Latest news with #CuomoMamdani
CBS News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
NYC Democratic mayoral candidates Cuomo, Mamdani and Lander go on the offensive as race's homestretch begins
With the New York City Democratic mayoral primary race entering the homestretch, several candidates took advantage of the Juneteenth holiday to cast ballots and step up attacks on their opponents. This is an election that has energized New Yorkers, with nearly 169,000 cast ballots in the first five days of early voting. That is nearly double the total of four years ago. Election Day is on Tuesday. The candidates are in the process of making their final arguments to New Yorkers, including who would be the best foil for President Trump, whose campaign donations should be questioned, and who's not a supporter of the Jewish community. Voters heard it all Thursday, especially from the two frontrunners, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo appeals to minority communities, attacks Trump Cuomo made a star-studded entry into a Juneteenth celebration at Co-Op City, and if he had a nickel for every person who wanted to pose for a picture with him, he might not have to accept campaign donations. It took a while for the crowd to settle down. "Listen everybody, calm yourself," Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benedetto said. Read more: NYC Democratic mayoral candidates jump on debate opportunity to question Andrew Cuomo For Cuomo, who is facing a tightening race with Mamdani, it was a two-fer -- an opportunity to show case his support in the minority community and to play up his calling card -- his ability to stand up to Mr. Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Remember his advice: Drink Clorox. Drink Clorox and COVID won't kill you. The Clorox will kill you," Cuomo said. Afterwards, Cuomo slammed Mamdani for past statements about Israel and Black leaders. "We're celebrating Juneteenth. Mr. Mamdani said President Obama is evil. He said President Obama is a liar," Cuomo said. "This is all ugly, divisive rhetoric and actions, and it is repugnant to who we are as New Yorkers." Mamdani and Lander take aim at Cuomo's integrity Mamdani, who cast his ballot in Astoria, tried to hit Cuomo on what he believes is his Achilles' heel -- his superPAC that is raking in the dough and, Mamdani said, "is funded by the very Republican billionaire donors that put Donald Trump back in the White House." "They now are trying to put Andrew Cuomo into City Hall, and, ultimately, what we're seeing is, can billionaires and corporations buy another election," Mamdani added. Read more: Zohran Mamdani gets emotional while talking about being a Muslim running for NYC mayor City Comptroller Brad Lander, who also cast his ballot Thursday, tried to get another bite of the political apple by speaking once again about his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents earlier in the week. And since he and Mamdani cross-endorsed each other, their goal was to attack Cuomo. "Andrew Cuomo does not have decency and integrity and should not be allowed at City Hall. I believe that Zohran Mamdani is a person of decency and integrity, and I am therefore encouraging people to rank him number two," Lander said.
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Mamdani Narrows Cuomo's Lead in N.Y.C. Mayor's Race, New Poll Finds
The Democratic primary for New York City mayor has tightened into a two-man sprint in its final days, with former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo maintaining a modest but diminished lead over Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, according to a new poll released on Wednesday. The survey from the Marist Institute for Public Opinion found that 38 percent of likely voters planned to rank Mr. Cuomo first on their ballots, compared with 27 percent for Mr. Mamdani. In a simulation of the city's ranked-choice voting system, the former governor prevailed over Mr. Mamdani by 10 percentage points in the seventh round. Yet, with less than a week to go before the June 24 primary, the results also showed signs of momentum for Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist running on an economic populist message. He cut the lead Mr. Cuomo held in a Marist poll in May by nearly half by consolidating progressives and making inroads with Latino voters. 'Mamdani is clearly in Cuomo's rearview mirror,' said Lee M. Miringoff, the poll's director. 'What's the line? Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.' The Marist survey was one of the few quality, nonpartisan polls published in the chaotic final weeks of the race, which has been dominated by affordability, public safety and the return of President Trump. It had a margin of error of 4.3 percent and found 11 percent of likely voters were still undecided. The poll, however, was conducted between June 9 and 12, so it did not capture the impact of a string of major campaign events that included the contest's final televised debate; the announcement of a cross-endorsement between Mr. Mamdani and Brad Lander, the city comptroller; and an ad barrage attacking the assemblyman. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Guardian
13-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Democrats vying for mayor of New York City clash in second and final debate
Seven Democratic candidates vying to become New York City's next mayor clashed on Thursday night in the second and final debate before the June primary. The two-hour debate quickly turned combative with the frontrunners, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and democratic socialist assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, sparring over their records and qualifications. Cuomo, 67, who is attempting a political comeback after resigning from his role as governor in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, dismissed 33-year-old Mamdani as unprepared and too inexperienced for the role of New York City mayor. 'I think inexperience is dangerous,' Cuomo said, before running through a list of political institutions that he claimed Mamdani had never dealt with. 'He's never built anything,' Cuomo continued. 'He's never dealt with a natural emergency. He's never dealt with a hurricane, with a flood, etc. He's never done any of the essentials. And now you have Donald Trump on top of all of that.' Mamdani fired back: 'To Mr Cuomo, I have never had to resign in disgrace, I have never cut Medicaid, I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA, I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment, I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr Cuomo.' Mamdani also criticized Cuomo for repeatedly mispronouncing his name: 'The name is Mamdani. You should learn how to say it.' Cuomo continued his attacks, calling Mamdani 'a man who has done nothing'. Mamdani defended his record as an assemblymember, citing work and organizing he did to help New York City taxi drivers. Mamdani, who said it was 'time for a new generation of leadership', urged New Yorkers to judge him by the campaign he's running, where he manages 36,000 volunteers. He promised to bring 'innovation and competence' to city hall and hire 'the best and the brightest'. In addition to Cuomo and Mamdani, five other candidates were on the stage: the city comptroller, Brad Lander; the council speaker, Adrienne Adams; the state senator Zellnor Myrie; the former comptroller Scott Stringer; and the former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson. The debate opened with moderators asking the candidates about the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles and the administration's response to the protests against the immigration crackdown. 'If you were mayor of New York right now, how would you handle this situation, if something like that happened here?' the moderators asked. 'We are going to protect our immigrants,' Cuomo said. 'This is a sanctuary city, and we are going to defend the laws of the sanctuary city.' 'Donald Trump only picks fights that he can win. He cannot win a fight with me as mayor of New York,' Cuomo added. Mamdani pledged to block any New York City police department cooperation with federal immigration agents if elected, and vowed to provide and fund legal support for immigrants facing deportation cases. Other candidates, such as Adrienne Adams, said they would sue the federal government. Cuomo faced sustained criticism throughout the night. Lander, the city comptroller, repeatedly challenged Cuomo's record. Early in the debate, Lander pressed Cuomo on his use of the term 'illegal immigrants', prompting Cuomo to switch to 'undocumented'. Throughout the debate, Lander accused Cuomo of failing to take accountability for things that had occurred while he was governor. 'I lead by building the best teams, not through sexual harassment, corruption and disgrace,' Lander said. Cuomo was asked about the sexual harassment allegations against him that led to his 2021 resignation. Cuomo called them 'political' and urged voters to 'look at the facts'. Lander responded by saying that if Cuomo were elected mayor, he would not tell college students to work in city government, and that he would have to tell them: 'Don't go work at city hall because the mayor is a sexual harasser.' Cuomo hit back, saying that Lander was telling lies. On housing, all of the candidates said that they would want to build more housing in New York City. Cuomo and Tilson were the only candidates on the stage who did not support a rent freeze for rent-stabilized units for this year. On public safety, Myrie said the issue called for subway teams made up of both police and mental health experts, and said that he would institute 50,000 more summer youth jobs and after-school programs. Tilson attacked Mamdani, arguing that he had 'demonized' the police. In response, Mamdani said that if elected he would 'not defund the police' and said that he would 'work with the police because I believe the police have a critical role to play in creating public safety'. He also called for mental health and social workers to help the police respond to emergency calls. Moderators pressed Cuomo on why, during '10-plus years as governor', he had not made a 'public visit to a mosque' and asked him what he would say 'to more than 760,000 Muslims here in the city about whether or not you would reach out to them, make them feel welcome, make them feel protected?' In response, Cuomo said that he believed he had visited a mosque and added: 'I would say, we are a city of immigrants, I welcome them, I love them.' Mamdani was also asked to address concerns from Jewish New Yorkers supportive of Israel who 'fear for their safety in this current political climate'. Mamdani responded: 'I hear them and that I have heard them over the course of this campaign and before that', adding: 'I will protect Jewish New Yorkers and deliver them that safety.' Mamdani received criticism from Cuomo and Tilson over his criticisms of Israel. Tensions also escalated when Mamdani, who is Muslim, accused Cuomo's Super Pac of altering a photo on a leaked draft campaign flyer to make his beard look darker, longer and thicker. Mamdani first made the accusation earlier on Thursday on Instagram, calling it 'blatant Islamophobia'. Unlike the previous week's debate, which was held without an audience, Thursday's event had a live crowd that reacted audibly throughout with clapping, cheering, booing and laughter. The final debate on Thursday came after several major recent endorsements. The New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez threw her support behind Mamdani after last week's debate, while the former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Cuomo this week. New polling released this week underscores just how tight the race has become. The Democratic primary election will be held on 24 June, with early voting beginning 10 days earlier, on 14 June. The election will use ranked-choice voting, allowing New Yorkers to rank up to five candidates in order of preference. The current New York mayor, Eric Adams, who ran as a Democrat in 2021, is seeking re-election as an independent candidate. The general mayoral election is set for 4 November.
New York Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
5 Takeaways From the Democrats' Final N.Y.C. Mayoral Debate
In the final Democratic debate in the primary for mayor of New York City, seven leading candidates sparred over immigration, affordability and President Trump's policies. But more often, the debate on Thursday devolved into sharp personal attacks. The most pointed exchanges involved Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani, the two front-runners in polls. Mr. Cuomo pummeled Mr. Mamdani, arguing that his inexperience was dangerous. Mr. Mamdani criticized the former governor as out-of-touch and beholden to the same special interests that support Mr. Trump. Other candidates often entered the fray. Brad Lander, the city comptroller, drew attention to Mr. Cuomo's handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic and the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation as governor in 2021. The debate was the candidates' best and possibly last chance to grab attention ahead of the start of early voting on Saturday. The primary will be held June 24. Here are five takeaways from the debate. Ganging up on Cuomo Mr. Cuomo is still clearly viewed as the front-runner based on the attacks he faced from his rivals. Several of the candidates mentioned the sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
