Live: Cuomo's political comeback may be blocked by young progressive Zohran Mamdani

USA Today

17 hours ago

New York City Democrats head to the polls on June 24 to vote in citywide elections that will determine their party's nominee for mayor.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is at the precipice of a remarkable political comeback, but a second-term Assembly member stands in his way.
New York City Democrats head to the polls on June 24 to vote in citywide elections that will determine their party's nominee − and thus the favorite to win in November − for every office from mayor to county court judge.
The mayoral race presents a stark contrast in its two leading candidates: Cuomo, 67, is the oldest and state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, 33, is its youngest.
Each also represents an ideological pole in the 11-candidate field, with Cuomo − a centrist who appointed many Republicans to his gubernatorial administration − on its right, and Democratic Socialists of America-member Mamdani on its left.
While Cuomo has pledged to hire more police and increase private housing construction, Mamdani has excited progressives with promises to freeze rents in regulated apartments and make buses free.
The battle between the two of them, and a host of other local officials, on who can best stand up to President Donald Trump, lower the city's housing costs, and remove homeless people from the streets and subways has drawn big spending from billionaires on Cuomo's behalf. A Super PAC backing Cuomo has spent $24 million, much of it raised from Trump donors such as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and real estate executive Steven Roth, along with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
More: NYC's Democratic primary is here. What to know about candidates, ranked choice voting
Winning would cap a startling resurrection for Cuomo, a three-term governor who resigned in 2021 amid scandals including covering up nursing home deaths and numerous allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.
Cuomo recently moved back to New York City for the first time in three decades, and launched a run for mayor, becoming an instant frontrunner. Many elected officials who condemnded him in 2021 have endorsed him for mayor this year.
But while he has led in polls throughout the race, Cuomo's lead has gradually diminished. A June 23 Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released June 23 showed Mamdani edging him out in the final round of the instant runoff that will use the city's ranked-choice voting system to determine a winner. Betting markets, which previously showed Cuomo with a far greater chance of winning, are now almost tied on the eve of the election.
Notably absent from the ballot is incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who has dropped out of the primary to run as an independent in the general election. 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.
In the NYC mayoral race, a chance for historic firsts
If Cuomo wins the race for City Hall, he will be the first former governor to become mayor. He is also the heir to a political dynast: his father Mario Cuomo was also a three-term governor. Before being elected governor in 1982, Mario Cuomo unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the 1977 Democratic primary, losing to New York City Comptroller Abe Beame.
Mamdani, on the other hand, presents a different kind of first – a fresh-faced legislator with less than five years in office, gunning to be the first Muslim New York City mayor, the first Asian American mayor, and the first Democratic Socialist in City Hall. He is also from a prominent family: his father is a well-known professor at Columbia University and his mother is the filmmaker Mira Nair.
-Ben Adler and Anna Kauffman
Who is running for NYC mayor?
There are 11 Democrats on the ballot in the June 24 primary, hoping to advance to the general election on Nov. 4:
Ramos stopped campaigning and endorsed Cuomo.
Whoever wins the Democratic mayoral primary on June 24 will face Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa and two independents: NYC Mayor Eric L. Adams and Jim Walden in the general election on Nov. 5.
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.
-Ben Adler and Fernando Cervantes Jr.
What are Zohran Mamdani's policy proposals?
Mamdani has surged from obscurity to a leading contender for mayor with a campaign platform intended to reduce New York City's high cost of living. Those proposals include:
The only problem? New York City doesn't have the legal authority to raise taxes, and thus the revenue for programs like free buses, without permission from the state government. And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she isn't willing to increase taxes on top earners as Mamdani proposes.
-Ben Adler and James Powel
Justin Brannan, Mark Levine battle for New York City comptroller
Mayor isn't the only race on the ballot on June 24. The next-most powerful position in New York City government, comptroller, is also up for grabs.
The comptroller is the city's chief fiscal officer. He or she audits city agencies, manages city employees' pension funds, and oversees contracts to safeguard against waste, fraud and abuse.
The two leading candidates for comptroller are Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Member Justin Brannan, from Brooklyn. State Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn is also running.
Levine is a typical liberal from Manhattan's Upper West Side, which he previously represented on the City Council. Brannan, who represents the politically diverse, middle-class neighborhood of Bay Ridge, is more idiosyncratic, having been a member of the Council's Progressive Caucus but also describing himself as a moderate. He was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.
Current Comptroller Brad Lander is running for mayor, and currently polling in third place. His predecessor Scott Stringer is also on the mayoral ballot.
-Ben Adler
Can NYC polling sites handle the heat?
As the city awoke to alarmingly high temperatures Tuesday, June 24, the Board of Elections prepared for the worst: a blackout at polling sites.
In a statement to City & State, a spokesperson said the board was prepared with backup batteries and that should those run out, ballots would be counted later, similar to the process for absentee or vote-by-mail ballots.
Candidates urged voters to stay cool as they made their voices heard, pushing for water and additional air conditioning at polling sites.
-Anna Kauffman
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani is an Assembly member from Astoria, Queens. He is the first South Asian man to serve in the assembly and the third Muslim person to do so.
He previously worked as a foreclosure-prevention housing counselor and a campaign staffer.
He was born in Uganda but raised in Manhattan after his family moved there when he was 7 years old, according to his office's biography.
Mamdani describes himself on his campaign website as a democratic socialist.
He is the son of Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, and Mira Nair, a filmmaker best known for directing "Monsoon Wedding."
-James Powel
Ranked choice voting in a crowded field
While Cuomo continued to lead Mamdani in first-place voters, New York City primaries now use a system of ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank up to five candidates.
And they have a plethora to choose from. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is polling in third place, and he and Mamdani have cross-endorsed one another, encouraging their supporters to rank the other candidate second. Then there's Lander's predcessor Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation to the mayor), state Sen. Zelnor Myrie, former Assembly Member Michael Blake and retired hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.
With the exception of Tilson, the candidates generally lean left, and their supporters may be more likely to rank Mamdani than Cuomo down ballot. That is the dynamic that led to Mamdani overtaking Cuomo in the instant runoff in the most recent poll.
"In this ranked choice environment, I do feel there are scenarios in which Cuomo is beatable," Basil Smikle, a New York City-based political consultant, told USA TODAY in early June.
An extreme heat wave could harm turnout
New York City is in the midst of a severe heat wave, with temperatures well above 90 degrees and the city's stifling summer humidity. June 24 is expected to be especially scorching, with highs breaking the rarely-breached 100-degree mark.
This may pose a threat to Cuomo's chances, because his supporters skew older and are more likely to stay away because of the temperature. The former governor complained on June 19 that the Board of Elections' plans to mitigate the heat were insufficient and demanded air conditioning in polling places. Cuomo's backers are also more likely to cast their ballots on Election Day, while Mamdani's − who tend to be younger, highly educated, engaged, and enthusiastic − are better represented among those who took advantage of early voting, which started on June 14.
-Ben Adler
A campaign under Trump's shadow
As he does in all facets of politics, President Donald Trump looms large in his former hometown's elections. Adams' increasingly friendly relationship with Trump has driven his split with the Democratic Party's base, while every other candidate pledges to fight against the president.
In a clearly implied contrast with Adams, progressive candidates have tried to prove their anti-Trump bona fides on immigration. Mamdani shouted at White House immigration czar Tom Homan when Homan came to the state Capitol in Albany, and Lander recently made national news by getting arrested escorting an immigrant out of a deportation hearing.
Cuomo has argued that his experience makes him best qualified to handle Trump.
"Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter," Cuomo said at a June 5 debate that was dominated mostly by opponents' attacks on his record.
-Ben Adler
AOC, Bernie Sanders, Bill Clinton weigh in
Prominent figures in national politics have weighed in on both sides. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district overlaps with Mamdani's in Queens, put him at the top of her ballot. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent Vermont socialist who grew up in Brooklyn, is backing Mamdani as well.
But beacons of the Democratic Party's moderate establishment such as former President Bill Clinton have weighed in on behalf of Cuomo.
With New York's complicated instant runoff, in which the lowest ranked candidate in each round is eliminated, taking days to conduct, the only thing that will be known on election night is who got the most first place votes.
-Ben Adler