The three remaining candidates in the New York City mayoral race will take the stage Thursday night in a highly-anticipated debate that could reshape the final stretch of the campaign.
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa will debate at 7 p.m. for the first of two general election debates ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
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The contest has already upended New York politics and drawn national attention. In a major upset, Mamdani defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Last month, current Mayor Eric Adams ended his re-election bid, narrowing the field to three.
Read More: A Politics of No Translation.’ Zohran Mamdani on His Unlikely Rise
With early voting starting on Oct. 25, the debate will be an important opportunity for the three remaining candidates to win over undecided voters—and for Mamdani to defend his lead.
The outcome of the election could have implications far beyond the city.
“If Mamdani wins, the Republicans and Trump will try to use Mamdani’s victory to try to demonize the Democrats further in the run up to the 2026 midterm election,” says Robert Shapiro, professor of political science and vice dean of the School of International Public Affairs at Columbia University.
“On the other hand, this is a double edged aspect. This could be Mamdani’s badge of courage here, being the person to take on the Trump Administration in this very visible, confrontational, symbolic way.”
The two-hour debate will stream on platforms like NBC 4 New York and Telemundo.
Here’s what to know about the debate and the state of the race.
Mamdani faces his biggest test yet
Leading in the polls by a double-digit margin, Mamdani has energized New York City voters by centering his campaign on city affordability, touting ambitious initiatives including free city buses, rental freezes, and city-run grocery stores.
But while the 33-year-old state assemblyman has garnered support from many voters in the Big Apple as families struggle with elevated housing costs and inflation, Mamdani’s biggest obstacle may be his stance on public safety.
Read More: How Zohran Mamdani Plans to Fix New York City’s Housing Crisis
The self-described Democratic socialist has been criticized for his previous calls to defund the police, and for calling the department a “racist, anti-queer and major threat to public safety.” In recent months, he’s moved away from those remarks, issuing a public apology to the New York Police Department (NYPD) on Fox News on Wednesday: “I apologize because of the fact that I’m looking to work with these officers. And I know that these officers, these men and women who serve in the NYPD, they put their lives on the line every single day,” he said.
While he said he’s shifted his stance on that issue—and has promised to keep the NYPD’s staffing numbers intact—Mamdani has also advocated for the creation of a Department of Public Safety to respond to mental health crises in the city.
Shapiro also expects that the debate will force the mayoral front-runner to confront Cuomo’s criticisms that Mamdani lacks political experience.
To earn the votes of the small subset of undecided voters, Mamdani has to show moderate voters that his ideas do not sit on the fringes. “He might have some extreme ideas, but these times, given the hardships people face, may require those kinds of ideas, or at least require a candidate who uses those kinds of ideas to show that he really is deeply concerned with these issues of economic well-being and affordability,” says Shapiro.
Mamdani’s left-leaning policies have earned him the backing of popular progressive politicians Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Other members of the Democratic Party have more tepidly stated their support: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her endorsement for Mamdani in September, followed by former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Cuomo seeking a comeback from the center
Cuomo’s loss in the Democratic Party’s June primary election surprised many people, as the former governor was initially considered to be a front-runner in the primary race. But Mamdani soared in the polls in the weeks leading up to Election Day, and ended up clinching the Party’s nomination.
Now running as an independent, Cuomo faces an uphill battle to reclaim political ground. In 2021, the then-governor resigned in disgrace after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. Cuomo also received backlash for withholding data about the number of COVID deaths in nursing homes while he was in office.
Cuomo’s campaign has been trying to appeal to moderate Democrats, as well as independent and Republican voters, who are reluctant or unwilling to vote for Mamdani. Shapiro says it’s likely that Cuomo will “criticize” and “attack” Mamdani during Thursday’s debate, including on topics like free child care and free buses.
“These debates are very important for Cuomo because this is his last chance to attempt to gain ground on Mamdani,” Shapiro says. Unless Sliwa drops out of the race and backs the former governor, Cuomo has “got a lot of ground to make up” to gain enough support to surpass Mamdani, Shapiro says.
Sliwa’s fight for relevance
Standing in the way of a two-man showdown for mayor is Sliwa, founder of street patrol nonprofit Guardian Angels and the sole Republican in the race.
Despite calls for him to step down from the race, the candidate has remained steadfast in his commitment to keep running. “Curtis Sliwa never dropped out of anything in his life,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Cuomo, however, is hoping for a change of mind in order to scoop up Sliwa’s supporters under his wing. “He has a loyal base of support coming from conventional New York Republicans, law and order voters and so forth,” says Shapiro. While Sliwa may not be moderate enough to win the election overall, his voters would likely prefer to flock to the more moderate Cuomo than Mamdani, Shapiro says.
Where the race stands in the polls
The latest polls show that Mamdani holds a double-digit lead over Cuomo and Sliwa. A Quinnipiac University poll released earlier this month shows that 46% of likely voters said they would vote for Mamdani, 33% for Cuomo, and 15% for Sliwa.