zohran Mamdami wins the June 24 primary, a rematch is possible in November.
As the mayoral race heat up in New York, residents are facing a contest not quite like any other.
Polling suggests the June 24 Democratic primary is a two-person race between a young social media darling and a disgraced former governor, but it is only the prelude to a four or five-way race in the November general election.
Notably absent from the primary ballot is incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who has dropped out of the primary to run as an independent in the general election.
And Adams won't be the only independent candidate in November. In addition to attorney Jim Walden, Cuomo is also on the November ballot as the nominee of the newly invented Fight and Deliver Party ballot line and he will continue that campaign even if he loses the Democratic nomination. Likewise, Mamdani is the candidate of the Working Families Party and he may run on that in the fall even if he loses the Democratic primary.
Because both Mamdani and Cuomo are affiliated with other parties, if one emerges victorious in the Democratic primary, it doesn't automatically eliminate the other. If, for example, Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, pulls off an upset against Cuomo, the former governor could challenge him again in November, attempting to coalesce the support of independents and moderate Democrats.
If, however, Cuomo emerges victorious, Mamandi could run against him again in November on the left-wing Working Families Party ticket.
And then there is the Republican nominee, longtime local gadly Curtis Sliwa, best known for founding the Guardian Angels anti-crime vigilante organization.
Adams has seen sagging approval numbers since his 2024 criminal indictment on federal corruption charges. He subsequently aligned himself increasingly with Trump, whose Department of Justice dropped the charges.
With Adams' approval rating around 20%, the general election could end up being another contest with Mamdani and Cuomo in the lead.
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