Cuomo and Sliwa aim to weaken Mamdani’s momentum in New York City’s first mayoral debate

NEW YORK (AP) — The stage is set Thursday for the first debate for New York City’s mayoral election, as Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa look to halt the momentum of Democratic nominee Zahran Mamdani, who has already defeated the once-powerful New York governor in this summer’s primary.

For Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, the stakes are high. This debate is one of his last chances to win voters over to his side and convince them that going with Mamdani would be a mistake.

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The race is also Cuomo’s attempt to make a political comeback after resigning as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment allegations. He denies any wrongdoing, but has come under fire over the scandal, along with other damaging matters he picked up during his tenure as governor.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, is in a more comfortable position, although he will need to fend off two hours of sharp jabs from Cuomo while maintaining the charming, hopeful atmosphere that characterized his campaign.

Meanwhile, Sliwa, creator of the crime patrol group Guardian Angels, hopes to cause a big surprise in the deep blue city. Sliwa received nearly 30% of the vote when he last ran as the Republican Party’s nominee four years ago. This time, he hopes Mamdani and Cuomo will split the Democratic vote while ensuring Republicans and centrists rise to the top.

The race has catapulted Mamdani to national political stardom, with Republicans, including President Donald Trump, trying to turn him into the face of the Democratic Party by highlighting his past, more controversial comments and positions and calling him dangerous, a communist and an anti-Semite.

Trump threatened to arrest Mamdani, deport him, and even seize the city if he won. Mamdani is a naturalized American citizen.

Mamdani has tried to distance himself from some of his past statements, including calling the New York Police Department a “major threat to public safety,” and his refusal, during the Democratic primaries, to disavow the use of the phrase “globalization of intifada,” which is seen as a call to violence for many Jews.

Mamdani’s style of economic populism — a heavy focus on lowering the city’s astronomical costs of living through the idea that the government should do more to help the lower and middle classes rather than the wealthy — has generated buzz and excitement.

At the same time, the state assembly member’s calls to increase taxes on the wealthy and strong criticism of the Israeli government’s military operations in Gaza have alarmed some centrists and conservatives. This is where Cuomo’s rebooted campaign sees its path to victory.

The former governor has portrayed Mamdani as a potentially dangerous leader who would lead the city to financial and social ruin, while portraying himself as a competent manager who could handle the city’s expanding bureaucracy and finances.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, suspended his re-election campaign late last month, badly wounded by a now-dismissed federal corruption case and his connection to the Trump administration.

A poll of likely New York City voters conducted by Quinnipiac University in early October, after Adams finished his bid for a second term, showed Mamdani continuing to outperform Cuomo. The poll indicated that Cuomo may have benefited somewhat from Adams’ departure, but the current mayor’s exit does not appear to have had a significant impact on the state of the race.

Adams was not included in the poll but remained on the November ballot because he did not withdraw his candidacy before the ballot deadline.

The two candidates are scheduled to meet in a second and final debate next week.