the DON JONES INDEX… 

 

 

 

GAINS POSTED in GREEN

LOSSES POSTED in RED

 

6/26/25...    14,983.34  

6/19/25...    14,973.18   6/27/13...    15,000.00

 

(THE DOW JONES INDEX:   6/26/25... 42,992.56; 6/19/25... 42,171.66; 6/27/13… 15,000.00)

 

LESSON for JUNE 26th, 2025 – “CROCKPOT of COBBLEPOTS!”

 

New York City’s Democratic voters, yesterday, dealt the Party’s locktite movers and shakers a surprise that the media called “shocking” and “seismic”; nominating a 33 year old Islamist progressive, Zohran Mamdani and rejecting their heavily favored, but heavily compromised, heir to glory, Andrew Cuomo.

Comix connoisseurs may consider DC’s "Forever Evil" storyline, Oswald Cobblepot, (aka the “Penguin” – a sneering criminal oaf, and frequent foe of Batman) is among the villains recruited by the Crime Syndicate of America to join the Secret Society of Super Villains which, with Batman out of town on other business, mobilizes its criminal resources to make the Penguin Mayor of Gotham City, whereupon he is free to loot the populace and elevate various rogues, rascals and inmates of Arkham Asylum to his cabinet.

The whys and wherefores of Cobblepot’s campaign and election in Gotham are as opaque as the present reality’s reasons for Mamdani’s upset (and would make a terrific “Batman Sixteen or Thirty Three” sequel one of these days).

Every good movie, or reality show, needs a hook – and, in this instance, the hook is New York City’s adoption of the ultra-woke “Ranked Choice Voting” where, when there are numerous contenders, the trophy (Mayor, Governor, Congressman, Commissioner of Sewers) does not go to the winner of a runoff between the top two finishers, but to a convoluted step by step process of elimination where voters may choose up to five favorites (a boon to the largely undecided or compassionate cranks) and then gumment bureaucrats sort out the results in “rounds”, eliminating the lesser contenders... from as many as a dozen or twenty... down to a final three, two, one and winner.  (See Wikipedia, ranked choice summary, ATTACHMENT “A” and its links)

“The 2025 New York City mayoral election” WIKI reports, as opposed to the earlier primary (below) “is scheduled to occur on November 4, 2025. The incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, was elected mayor on the Democratic Party line in 2021, but is seeking re-election to a second term as an independent. He was indicted on federal corruption charges in September 2024 and has faced calls to resign from office. The Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams in February 2025, and the case was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025.

“Primary elections for the Democratic Party are scheduled to be held on June 24, 2025, with the early voting period beginning on June 14. The Republican Party will not hold a primary election; Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee for mayor. In New York City, primaries are held using ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting.”

 

In its explanatory article eleven days (Friday the Thirteenth - ATTACHMENT ONE) before yesterday’s surprise, New York’s ABC further described the system (admittedly bizarre but, so far, retained) as favoring “the candidate(s) who appeal to the widest group of voters.”

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/New York advised voters that: "Your first choice should be the candidate you are passionate about, your second choice is the candidate you think would do a really good job and if number one weren't running, that would be your first choice," Lerner said. "Your third or fourth choices should be candidates you think are going to be OK, you have no problem with them. And your fifth choice is the candidate, well, I can live with this one, but never rank somebody that you don't want to see in office."

Consequently, although Cuomo held leads of thirty to fifty percentage points earlier in the year, Katrina vanden Heuvel (a “Nation” staff writer moonlighting for the Guardian U.K.) hinted that the system might... just might... allow Mamdani to at least gain “credibility” even as the tainted goliath Cuomo would be “measuring the drapes at Gracie Mansion” due to “...real estate developers, corporations like Doordash, a smattering of billionaires (including a splattering of shekels from Michael Bloomberg) and even Billy Joel” who’d shoveled cash into his campaign, “with his Super Pac spending more money than any other outside force in the city’s political history.” This atop his entering the race with major name recognition advantage, amounting to a 20- or 30-point lead as recently as May.  (ATTACHMENT TWO)

Citing the 2020 Democratic national primary where progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren fought to consolidate the minority faction within the party, “and got mired in a grisly and public feud” which mudslinging left “one person standing – Joe Biden.

This time, vanden Heuvel speculated, the mayoral candidates seem to have learned.  “On Friday, Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other, encouraging their supporters to rank the other second. Mamdani explained the decision with a refreshing mix of idealism and realism: “This is the necessary step to ensure that we’re not just serving our own campaigns – we’re serving the city at large.” This was followed by another cross-endorsement, between Mamdani and former assemblyman Michael Blake, on Monday. And the national progressive movement is much more united than it was in 2021, with both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders endorsing Mamdani in the home stretch this time.

By treating each other like allies rather than adversaries, the anti-Cuomo coalition, she ventured that the longshot candidate “might just prevail.

Joneses will never know whether the sudden United States intrusion into the MidEast war by attempting to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities but then the Index, the country and the world were interrupted by…

BREAKING NEWS – The Saturday Night lights over Iran (specifically its underground nuclear facities in Fodorow) and two other places were visited by the United States, which deployed the previously untested “massive ordnance penetrator” bombs (MOPS) to clean up the Iranian plutonium and its enrichment facilities and obliterate (said President Trump) or at least seriously damage (contended Veep Vance and some others) the Shiite Islamist goal of attaining nuclear status, and an opportunity to (in their own minds, at least) conquer Israel, perhaps a few of the rival Sunni gulf states and America.

Subsequently, however, Iran and some observers contended... and Trump denied... that up to 900 pounds of enriched uranium had been moved. (See below, and much more next Lesson)

ENDORSEMENTS, EARLY VOTING and CAMPAIGNINGS

Back to our topic as already commenced: the Jewish, Palestinian, Islamist question resonateing perhaps more strongly in New York City than anywhere else in the United States except, perhaps, in and around Detroit (which has a sizeable Arabic population).

Religion abruptly inserted itself into Gotham... already in the throes of a corruption problem that would have made Oswald Cobblepot lift his umbrella and try to protect himself from the shitstorm raining down... sex crimes and a Trumpian contempt for campaign finance laws, flagrant corruption and a criminality so pervasive that the incumbent Mayor Eric Adams chose to cut a deal with Djonald UnChained to keep his darkside backside out of prison in exchang in assisting him in hurling the city’s immigrant population under the bus (or subway train) and then having the audacity to run for re-election.

Perhaps he did so, knowing that the front runner... there was no Batman to the rescue but, instead, a Ratman: former Governor Andrew Cuomo who used his power and influence to beat down numerous sex charges ranging from harassment to out and out rape, which did cost him a prior post as Governor of New York.  The sordid saga of “Handy Andy” (whose father, the iconic and influential Mario) was, is, and will likely be a catastrophy of epic... even nuclear proportions.  The only near-congruent corruption leading to disgrace might be that of former President Joe, a father of two sons.  One, by all accounts a military and civilian hero, Beau, died young of brain cancer; the other, a scheming wastrel Hunter (who became a poster boy for MAGA Republicans and most Democrats, too) may have influenced Trump’s restoration to a second term – leading angels to weep and devils to celebrate.

“Hunter” Cuomo (the repulsive nicknames keep coming!) was given the honor of an enormous lead in polls to become a peer of the Penguin - owing to the fact that his chief competitor, the young (33), verbally progressive Z-man (call him Zorro!) Mamdani is also a jihad-supporting Islamist... vocally coy about his commitment to terrorism, less believable in denying his expressed hatred of Israel and of the Jews.

In New York City!

Nowhere else would such a creature be considered more unfit for public office, but Mamdani, an ethnic Islamic South Asian by way of Uganda, could well also be considered a candidate for deportation by the national administration, the President and his sock puppets in ICE, the DoJ, Congress, the courts and the military.  His popularity in the polls had been rising until this week (for reasons below) until he actually surmounted Cuomo in several notable polls; and then Israel’s attacks on Palestine and Gaza, Iran’s military response and the American intervention on Saturday has now sent his popularity shuddering downwards, as Zorro tried vainly to parse pro-Palestinian versus anti-Semitic statements.

There was a slender chance that fear of Mamdani and disgust with Cuomo might elevate what is (to Democrats and moderate Republicans, in otherwords, perhaps 87% of the voters) a genuine hero, “wonky” Comptroller Brad Lander into the final rounds of the complicated and confusing ranked voting system imposed upon New Yorkers a decade back but time and money worked their magic and we will see if Lander, finishing third, fulfills his pledge to Mamdani.

 

EARLY VOTING BEGINS

Realizing the problems and potentialities of the ranked choice, candidates viable or not, dropouts and the many, many observes amidst local and national media, political junkies and partisans and... of course... the donor class went to work early, forming strategies and (sometimes) alliances (often on the premise that it was more important to prevent an enmy from gaining office than to support a friend) and soliciting endorsements.

 

As the June 24 primary approached, formalized alliances began to take shape between the candidates themselves. One day before the start of early voting, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and city Comptroller Brad Lander became the first pair to cross-endorse each other, urging their respective supporters to rank the other second on their ballots in a bid to ice out front-runner Andrew Cuomo while the usual suspects in politics, labor and civic organizations voiced their choices; see these via Cityandstateny.com, (ATTACHMENT THREE)

As was expected, Cuomo... based on his famous name, a so-so record as Governor (until the sex charges swelled, so to speak) and access to money from billionaires like Bloomburg, from ordinary millionaires, and from Democratic Party stalwarts of the middle and even working class... locked up support from those who deigned or dared to step up.

The donkey of highest repute, former President Barack Obama (and his wife) offered perfunctory words of kindness and support to “Hunter” Cuomo, but no formal endorsement... so the marquee name on the Cuomo banner became former President and fellow ejaculator-in-chief Bill Clinton — another powerful old man who didn’t behave honorably toward women.

“The election will decide the next mayor of New York, and I urge you to vote for Andrew Cuomo,” Clinton said in a statement. “As President, I chose Andrew to be my Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], and he never let me down—but more importantly, he didn’t let the nation down.”  (AM.NY – ATTACHMENT FOUR)

Cuomo thanked Clinton for his support in a statement to the press, returning the accolades to the country’s 42nd President. 

“His administration was one of the most accomplished in modern political history — and that’s what government is supposed to be all about,” Cuomo said. “He never ran from a challenge (let along a pretty face – DJI) and, in fact, ran towards them. Together we built housing, battled homelessness and fought for justice for communities too often left out and left behind.”

 

CBS listed more endorsements… with analysis by J.C. Polanco, assistant professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, and political consultant O'Brien Murray to discuss why these endorsements matter. 

"Huge endorsement for former Gov. Cuomo. Why? Because [former] Mayor Bloomberg talks to a specific type of voter -- down the Upper East Side corridor, down the Upper West Side corridor, up to Park Slope and Brooklyn. He talks to voters that come out in large propensities that are Democrats, that will cross over to vote Republican," Polanco said. "By endorsing former Gov. Cuomo, he gives them the green light -- you can support this guy, forget about the baggage you've heard about, he's the guy that I trust -- and they trust Bloomberg, this is going to be great for Cuomo."

The CBS consultants disagreed on AOC’s choice… saying her choice of Mamdani didn’t bring any new voters – Murray countered that her endorsement didn't go to [Brad] Lander, and Lander needed it even though the New York times… while having a no endorsement policy… ran articles favoring Lander as the best overall choice to run the city.  (ATTACHMENT FIVE)

"In the end, a veteran civic leader and elected official, Brad Lander, the city comptroller, emerged as the top overall choice among the panelists, including four who recently shifted away from Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Mamdani and other candidates," the piece read.

 

As the “Ratman” candidates raced round their wheels of adventure, the networks and other media... many also confused or disgusted with the proceedings... tried their base to cover developments without implications that might further damage the reputation of New York City among the critical financial elites.

On Friday, Juneteenth, Politico reported that the “final sprint” to the finish line was under way

On Saturday, ABC reported that Lander went back to immigration court, while Cuomo and Mamdani kept “sparring” (ATTACHMENT SIX)

Brad Lander and Mamdani teamed up in Brooklyn Friday afternoon to shore up support.

They arrived at Grand Army Plaza to canvas voters, riding Citi Bikes side by side in the Prospect Park West bike lane.

Lander said the bike ride is representative of ranked-choice voting, adding it's "a joyful form of politics, instead of a bitter, sour, backwards-looking form of poltics. And of course gathering all of our voters together, that's a majority of New Yorkers on Tuesday."

They're asking voters to rank one first and the other second for mayor.

The goal is to freeze out Cuomo, whom both candidates are trying to stop.

"I hope he will call on his superpac to take those hideous ads down," Lander said.

The super PAC acknowledged it had lengthened and darkened Mamdani's beard on a flyer, which was never distributed.

On Friday, Mamdani said there's a direct link between that ads by the super PAC and the death threats he and family members have received.

"If you design mailers that lengthen and darken my beard, if you paint me as a radical, it is not a surprise to see the kind of threats that come," Mamdani said.

NBC (ATTACHMENT SEVEN) ran a short Q&A on the ranked choice warning that... while the 2024 Presidential results had been compiled by 12:25 AM Wednesday owing to the vast difference between local winner but national loser Harris and President Trump... the results from yesterday might not be published until July 1st.

Rival ABC (June 21, ATTACHMENT EIGHT) reported that Lander had revisited the same Federal courthouse as within he had been arrested – without incident this time – as Day Six of early voting ended with more than 250,00 votes cast and one day to go.

And the New York Times (ATTACHMENT NINE) reported that Housing for All, a super PAC representing landlords’ interests, announced plans to spend $2.5 million on campaign ads to promote Cuomo; dropped out Jessica Ramos, the state senator from Queens, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who donated $5 million to a pro-Cuomo super PAC, and former Gov. David Paterson also endorsed him.

The donations prompted Mamdani to accuse Cuomo of trying to buy the election.

"Politics is not something that can be bought by billionaires and corporations, it's something that can be won by working people and that's something on the ballot this June," Mamdani said.  (ABC, ATTACHMENT TEN)  "There have been difficult moments absolutely, especially as I've faced death threats and threats to the ones that I love, I've had to even hire security to that end, and that is troubling and that's also sadly an aspect of life in the Trump administration's world, and yet we know that doesn't define our city and it doesn't define this race, and what this race will ultimately be defined by is the most pressing crisis across the five boroughs, which is that of affordability," Mamdani said.

Cuomo responded that Mamdani's super PAC should return donations from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, “saying the organization is anti-Israel.” And he said Bloomberg is backing him because of experience as governor and his strong support for the Jewish community.

"He wants to make sure we have a mayor who is competent and qualified and he believes that is me," Cuomo said. "I believe Mr. Bloomberg is concerned as are many Jewish New Yorkers about statements Mr. Mamdani has made."

Meanwhile, former mayor Bill de Blasio has not minced words against his former government colleague, but has joined the DREAM Coalition, which stands for Don't Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor.

De Blasio told 'Up Close' and other outlets that he does not plan on publicly endorsing a candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary, but has made no secret of his disapproval of Cuomo running.

Politico also reported that the “final, frenzied sprint” further sunk into the mud as New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor featured Andrew Cuomo homing in on Zohran Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and Mamdani blasting the millions of dollars Michael Bloomberg has poured into a pro-Cuomo super PAC.  (Juneteenth, ATTACHMENT ELEVEN)

“Michael Bloomberg has sought to buy elections before. He spent an unbelievable amount of money when he ran for president,” Mamdani told reporters at an Astoria, Queens, bar. “It’s to fulfill the vision that he shared with New Yorkers many years ago: that this city should be a luxury product. And what we want this city to be is a city for working- and middle-class people.”

Cuomo acknowledged Bloomberg’s endorsement but devoted more pointed attention to Mamdani’s recent remarks about the “globalize the intifada” phrase, which many Jews view as a call to violence against them. Mamdani is not being criticized for using the phrase, but for his response when asked to opine on it.

“He happens to be a billionaire. Good for him. He also happens to have been a highly successful mayor of New York City,” Cuomo said of Bloomberg during a campaign stop in the Co-op City section of the Bronx. “Mr. Bloomberg is also concerned, as are many Jewish New Yorkers, about statements that Mr. Mamdani has made. You know, when you say ‘globalize the intifada,’ that is basically repugnant to the Jewish community and is basically inciting violence.”

The spectacle inspired NBC to report that “... few political operatives have it easier than opposition researchers in New York City this year” as the Clintonian endorsement sparked a new FBI review of Clinton’s use of a private email server just days before the 2016 presidential election and... in the race for New York City Council Two, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner’s pleading guilty in 2017 to transferring obscene material to a minor, being sentenced to almost two years in prison and registering as a sex offender.  (ATTACHMENT TWELVE) Weiner, on the comeback trail, faced four other candidates – including state Assemblyman Harvey (fortunately for voter’s digestive tracts, not Jeffrey) Epstein.

 

NBC (ATTACHMENT THIRTEEN) reportated that, in addition to the mayoralty, Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024, faced a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins while thirty City Council districts would hold primaries.

Emphasizing what the Guardian U.K. called an “outsized role” in the contests, a New York state senator... campaigning from a Jerusalem bomb shelter as Iran and Israel exchanged fire posted a video message to New York City voters.  “There is a mayoral primary coming up this week where one of the candidates does not believe the Jewish state has a right to exist,” said Sam Sutton, the senator from Brooklyn. “We don’t want to be in a situation like this in America.”

Sutton called on New Yorkers to elect a “great friend of the Jewish people”: Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former governor.

Across the pond, the Guardian U.K. took note that the question of Israel had now become paramount... overshadowing the usual local bugaboos from bugs to budgets – rats in the street to crime in the subways and, increasingly, the heat.

“This election has turned into a two-person contest between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mandani, two candidates with very stark views on this matter,” said Jacob Kornbluh, a senior politics reporter with the Forward Jewish newspaper.  (GUK, June 22nd, ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN)

With New York City’s nearly one million Jews making up the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, mayors of the past have always claimed support for the country with little pushback. But the war in Gaza has fundamentally changed the dynamic. Mamdani’s outspoken support for Palestinians might have previously tanked his candidacy, but his insurgent campaign has galvanised voters. Cuomo has responded by portraying Mamdani as “dangerous” and himself as uniquely positioned to fight antisemitism, a growing source of anxiety among Jewish voters.

Cuomo’s campaign – flush with millions from pro-Israel billionaires like Bill Ackman – has ramped up attacks against Mamdani as he surged in the polls, including by distributing mailers condemned as racist. The former governor has stated unequivocally that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism”.

Lander, who is Jewish and has cross-endorsed Mamdani, has sought to find a middle ground and accused Cuomo and Adams of “using Jews as pawns” in a Guardian interview – “not with the intention of making Jews any safer, but with the intention of gaining political advantage for themselves.

“Thankfully it’s not the job of the mayor to find mutual recognition and peace and safety for Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. “It is incumbent on the next mayor, whatever their position is, to find ways to reach across the divide.”

New York’s Jews are a diverse constituency – ranging from some anti-Zionists and others variously critical of Israel to orthodox communities traditionally voting as a unified bloc for more conservative candidates. A recent poll of the city’s Jewish Democrats showed 31% supporting Cuomo, 20% backing Mamdani, and 18% behind Lander.

In the middle are New York Jews who consistently vote Democratic and espouse a host of liberal and even progressive causes. Many are still reeling from the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel, are uneasy about the tone of US protests against the war in Gaza, and are increasingly worried about Jewish safety, pointing to recent violent attacks in Washington DC, and Colorado, and defacing of Jewish businesses and synagogues in the city.

Alex Kaufman, of LGBTQ Zionists, said he wished there were “better options” but that many of his acquaintances were coalescing around Cuomo even as they have reservations about his past conduct, including the sexual assault allegations that ended his governorship. Others gravitated toward Lander, but were troubled by his endorsement of Mamdani. Some said they were “terrified” of the latter, pointing to his refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and his presence at protests where Houthi flags were on display.

Politico simply reported that perhaps a majority of the voters were “disgusted” with all of the players – even those inclined to one or the other often exclaimed that they did so as the better of bad options

Shortly enough, the role of Israel, Islam and volleys of anti-Semitic and/or anti-Muslim accusations would be flying as fast and furious as the American MOPS sweeping up Fodrow

Observers in Gotham, in the rest of America and worldwide were quickly lining up to support or denounce the raids two days after President Trump had said that he would give Iran two weeks to surrender unconditionally (Little Marco would contend that the attacks were not a declaration of war on Iran but, rather, on Iran’s nuclear ambitions).

Cuomo made a ploy to take a slice of Sliwa’s Republican base by announcing that he supported the now-wartime President; most of the others (Mamdani haters revisiting his longstand support of Palestinians and distrust of the Israelis and Prime Minister Netanyahu – the New York Police Department advised that Iranian retaliation could take the form of terroristic threats and deeds... whether in the form of attacks by sleeper cells of proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah or ISIS or angry lashings-out by long wolves of any or no partisan intent.

 

Fox (Monday, ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN) noted that the escalating Iran/Israel (and, now, America) conflict had placed New York among the American cities at elevated risk for terrorists.

"We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran," the NYPD posted Saturday night. "Out of an abundance of caution, we're deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners. We’ll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC."

As New Yorkers braced for a major heat wave on Election Day, Gov. Hochul also promisd that New York State Police are also "working to protect at-risk sites and fight cyberattacks."

Following the United States' successful strikes on Iran Saturday night, Cuomo acknowledged, "Iran cannot have nuclear capability," and admitted that eliminating Iran's nuclear capacity "is in everyone's best interest."

However, Cuomo joined the barrage of Democrats criticizing Trump for striking Iran without congressional approval. Reps. Thomas Massie, a Republican, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat, who proposed the bipartisan War Powers Resolution with 49 co-sponsors as of Sunday, called Trump green-lighting strikes against Iran "unconstitutional."

Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution

"I don't support the way he did it. I do believe he should have consulted Congress," Cuomo said in a statement. 

However, Cuomo's closest competitors in the race were not so diplomatic... perhaps looking beyond the Mayoral race to... more global things?

"Donald Trump ran for president promising to end wars, not start new ones," Mamdani said. "Today’s unconstitutional military action represents a new, dark chapter in his endless series of betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos."

Lander told a Working Families Party unity rally Sunday, "Jewish New Yorkers and Muslim New Yorkers are not going to be divided against each other," condemning "Trump’s reckless & unconstitutional strikes against Iran" as a "dangerous escalation of war" that "threaten countless Iranian, Israeli & American lives."

 

Still, amidst the fear and loathing, there was room for comedy – albeit of an often mean vein.  More of the jokes and japes and cartoons had a partisan bent – The Jewish Forward, assessing the asses on how they enjoyed their bagels two weeks before Election Day politicized the shmears and ranked eleven of the more likely contenders on the power of their palates.  (ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN)

Winning the bagel election Lander, replied “Everything bagel, sorry, Ezra Klein. Scallion cream cheese, slice of tomato, lightly toasted, lox.”

Judge Hannah Feuer declared: This is a bagel done right, with superb choice of schmear and toppings. Though toasted, it is only “lightly.”

Lander’s reference is to Times columnist Ezra Klein’s opinion piece titled “The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism,” which critiques progressive policy that tries to do too much and ends up accomplishing nothing at all. But even Klein admits in his piece that “everything bagels are, of course, the best bagels.” I agree.

So did Adrienne Adams, finishing second with “An everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Do not toast it.”

“Adams deserves kudos as the lone candidate to take a strong stance against toasting, which everyone knows ruins a freshly baked bagel,” Feuer judged.  “Her choice of bagel and schmear choice is nothing special, but not offensive, either.”

Mamdani finished third, citing Absolute Bagels’ poppy seeder with scallion, cream cheese and some pulp Tropicana on the side. “And this is going to lose me some votes, but to be honest with you: toasted.”

Cuomo finished last.  “Bacon, cheese and egg on an English muffin, and then I try to take off the bacon, but I don’t really take off the bacon. The bagel I try to stay away from, to keep my girlish figure.”

Judge’s comments: This “bagel” order bungles the chronology of ingredients in the classic bacon, egg and cheese. An English muffin is decidedly not a bagel.

 

 

THE CANDIDATES

MARIO CUOMO

Back in the day (Wednesday, June 18th to be specific), Politico had declared that Cuomo’s victory was inevitable... given the simmering stew of ethnic politics, Gotham history and... of course... the money.  (ATTACHMENT SEVENTEEN)

Author and historian Will Bredderman. citing “The Power Broker”, by Robert Caro, which revealed “how an anonymous court secretary named Vincent Impellitteri became mayor of America’s largest city recalled that when then-Mayor William O’Dwyer faced an investigation into his ties to organized crime in 1950, President Harry Truman — in the closest thing to a precedent for the Donald Trump administration’s abandonment of the bribery case against Mayor Eric Adams — appointed the embattled Democrat ambassador to Mexico, letting him flee the reach of justice. “The city’s succession rules left the still-unknown Impellitteri interim mayor of New York. But the rules also compelled a near-immediate special election to complete O’Dwyer’s term, and the Democratic leaders judged Impellitteri unfit for the job and denied him their nomination.”

Improbably, Impellitteri launched his own “Experience Party” ballot line and won, “riding a mass backlash from a public infuriated over local corruption in general and the O’Dwyer scandal in particular.”

“This episode encapsulates political life in New York City for most of the last century: machines strong enough to raise a nobody to the highest echelons of political power, but that kept the public engaged enough in municipal affairs that it could at times buck their influence. Through World Wars, a Great Depression, race riots, white flight, civil rights fights, crime waves, strikes and a brush with municipal bankruptcy, this tension — between Democratic Party organizations that fostered corruption but also uplifted average citizens, and average citizens motivated to punish the party’s worst failures and excesses — remained remarkably consistent, from Robert Anderson Van Wyck through Rudolph Giuliani.”

“The city’s Democratic powerbrokers have all but stampeded over each other to endorse Cuomo.” Bredderman noted — despite their having demanded his resignation three years ago after an attorney general’s report found he had sexually harassed subordinates — and despite their own long-running personal feuds with the ex-governor and close relationships with rival candidates.

“Nearly all polls have shown Cuomo in the lead,” he allowed, “though the most recent surveys suggest a tightening race with Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the candidate of the Democratic Socialists of America.”

The machines remained dominant, until mismanagement or corruption provoked enough outrage to elect a Republican or a Democrat who had broken with the party leadership. “This era shaped Trump, known to admire the late, baseball bat-wielding Brooklyn boss Meade Esposito,” Bredderman looked back, although “the real club Esposito swung was his organization, which could corral power across the three branches of government.”

Time tripping forward through Rudy G., Bloomberg and Ed Koch, who was entangled in a vast corruption scheme involving outer borough Democratic bosses in the 1980s.

Professor John Mollenkopf, of the City University of New York’s Center for Urban Research, contends that the machine had “withered”, of late but Tyrone Stevens, a former Cuomo aide still believes (or, until yesterday, believed) that Cuomo’s Trumpian vengefulness and ability to award — or deny — jobs at City Hall to the favored aides of his supporters... “the meager spoils today’s depleted machines contend for” make opposition to “Hunter” a risk for all these political leaders if he ultimately wins.”

Following the model fellow democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez created when she ousted Queens Democratic Party boss Joe Crowley in 2018, Mamdani “has used his good looks, natural charisma and striking slogans to become a sensation in the fleeting visual world of social media. The two are, in short, influencers: the superstars of the ever-more fragmented future” which, polls had revealed, was growing younger, more angry and... as temperatures rose... more physically capable of going out into the streets, wait in line at the polls, and vote.

So on Tuesday, New York will witness two superstars colliding,” opined Bredderman (a Daily Beast staffer) — a cataclysm “that may finally annihilate the old civic system and create a model that elections, in New York and nationwide, could follow for decades to come.”

And, in fact, did.

 

The liberal, Trump (and, so, Cuomo) haters at the Guardian U.K. dispatched commentator Moira Donegan to take her hammer to the front runner on Election Day morning... slamming the “disastrous imitation of Trump” who marked the Democratic drift into “boorishness and cruelty.”  (ATTACHMENT EIGHTEEN)

“Cuomo, in many ways, is a Democratic Trump: he is loud, vulgar, ill-informed, resentful, vengeful, contemptuous of his constituents, and accused of being abusive toward women,” mean Moira piled on.

“He is apparently indifferent to corruption and willing to tell lies; he is reportedly obsessed, as Trump is, with getting revenge on his perceived enemies. He is ageing, rich, out of touch and hated by the left, having left the governor’s mansion with a long record of stymieing progressive agenda items in one of the nation’s largest blue states. This is evidently just the kind of candidate the Democratic leadership is looking for.

Salting the cynicism with a few facts, Donegan turned to the “slew of sexual misconduct allegations that were declared credible in a thorough report from the New York attorney general, Letitia James. (Cuomo has denied wrongdoing, though he extended apologies to some of the women at the time but also punished the women who accused him through) “vexatious and punitive legal proceedings for which New York taxpayers have been footing the bill, to the tune of tens of millions.”

When state anti-corruption commissioners started sniffing around deals made by Cuomo and his allies, Cuomo had the commission shut down. After Cuomo bungled his handling of the pandemic, making a mistake that may have cost thousands of seniors their lives, Cuomo could have accepted responsibility and apologized to the New Yorkers whose loved ones died. “Instead, he and his aides tried to cover up the deaths, and when a state assemblymember, Ron Kim, spoke out against them, Cuomo called him repeatedly and threatened to “destroy” him, according to Kim.”

Against Handy Andy’s “masculine bullying”, Donegan added that his two nearest contenders – Mamdani and Brad Lander, the city comptroller – have run remarkable campaigns.  “Lander has touted a considerable record of accomplishments for the city, underscoring his ability to deliver on promises to New Yorkers and his willingness to persist against formidable interests in long fights for things like bike lanes and affordable housing. Mamdani, meanwhile, has an infectious charisma, and has launched a campaign that has excited young voters, energized a small army of volunteers, and deployed innovative messaging tactics, achieving impressive numbers with relatively little money. You would think that the Democratic party would be more eager to make use of these men’s talents – the policy achievements of one, the preternatural campaign skills of the other.

Well, they did.

Posting on behalf of Cuomo, the Trumptastic New York Post, on Juneteenth, reiterated charges that Mamdani’s agenda was to support the Iranian regime and wipe out Israel... trumpeting that even his fellow progressive Lander had openly disagreed on the nature and efficacy of the Fordow bombing

Lander told the “Pod Save America” podcast Tuesday that the phrase “globalize the intifada” carries violent associations for Jews such as himself, especially after the recent assassination of two Israeli Embassy staffers and a Molotov cocktail-hurling wacko’s attack in Colorado.  (ATTACHMENT NINETEEN)

“Maybe you don’t mean to say it’s open season on Jews everywhere in the world, but that’s what I hear,” Lander said of those who use the term.

“And I’d like to hear that from other people as well,” he said of his comments, implicitly knocking Mamdani. 

But Lander still insisted during the podcast that he doesn’t believe Mamdani is antisemitic — and noted his own problems with Israel’s war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians.

“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.

 

ZOHRAN MAMDADI

If New York’s Democratic primary for mayor was to be decided by whoever had the most money and energy, Zohran Mamdani would be at a cash disadvantage but with a surplus on vigor.

The New York Times chronicled Zorro’s ride to the city’s Campaign Finance Board to give him a waiver to exceed the almost $8 million spending cap for the primary — hoping to come closer to leveling the huge spending advantage of his chief rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.  (ATTACHMENT TWENTY)

Fix the City, a super PAC supporting Mr. Cuomo, has raised more than $24 million, with much of it fueling an expensive attack ad campaign against Mr. Mamdani.

“Fix the City’s spending prowess is unprecedented in city elections. The most money spent by a single super PAC in the 2021 mayoral race was about $6.5 million by New Start NYC, which supported the unsuccessful campaign of the former Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

“The total amount that super PACs spent on the mayoral campaign was about $32 million, according to Campaign Finance Board records.

“Fix the City, which was founded by close allies of Mr. Cuomo, has already spent $16 million.

Mario... oops, Andrew... has snarfed up individual donations from Bloomberg ($8M) who, exclaimed Zorro, was “terrified”.

GUK recruited Katrina vanden Heuvel (moonlighting from her day jobs as editorial director and publisher of the Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and contributor to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times) who named a few more Cuomo donors... “corporations like Doordash, a smattering of billionaires and even Billy Joel (who’d) shoveled cash into his campaign, with his Super Pac spending more money than any other outside force in the city’s political history.” (Attachment two, Above)

But she also cited a new poll (see them below), Mamdani – the insurgent state assemblyman and democratic socialist “whom the Nation recently co-endorsed along with fellow mayoral candidate and New York City comptroller Brad Lander – has pulled ahead of Cuomo for the first time.

“And while Mamdani’s campaign deserves credit for offering a clear, inspiring, progressive message, the fact that he is competitive can also be partly credited to New York City’s ranked-choice voting (RCV) system. It’s a winning system for candidates who would otherwise be sidelined or would cannibalize each other’s support – and for voters who can finally cast their ballots based on policy rather than pragmatism,” vandenHeuvel wrote.

She asked us to recall a historic boondoggle – the Sanders/Warren “scorched-earth campaign”

 

@get replacement for a21

 

 

 

Three days before showdown, polls were beginning to show Zorro within striking distance of the frontrunner Andrew Cuomo in what is now essentially a two-horse race, with Lander trailing a distant third.  (Guardian U.K. June 21st, ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO)

Ed Pilkington’s capsule biography of the eventual winner stated that Mamdani “came to the US aged seven from Uganda where he was born to parents of Indian descent. His father is a political scientist Mahmood Mamdani, and his mother, Mira Nair, is the Oscar-nominated director of Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding.

An avowed enemy of Trump, he is also “equally scathing about the establishment of the Democratic party,” which has “betrayed” the people of New York.

If I tell you that I’m going to freeze your rent, you know exactly what I mean

Zohran Mamdani

To publicise his plan to freeze the rents of all rent-stabilised apartments, Mamdani posted a TikTok video in which he dives fully clothed into the frigid waters off Coney Island. It was titled: “I’m freezing … your rent.”

Mamdani puts his spectacular popularity with young New Yorkers down to a hunger for a “new kind of politics, one that puts working people at the heart of it and showcases a new generation of leadership”. There’s maybe something else also at play: “he has a magnetism that just seems to draw people towards him.”

After Trump’s victory, Mamdani had to turn the political impulse of lecturing into listening and went on a listening tour to the outer boroughs. “I went to Fordham Road in the Bronx and Hillside Avenue in Queens, and asked these New Yorkers, most of whom are Democrats, who they voted for and why,” he said.  “I learned that many did not vote, and many voted for Trump, and they did so because they remembered having more money in their pocket four years ago.” 

Of course, the plague had something to do with that also... and Zorro, like Lander and their friends on the left, compared Cuomo’s background to a plague of corruption.

In addition to freezing rents, the winner said that “...childcare will be provided at no cost, the minimum wage will be raised, city-run groceries will be opened offering cheaper healthy food, buses will be made fast and free.

“To pay for all that, taxes will be raised for corporations and for the top 1% of earners with incomes above $1m. When I ask him to imagine how he imagines New York would look after he had been in Gracie Mansion for two terms, he replies: “It is a city that is more affordable, that works better, and where we have restored public excellence into public service.”

And then he called Cuomo “the epitome of where the established party has gone off the rails. 

Given rising tensions in the Mideast, Mamdani was also asked whether he felt uncomfortable about the use by some pro-Palestinians of the phrase “globalize the intifada”, which has been condemned by some Jews as a call to violence.

He would not denounce the expression, saying it spoke to “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights”. The comment led to rapid backlash from some Jewish groups.

And a few devout Muslims also turned their backs after he violated the fasting laws of Ramadan by eating a big burrito on the subway (which caused more griping from advocates of the rules and regulations prohibiting subway dining).

Peanuts from some of the MAGA and even moderate Democratic galleries have gone berserk with terror.

X’ter Amy Mek channels the Undisputed Truth that Mamdani’s smiling face hides a snake (or... as Mayor Adams asserted) a snake-oil salesman. 

A Marxist who openly vilifies Hindus, Jews, defends pro-Hamas rallies, and wants to force halal Sharia-based food practices, holidays, etc into NYC’s public schools,” she warns.  (ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE)

A Muslim who eats burritos on Ramadan, say conservative clerics... while other lugnuts call for patriots to rise up and assassinate the infidel.

“I imagine some nutjob (private citizen or federal agent) is already on his way to “get rid“ of Mamdani…” a Redditor predicted.  (ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR)

 

Many Mamdani supporters decried the loyalty of African-Americans in New York to the machine and its heir, Cuomo.  Instead, some laudered generational change; GUK, while blessing the endorsements of far-left Senator Bernie and Representative AOC asked voters to recall how the Sanders/Warren feuding in 2021 had paved the way for the nomination of Old White Joe and Veep Kamala which... with a little help from friends like the plague... facilitated Trump’s restoration.  (Attachment Two, above)

Rolling Stone offered up a simple explanation... their reasonable assumption, last week, was that rich people in the five boroughs hated Zorro and were opening up their pocketbooks and purses to assure his defeat.  (June 20, ATTACHMENT TWENTY FIVE)

While New York limits mayoral candidates to less than $8 million in direct spending on their campaign, the Stone reported that Cuomo had turned to PACs and Super PACs to skirt the financial limits.  “The former governor’s candidacy has seen over $24 million in total spending, most of it from outside groups and his primary Super PAC, called Fix the City. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the single largest backer of Cuomo’s candidacy, dumping over $8 million into Fix the City.

“The PAC has run TV ads nonstop painting Mamdani as a “radical” who is too “risky” and “dangerous” for New Yorkers. The ad which Fix the City spent over $5.4 million on, repeatedly featured clips of Mamdani in a kurta — a common South Asian garment — which his campaign said was an intentional choice by the PAC given that Mamdani typically dons a suit and tie while campaigning. A Fix the City mailer — which the PAC claimed was a rejected proposal that never made it to circulation — went viral on social media earlier this month, after the Mamdani campaign accused the PAC of Islamophobia for darkening and thickening his beard.”

Cuomo also gobbled down $2.3 million in support from a group called Housing for All, which has been exclusively funded so far by the New York Apartment Association, a lobbying group for landlords.

Stoner Nikki Mccann Ramirez lashed out against her media competitors… particulary her liberal media competitors.  Some feared a wave of anti-Semitism... “New Yorkers might vote for a socialist mayor, but a Muslim?” mused Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post’s opinion section,  Others red-baited... the Atlantic’s Michael Powell designating Mamdani’s proposals to tax wealthy corporations in the city in order to fund cheaper groceries, universal childcare, and free municipal buses, a form of socialist “magical realism” that was “disconnected from actual government budgets and organizational charts.”  And, of course, the New York Post:  “tabloid poltergeist of the Murdoch news empire”, advised readers to “Keep menace Zohran Mamdani completely off your NYC ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary.”

The sober, stalwart New York Times (which excoriated Mamdani but could not bring itself to endorsing Cuomo) directed more of its ire on a familiar target since the Citizens United legislation and judicial greenlight... the outsized, overstuffed influx of partisan money, largely directed at negative mis – and dis – informational marketing aimed at candidates of dis-choice but, in the process, casting a toxic cloud of suspicion, hate and incipient violence over the entire city.

Media support?  Well, there was Al Jazeera, for better or for worse.

At the heart of Mamdani’s campaign, the Qataris editorialized, is a vision of a city that works for working-class New Yorkers. “He proposes freezing rents for all rent-stabilised apartments, building 200,000 affordable homes, creating publicly-owned grocery stores “focused on keeping prices low, not making profit”, and making buses free. He supports free childcare for children under five, better wages for childcare workers, and “baby baskets” containing essentials for new parents.

To fund these initiatives, Mamdani proposes increasing the corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, and imposing a 2 percent income tax on New York City residents earning more than $1m annually.

“He also wants to raise the minimum wage, regulate gig economy giants like DoorDash, and protect delivery workers. His plan to establish a Department of Community Safety would shift resources away from traditional policing towards mental health and violence prevention.

“He further promises to “Trump-proof” New York by enhancing the city’s sanctuary status, removing ICE’s influence, expanding legal support for migrants, defending LGBTQ+ rights and protecting reproductive healthcare access.”

As a “brown, Muslim candidate” – Mamdani has become a “lightning rod for hate”.  Recently, in a rare show of emotion, he teared up while recounting threats he has received: “I get messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life … on the people that I love.”

The NYPD is investigating two voicemails from an unidentified caller, who labelled Mamdani a “terrorist”, threatened to bomb his car, and ominously warned: “Watch your f..king back every f..king second until you get the f..k out of America.”

And the (New York) Post (ATTACHMENT TWENTY SEVEN) wrote that “Anti-Israel mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani” blasted the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites as an “unconstitutional military action” — as other top primary contenders called President Trump reckless for greenlighting the military action. 

“Donald Trump ran for president promising to end wars, not start new ones,” the Democratic Socialist said in a statement released on X late Saturday, two days before the Big Apple’s Democratic Party primary.

The Post did also note that Lander, even Cuomo had spoken out against the strike on Iran (Adams’ response consisted of an appeal to police to seek out potential terrorist reprisals); still, they reported that Mamdani has come under fire for his “vicious bashing of Israel, which has also struck Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities in an effort to prevent Tehran from building nuke bombs,” supporting a boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state, and refusing to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry — a slogan that has been denounced for allegedly stoking antisemitic violence.  Democratic Socialist ally, New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Trump’s bombing of Iran is “grounds for impeachment.”

 

ADAMS

While reading the cards that told him the Democratic primary would be a losing effort as might kick him down to third, fourth or worse, incumbent Trump-pardoned Eric Adams... perhaps afraid that Djonald UnPardoner might unpardon him once somebody else was in the Cobblepot Cottage... 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 and, of necessity, subsequently aligned himself with Trump. 

Outside of his Brooklyn polling placehe told reporters he planned to write his name in for mayor. “One, two, three, four and five, Eric Adams,” he said.

Under the city’s ranked choice voting, voters can choose up to five different candidates. Writing in the same candidate five times would invalidate the person's second through fifth-place votes, though not the entire ballot. “You cannot rank the same candidate more than once,” the city Board of Elections said in voter instructions.

Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the mayor was joking about voting for himself more than once.

"Everyone in the room knew he was joking, other than the reporters who sent the tweet," Levy told USA TODAY.

Levy didn’t know how the mayor voted, but he said he knew how to vote properly.

"I wasn't in the booth, so can’t tell you how he voted, but he knows how to vote properly," Levy added.

 

LANDER

Among the vagaries raised up from the mud and muck of the East River by the ranked choice, deals and steals flourished... the most notable of which was the elevation of “wonky” Comptroller Brad Lander, like Zorro a political obscurity through the mild days of spring after he became the latest elected official to be detained amid protests over the Administration’s crackdown when arrested by Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday.

“Lander, who said he has been attending immigration court hearings in Manhattan for the past three weeks, was seen in a crowded hallway holding on to a man who was being detained by ICE. “I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” he can be heard saying in video of the incident. “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant.”  (Time, ATTACHMENT TWENTY NINE)

The New York City Comptroller since 2022 was arrested while accompanying a man he identified as Edgardo out of immigration court.

When authorities sought to detain Edgardo, Lander repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant. “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander told ICE agents, before he was handcuffed and taken into custody himself.

Lander was released later that afternoon after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the arrest and advocated for his release.

“This is a sorry day for New York and our country,” Hochul said in a press conference following Lander’s release.

Asked about the “trend” of elected officials being detained over immigration issues while speaking with Democracy Now! after his release, the comptroller said the Trump Administration “wreak (sic) havoc.”

“They’re trying … to ‘liberate’ Democratic cities from their duly elected officials. This is part of what authoritarians do: strike fear into immigrant families and communities and try to undermine the rule of law and basic democracy by stoking conflict,” Lander said. “Our challenge is to find a way to stand up for the rule of law, for due process, for people’s rights, and to do it in a way that is nonviolent and insistent, demands it, but also doesn’t help them escalate conflict.”

On Wednesday, Lander further called out the Trump Administration for what he called immigration escalation “Gestapo tactics” while speaking with MSNBC.

Several other Democrats also came to Lander’s defense on social media and called for his release.

New York Rep. and Mamdani sponsor Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the arrest political intimidation,” while Sen. Alex Padilla said he was “not shocked” by the action.

Padilla had previously been arrested by ICE, which has locked up other political luminaries – including Ras Baraka, the Mayor of Newark, Rep. LaMonica McIver and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan.

Last Sunday afternoon, walking up a closed-to-traffic Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side, Jonathan Martin of Politico (June 26, ATTACHMENT THIRTY) wrote that he had “come across city comptroller Brad Lander, who’s polling in third place in the mayor’s race. Lander — an affable, middle-aged official fittingly called “Dad Lander” by his 20-something daughter — was passing out his brochures to shoppers strolling through the streetside market.

It was one of those great moments of municipal politics serendipity — running into a candidate in the wild — and I used the opportunity to ask Lander why New Yorkers were left with two options so many found wanting.

“What I’m doing is presenting an option which is neither of those,” Lander began before a voice beside us interjected.

“I wish you or Scott Stringer had actually run as a moderate Democrat instead of trying to be all things to all people,” said the voice, carrying an unmistakable New York accent and citing another lagging candidate. “Because the last thing this country needs is the left wing of the party dragging us down again and electing people like Trump.”

The voter’s name was Robert, Martin said, an Upper West Sider, committed Democrat and retired lawyer who also worked in IT and finance but “wouldn’t offer his last name, and he wasn’t finished.

“If you’d actually run as a moderate, you’d be the top of my ticket,” he told Lander, explaining: “I’d rather have an asshole than a progressive.”

In what may have been one of the most dutiful and unnecessary follow-ups in my career, Martin  confirmed that, yes, Robert did have Cuomo in mind when he cited “an asshole.”

Lander was patient, arguing that he doesn’t think it’s wishy-washy “to want government to run better and to be ambitious about what it can deliver.”

Robert became friendlier and presented a peace offering by way of vowing to still rank Lander.

Then I asked Lander directly, well, are you a progressive or a moderate?

“See, he won’t answer the question!” Robert butted in before Lander could even respond. The candidate called himself “a pragmatic progressive,” which prompted Robert to walk away – Martin imparting that he was “really pissed off” at MAGA and progressives, the latter, he said, for paving Trump’s return.

Which gets to the heart of the frustration so many New Yorkers have, not just over this race but from the long shadow of 2024. Moderates believe the party’s drift to the left on culture and identity doomed them last year, and progressives can’t believe Democrats haven’t learned from ceding populism to the right.  Martin walked on to cover the funeral for longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel, a homegoing that amounted to a state funeral in New York at St. Patrick’s, the city’s grandest cathedral. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York’s Archbishop, presided. Dignitaries filled the pews and took to the pulpit to remember the long-serving House member and “Lion of Lenox Avenue,” who “thought the ‘H’ in Heaven stood for Harlem,” as one of his eulogists said.

“It was a grand mix of the Black church and the Catholic church, and it was exquisitely timed in the political calendar in a way I think Rangel would have loved,” Martin wrote.  He also asked Cuomo if his father would have supported his campaign, and the ex-Governor replied: “Oh, he would think it’s exactly right.”

Previously notable only for challenging Incumbent Adems on his rat platform and declaring that “New York City’s trash collection policy has turned our city into an all-night rat buffet,” in a campaign video set to ominous music. (Times of Israel, ATTACHMENT THIRTY ONE) Lander, then polling at about the same plus or minus one percent as Mamdani had quipped: “I’m in this rat race for mayor because it doesn’t have to be that way.”

“Cleaner streets, fewer rats, happier New Yorkers,” he’d vowed.

Not all of New York’s Jews are on board with the city’s anti-rat measures, though.

Like the zealous Muslims writing burrito-eating Mamdedi off, some ultra-Orthodoz Brooklyn Jewish lawmakers opposed Lander’s Department of Sanitation rat-mitigation rule that required constituents to put garbage on the curb on Friday nights or risk fines.  Legislators said the measure conflicted with prohibitions against carrying or lifting on Shabbat.

When the two cross dressers... no, wait, endorsers... appeared on the Colbert show the night before election day, rats were not a topic.  Nor were snakes nor, sorry Eric, their oil.

Instead, the candidates trained their MOPS on Hunter (Cuomo).

“Corrupt, abusive Andrew Cuomo should not be (allowed) anywhere near City Hall,” said Lander, adding that he had cross-endorsed Mandani... despite their differences on Israel... because of his stance on the taxi medallion wars.

Mandani responded that the ICE arrest proved that Lander was a “principled and progressive” (second) choice, soapboxing that “... it’s time for a politics of the future... a referendum on where the Democratic Party goes”: to organized money or organized people.

When Colbert asked about anti-Semitism and... specifically... whether Israel has the right to exist, both said “Yes”.

Mandani added that America was experience a crisis of cruelty and hate... Lander said that he hated what Netanyahu was doing to Gazans.  Then Mandani made a plea for lowering temperatures by “foregrounding” the shared humanity of Palestinians and Jews as “cousins”.

The ICE arrests, as above, probably inspired, or at least facilitated the decision of the two candidates to cross endore each other so that, in the latter rounds of ranked choice; support for the third place finisher (probably Lander, although he denied his lack of mojo) would flow to the runner up, Zorro and... as the Emerson poll astonished the world... might just enable Mandadi to become not only the youngest, but the first Muslim Mayor of Gotham.

Whereas Zorro was not necessarily a Cobblepot, maybe a Max Frost (whether the fictitious hero of “Wild in the Streets” – maybe not the real Florida Congressman), Lander had “shown New Yorkers that someone is willing to stand up for their values of protecting immigrants.”  (USA Today, ATTACHMENT THIRTY TWO).

Cityandstate.com, calling the arrest “Brad Lander’s moment “(upstaged) other candidates in the waning days of the Democratic primary, including a large rally held by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Manhattan. It also sent several of his competitors – and many other elected officials – flocking to 26 Federal Plaza throughout the afternoon to denounce his detainment – with the exception of Cuomo.”  (ATTACHMENT THIRTY THREE)

“It’s likely Lander’s arrest will benefit him in the race – Trump and his immigration agenda are highly unpopular in the city – but it’s perhaps too late to have a consequential effect on who wins.”

 

THE OTHERS

Who's on the ballot in the NYC mayoral election?” asked CBS (ATTACHMENT THIRTY FOUR) on “The Point”.

“Meet the candidates in the Democratic primary...”

And they were...

New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams who hoped to break the glass ceiling and become the first woman to live in Gracie Mansion -- and the first woman of color

Former state Assemblyman Michael Blake who once worked for former President Barack Obama, represented the Bronx in the New York State Assembly and cited his fiscal experience.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who took over Eric Adams' state Senate seat in 2019, and now he wants to take over his mayoralty.  "I'm a New Yorker through and through," he said in our January interview “including a lofty plan to build a million (loft?) apartments and a law enforcement strategy that includes more police officers.”

State Sen. Jessica Ramos who made a stunning announcement to endorse Cuomo, telling her supporters to rank him No. 1 on the ballot “due to her low polling numbers and inability to raise money” and tried to explain why she doesn't have a drivers license. 

Former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who ran for mayor once before, and now thinks the second time is the charm.

Conservative former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, who “spent his childhood in Tanzania and Nicaragua, climbs mountains for sport and participated in the Stanford marshmallow challenge” and said he supports deporting serious criminals under the current sanctuary laws.

Candidates Dr. Selma Bartholomew and Paperboy Love Prince did not appear on "The Point."

But the Paperboy... who attended a Brooklyn mayoral forum in clown (Joker, as opposed to Penguin) makeup and clown shoes... has also qualified for the Democratic primary.  (Staten Island Live, June 9, ATTACHMENT THIRTY FIVE)

 

THE POLLS

It was not until the weekend that reality came crashing in on Cuomo and his ol’ time posse.

Between June 11th and June 16th, 2025, the Manhattan Institute conducted a survey of 1,000 likely voters in New York City’s upcoming mayoral election, “including an oversample of 644 Democratic primary voters to provide granular insights into primary dynamics.” (ATTACHMENT THIRTY SIX)  The granular oversample was drawn from a national voter file “and weighted to reflect the likely 2025 electorate on age, gender, race, county, education, party registration, and 2024 presidential vote” as opposed to, perhaps, a Bronx sample including a woman with a baby and two guys breaking into a car to steal onions – but this was Manhattan so deserving of serious mixed-mode attention.

“Despite the Big Apple’s progressive image, the mayoral electorate takes a markedly more skeptical view on crime, homelessness, and immigration than national narratives suggest,” the Manhattanites contended.  “Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has energized a vocal progressive flank, but their views on policing and public order are far afield from those of most New Yorkers.”

Andrew Cuomo, by contrast, “leads the Democratic primary and commands the broadest general election coalition—not because voters are nostalgic, but because they’re uneasy. The picture that emerges is not of a city in revolt, but of one seeking a course correction.”

Gotta play poker with these guys.

“Our ranked-choice simulation (Figure 1) shows Cuomo defeating Mamdani 56% to 44% in the final round,” they trumpeted.  “The former governor opens with a 13-point lead in the first round (43% to 30%), with the remaining vote scattered; Cuomo maintaining his lead through every round and coming within striking distance of a majority in round 9 before sealing the win in round 10.

Five dynamics shape the race,” the Manhattanthings ticked off – allegedly proving that, while voters might be ticked off, they, like national Republicans, were intimidated and looking for a place to hide.  These were

   1.   Black voters (for Handy Andy, 39 to 16%)

   2.   More than half of Cuomo’s first-preference          votes are from Hispanic and black voters

   3.   Voters prioritized crime over housing costs

   4.   Youth turnout might help Mamdani, but not         likely... and

   5.   Cuoma was second choice of Adrienne Adams     voters, far more numerous than Lander’s.

Cuomo would win 45% of the November vote... Republican Sliwa trailing with 13% and 11% for Adams.  But if Mamdani were to replace Cuomo as the Democratic nominee, the numbers would shift dramatically. Mamdani’s vote drops to 33%, while Adams jumps to 19% and Sliwa to 16%—a significantly reduced margin of support for Democratic nominee (Figure 6).”

(Figures, charts, graphs and paraphernalia can either be found in the Attachments to this and all the polls... below... or else in URLs noted in same)

Given that  Cuomo is considering running as yet another Independent or something, the Institute “... also tested a five-way race featuring Cuomo, Mamdani, Sliwa, Adams, and Walden (Figure 7). Here, Cuomo leads with 39%, followed by 25% for Mamdani, 12% for Sliwa, and 10% for Adams. Walden receives only 3%. Notably, Cuomo performs better with Mamdani in the race than Mamdani does without Cuomo, suggesting broader crossover appeal.”

There was much, much more... including polls on Trump and Musk, crime and housing (older voters emphasized the former, youth the latter) arresting the homeless and deporting migrants – all issues in which Cuomo was far closer to Trump.

Marist (June 18th ATTACHMENT THIRTY SEVEN) concurred, saying Cuomo was favored (although “the contest had tightened” with Andy’s first round lead down from 19 points in May to eleven.  Still, he was predicted a seventh-round winner.  Eleven percent were undecided, a decrease from 17% in May.

One thing they got right: “77% of likely Democratic primary voters think the city is moving in the wrong direction. 21% say it is moving in the right one.

Not a good prognosis for the ancién regime.

The august New York Times (in June, that is, Friday to be specific: ATTACHMENT THIRTY EIGHT) took a poll of polls (powerful or not), dating back to the Manhattan Institute (Cuomo +13), Center for Strategic Politics (Cuomo +8), Marist (Cuomo +12), Honan (Conan... er, Cuomo... +21 in May, down to  +17 in June), Expedition Strategies (a creatire of the Fix the City PAC... Cuomo +12), Data for Progress (influenced by New Yorkers for Lower Costs but showing Cuomo +7) Emerson/Nexstar (Cuomo +12), Workbench Strategies (Mamdani sponsored but Cuomo +13 albeit back in May) – and then the May blowouts with Cuomo up 32 (SurveyUSA) 22 in Marist/May, Data for Progress (Cuomo +30 and on and on.)

The only renegade was the Public Policy Polling group, which had Mamdani up five points on June 6/7.

The Times also interviewed almost all of the candidates with capsule URL explanations... right-wing Whitney Tilson explaining his love of cycling and Michael Blake expostulating on “whether it’s OK to put ketchup on a cinnamon raisin bagel,” and threw in takeaways like Adams’ appearances with anti-Semitic podcaster Sneako, the cross-endorsements and more.

 

Speaking of cross-endorsements, the probably pivotal Mamdani/Lander deal believed it could prevent Cuomo from winning and would have blocked Mayor Adams from winning the primary four years ago. Cuomo has consistently led in polling since entering the mayor's race. 

"Andrew Cuomo's campaign is a house of cards. The two strongest progressive campaigns can topple him, and that's exactly what we're going to do," Mamdani said.  (CBS, ATTACHMENT THIRTY NINE)

Lander contributed robocalls by Attorney General Letitia James and Jewish activist Ruth Messinger to urge voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots.

"So when you vote today, please rank five candidates for mayor. But do not make Andrew Cuomo one of them," one call said.

By Monday Truthout was able to announce that an Emerson/Hill poll released that day reversed the earlier Emerson/NexStar Cuomogoop and stated that Mamdani now would win 51.8% of the vote in the eighth round.

Attributing the Socialist/terrorist’s victory to ranked choice and his cross-endorsement, their “simulation” showed Cuomo leading 36% to 34% in the first round but failing, as “more of Lander’s (support) breaks off for Mamdani in the last round, granting the progressive a win.”

Some of their short takeaways (ATTACHMENT FORTY) noted that the election was “a referendum on the moneyed, old school style of the Democratic Party versus the progressive wing that rejects many of the party’s entrenched standards pushing it further to the right,” that racist, perhaps Islamophobic mailings making Mamdani’s beard look “darker and larger” (like, perhaps Don Junior or Veep Vance), the blowback... especially among women... from Clinton’s endorsement and Zorro’s attacks on Cuomo’s real address in suburban Westchester County.

And in what The Hill called the “final” Emerson poll (above) the findings showed “continued momentum for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has emerged as the leading progressive choice in the Democratic race to succeed embattled Mayor Eric Adams (D), who is running as an independent.”

In the previous Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, taken in May, Cuomo led Mamdani 35 percent to 23 percent.

“Over five months, Mamdani’s support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began,” said Spencer Kimball, Emerson College Polling’s executive director. “In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo’s 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll.”

The (New York) Post on Monday morning called Emerson’s revised poll “shocking” and “stunning” and warned voters that Zorro’s agenda of atrocities might include “spending $65M on trans medical treatment – including for minors”,

The Post contacted the Cuomo camp, which dismissed the Emerson College survey as off the mark.

“This is an outlier: Every other credible poll in this election — including two released last week — has shown Governor Cuomo with a double digit lead, which is exactly where this election will end tomorrow,” said Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

And a roundup from the Zorro-hating New York Times by Metro city hall bureau chief Emma Fitzsimmons admitted that the race had gotten close, and nasty all around: “...a super PAC that is supporting Cuomo is running millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements calling Mamdani radical, and some people believe those advertisements are Islamophobic because Mamdani is Muslim. Mamdani is hitting Cuomo pretty hard, saying he’s the candidate of the billionaire class and that he’s a disgraced former politician who doesn’t deserve a second chance.”

In her non-endorsement endorsement, Fitzsimmons wrote that “...A lot of voters say they have positive memories of Cuomo’s daily news briefing during the coronavirus pandemic. New York City was the epicenter, and those briefings comforted them. And the #MeToo movement does not appear to be as central of an issue for voters as it was in 2021, when Cuomo resigned.

“I did all of these things as governor,” Cuomo said, “... I opened the Second Avenue subway line; I rebuilt LaGuardia Airport; I raised the minimum wage; and I’m going to get things done as mayor.”

“A lot of voters are buying that argument,” Emma declared, they “... view him as someone who might stand up to President Trump.”

There’s no might in Mamdani’s MAGA loathing.

Fitzsimmons, allowing the possibility of a Democratic upset said that, if Cuomo won the primary and was on the ballot as a Democrat, there was a chance that the Working Families Party would list Mamdani or another candidate on their ballot line but, if Mamdani won the Democratic primary, “Cuomo could run as an independent on his own ballot line.”

Or, perhaps, one of the pop-up parties as USA noted (Attachment 28, above) like Cuomo’s “newly invented Fight and Deliver Party ballot line” which, they believe, for which he will continue that campaign even if he loses the Democratic nomination.

There has been no confirmation that Adams is responding by running on the Stand and Deliver line.

 

By Monday morning, The Hill could claim that Cuomo and Mamdani were “neck and neck” (6:00 AM, ATTACHMENT FORTY ONE)

 

41 hill

In a final survey of the race from Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill, Cuomo led Mamdani 35 percent to 32 percent overall, within the poll’s margin of error. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander came in at 13 percent, followed by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at 8 percent and former Comptroller Scott Stringer at 3 percent. Four percent of voters were undecided.

But the survey also allowed respondents to rank their top choices, as the primary uses ranked choice voting. In the first round, Cuomo led Mamdani 36 percent to 34 percent. In the eighth round of voting, once all the other candidates were eliminated, Mamdani came out on top, beating Cuomo 52 percent to 48 percent.

The latest findings point to continued momentum for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has emerged as the leading progressive choice in the Democratic race to succeed embattled Mayor Eric Adams (D), who is running as an independent. In the previous Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, taken in May, Cuomo led Mamdani 35 percent to 23 percent.

“Over five months, Mamdani’s support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began,” said Spencer Kimball, Emerson College Polling’s executive director. “In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo’s 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll.”

 

42 ny post

Intimations of insurrection from Emerson also beclouded the Trumpian trolls of the New York Post.  (Monday, ATTACHMENT FORTY TWO)

“Mamdani (had) Lander’s voters to thank for his surge in the new poll.”

Fix The City, a pro-Cuomo Super PAC, released its own poll claiming the ex-governor would easily win the ranked choice primary, capturing 52% of the vote in the 7th round to 28% for Mamdani and 20% for Adrienne (no relation to Hizzdizzhonor) Adams.

But yesterday, Cuomo had a 1 percentage-point lead — 40.5% to 39.4% in the seventh round — when Lander (who overtook Adams for third) was eliminated with 20% of the vote and then most of Lander’s voters then switched to Mamdani instead of Cuomo in round eight — putting the Democratic socialist Queens assemblyman up by 3.6 percentage points.

The Post noted “big differences between the men by age and race.”  Mamdani won among voters under 50, whites, Asians and college-educated Gothamites.  Cuomo won blacks and “Hispanics” (code for right wing as “Latino” is for left) and voters without college degrees.

Surprisingly, men supported Mamdani 56% to 44%, while women leaned toward Cuomo 52% to 48%. 

Monday afternoon, the New York Times’ city hall bureau chief Emma G. Fitzsimmons said that Cuomo had made the case that he has experience, “that he’s the sensible alternative to Mayor Eric Adams, whose first term has been turbulent, and that he’s the alternative to the left-leaning candidates in the race.

Time-server Terence McGinley, however, wrote that there were different  voting blocs, and the candidates are vying for them in different ways. (ATTACHMENT FORTY THREE)

“Mamdani has risen recently with Latino voters, which is important. He’s trying to expand his coalition beyond just progressive voters. He is a Muslim; he’s an immigrant; his parents are from India, so he’s been reaching out to South Asian voters. Cuomo has been securing support among Orthodox Jewish leaders, an important voting bloc in New York City. Black voters are up for grabs. Cuomo is quite popular among women voters and older voters, so there’s also an age divide.”

The Mayoral hopefuls weighed in on Iran strikes (among other MidEastern questions) as early voting wrapped, according to Courtney Gross of Spectrum News (ATTACHMENT FORTY FOUR)

Cuomo said he supported the strikes on Iranian nuke bunkers, but criticized the decision-making process behind the attack.

“I do believe [President Donald Trump] should’ve consulted Congress. I believe this is more of the same. This is Trump saying, ‘I don’t have to follow the rules,’” he said.

Other candidates took a firmer stance.

“Unconstitutional. It’s going to escalate the risks of war and violence and death for Iranians, for Israelis and for Americans,” said Lander.  Mamdani called the “unconstitutional” military action “a new, dark chapter in his endless series of betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos.”

As for the voters making their local selection, USA Today advised that primary results might not be decided before July, and “results won't be officially certified until July 14.”  (ATTACHMENT FORTY FIVE)

Pundits such as Ross Barkan (author of the Cuomo bio “Dark Prince Returns” and City & State's Tom Allon, predicted that Mamdani was very likely to win if he's ahead in first-place votes and he has a good shot of winning the election if he's losing by fewer than 5 percentage points for first place. On the other hand, Cuomo is safe if he's winning first-place votes by about 10 percentage points or more.

 

AFTER

 

In fact, Barkan even underestimated popular support for Zorro who won outright last night – the New York Times reporting, with 93% of the vote counted, that Mamdani had taken a 43.5 to 35.4% initial lead and – with support for Lander and others trending his way – would have an insurmountable advantage.

Their demographics (ATTACHMENT FORTY SIX) found that the upstart’s overwhelming Brooklyn vote, together with support in Queens and Manhattan, topped Cuomo’s Bronx and Staten Island totals.  (See HERE for charts and graphs)  Mamdani, despite Cuomo’s endorsements from black leaders like Rep. Clyburn, even won Harlem with his margins in some Kings and Queens county neighborhoods approaching, even topping, fifty points.

On Tuesday night, Cuomo called Mamdani to congratulate him, then told his supporters that Mamdani won and that his campaign was "going to take a look and make some decisions."  (CBS, ATTACHMENT FORTY SEVEN)

An angry (Eric) Adams scoffed that the leader would “say and do anything to get elected.”  Sliwa, the Republican cited his appeal to millenials, while transit riders eager for Mamdani's promise of free bus service hailed the results while some Jewish groups, denouncing his background and support for intifada like Rabbi Moshe Hauer of the Orthodox Union warned that: "It is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and reign (sic) in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated."

The Peacock’s timelines and takeways also reported that, in another controversial race, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted President Trump's hush-money case, won the Democratic primary in his bid for reelection, The Associated Press reported 

In 2024, a jury found Mr. Trump guilty of 34 felonies accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. 

The software company AdImpact says this primary saw $37 million in ad spending, with Cuomo spending $20 million, or more than all the other candidates combined.

In the wake of Zorro’s nomination, the Fox... interviewing (Eric) Adams asked the incumbent how anybody could vote for Assm. Mamdani in the November election. The assemblymember promises to freeze rents, create a $30 minimum wage, eliminate bus fares and operate city-owned grocery stores, Jones noted. (1.01 PM Wednesday, ATTACHMENT FORTY EIGHT)

“He’s a snake oil salesman. He will say and do anything to get elected,” Adams reiterated.

“I delivered for this city, and we’re not going backwards. We’re not going into a place where we wanna defund the police, don’t invest in jobs, where we believe we can make broken promises that we can’t deliver,” Adams said. “I delivered on every promise I gave to this city.”

 

“Zohran Mamdani's stunning mayoral primary win in New York City on Tuesday night is a major step for the state assemblyman,” reported Jason Lalljee in Axios (ATTACHMENT FORTY NINE) but “the race isn't over yet.”

Citing rumours that Cuomo would, in fact, run as an independent or for a “pop-up party”, Axios stated that the calendar begins with an official tally next Tuesday.  Mamdani, the Democratic choice, will face Republican Sliwa, former federal prosecutor turned defense attorney Jim Walden, “running a centrist platform on another independent line” yet to be named, incumbent Adams (who said that he'd run on one of two ballot lines: "EndAntiSemitism" or "Safe&Affordable" as opposed to the inevitable waggary of tales like the “Sycophant Elephant” or “MAGA-mini-me” freakoff parties) and, proably, Cuomo... who has socked away the "Fight and Deliver" ballot line.

For the moment, however, the ECONOMIST (today, ATTACHMENT FIFTY) claimed that Cuomo remained “shell shocked”.

Until recently, even the most enthusiastic Mamdani supporter could not have imagined that the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist, who until a few months ago was little known outside the neighbourhood in Queens that he represents as a legislator in Albany, would topple one of the biggest names in New York politics. Confirmation of the result will come once all ranked-choices votes have been counted, which will take until mid-July. The debate over what the result means, for the city and the Democratic Party, won’t wait.

“One way of interpreting this result is as a battle between left and centre, in which the centre could not hold. Mr Cuomo is a business-friendly centrist. The people and the money behind him reflect this. He won endorsements from ageing Democratic heavyweights such as Jim Clyburn, a congressman, and Bill Clinton. His donors included Bill Ackman, a hedge-funder who also supported Donald Trump, and Mike Bloomberg, a former mayor (who donated $8.3m to Mr Cuomo’s Super PAC).

“On the other side is Mr Mamdani, a fan of “solidarity” and free buses. He wishes to put city-run supermarkets in areas without them. He wants to tax the rich. He is a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, which endears him to some New Yorkers and alienates others, but which says little of his ability to oversee the city’s 10,000 sanitation workers, 36,000 cops or battle its innumerable rats. He has been ambivalent about whether the intifada should be globalised. Support from the Working Families Party, a small progressive party, was useful too.

While Mamdani worked the city and mobilized 46,000 volunteers, the Economist contrasted his 33 year old vigor with Handy Andy, who rarely showed his face outside orchestrated rallies in union halls or black churches.  He coasted on his name recognition (his initial 1982 campaign was for his father’s gubernatorial race), which may possibly have reflected some complacency. “He led polls even before entering the race, despite having resigned as governor because of allegations of sexual harassment (which he denies) and of undercounting the number of elderly New Yorkers who died in care-homes during the covid-19 pandemic.

Even though a “sprightly 67” compared to the gerontocracy of national Democrats (or, for that matter, Republicans), primary voters appeared to be “fed up with the generation of leaders that has lost to Donald Trump twice and yet clings on. This election was about that too.”

At least one prominent elderly, (sometimes) New York Republican will be delighted, though, the Economist concluded.  “President Donald Trump might not mind having a pro-intifada, socialist, 33-year-old radical governing New York City as his foil for the next three years,” said Jesse Arm of the Manhattan Institute, think-tank (see above).

 (See NYC Board of Elections; NYC Open Data or The Economist for charts, maps and graphs)

 

The election’s last words, for now, belong to the victor’s venerable (if somewhat vexatious) Vermonter and Democratic Socialist, the Bern.

Opinionating for the Guardian U.K., Sanders contended that (small-d) democracy and (big-d) Democrats were, as ever, at another crossroads.  (7:30 PM EDT yesterday, ATTACHMENT FIFTY ONE)

“Some may claim that Mamdani’s victory was just about style and the fact that he is a charismatic candidate. Yes. He is. But,” the Bern burned his critics on the wishy-washy left, “...you don’t get a Mamdani victory without the extraordinary grassroots movement that rallied around him. And you don’t get that movement and thousands of enthusiastic people knocking on doors without an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working people.

“The people of New York and all Americans understand that, in the richest country on earth, they should not have to struggle every day just to put food on the table, pay their rent or pay their medical bills. These are the people the Democratic consultants don’t know exist.

The Mamdani platform... freezes on rent hikes, free transit, publicly owned retail outlets, all paid for by taxes on the rich and “large corporations” may be socialist but, Sanders added, “not radical.  They may not be what billionaires, wealthy campaign contributors and real estate speculators want, but they are what working people want. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to listen to them.

“Importantly,” Bernie went global, the now-nominee “did not run away from the moral issue that is troubling millions in New York and around the country: the need to end US military support for a rightwing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel that is obliterating the people of Gaza and starving their children. Mamdani understands that antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous ideology, but that it is not antisemitic to be critical of the inhumane policies of the Netanyahu government.

The shaky, shivery Iran/Israel cease-fire may hold, or collapse but, domestically, Gotham City needs “a positive vision and an analysis of why things are the way they are. It is not good enough to maintain a status quo that is failing most Americans” as too many of their leaders, Democrats included “would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic, rather than change course.

Batman may not be responding to the signal in the sky as he sips his cognac on a couch in stately Wayne Manor, or perhaps visiting Venice to wish Godspeed to Jeff Bezos, but Americans are beginning to stand up and fight back – so says Sanders. 

We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the No Kings rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City.

We’re going forward. And no one is going to stop us.

 

... or maybe not...

 

BREAKING NEWS, Flashback Friday...

Dark Prince Cuomo has now decided that he will return as an independent (presumably on the Stand and Deliver standard)... but he’ll still probably be the underdog in November (unless Lander pulls an Eric Adamsian switch and claims the “Working Families” nomination).

The tabloid media has to be wheezing out sighs of relief and gratitude – not only at the potential publicity but for all that Bloomberg and billionaire advertising swag.

 

Our Lesson: June 19 through June 25, 2025

 

Thursday, June 19, 2025

Dow:  Closed for Juneteenth

It’s Juneteenth, the nation’s newest Federal holiday; gumment facilities, many workplaces (including Wall Street) closed, racial antagonisms simmering and it’s also the fiftieth anniversary of the “Jaws” shark attack movie, even as the great beasts are mauling swimmers and surfers off both coasts.

   Mauled, also, is out-of-favor billionaire and Trump castoff Musk, who went back to his suffering business empire after the strange stint at DOGE as angry Americans burned Teslas and his budgetary losses also soared into the billions (although without deposing Elon from his richest-man-in-the-world status).  Today, his latest setback is the explosion of another Space X rocket – exploding in a “major anomaly” at his new Texas spaceport.  “Just a scratch,” Musk shrugged off the disaster.

   As the wars in Ukraine and the MidEast rolled on, President Trump said he was “weighing” jumping into the latter after receiving reports (disputed by his own girlfriend, the political turncoat Tulsi Gabbard) that the mullahs in Teheran were speeding towards creations of nuclear weapons, to do with as above.  He gave Iran two weeks’ notice – unconditional surrender or military intervention.  A media and civilian panic ensued.

   Terming Juneteenth celebrations just another ploy by lazy gumment works to lounge and get paid, Trump angered blacks by complaining that there were already too many holidays out and about (specifically, MLK Day).  As the Iranian ultimatum displaced immigration, Ukraine and the Big Beautiful Budget from the public’s attention, Trump pursued his Culture Wars by closing clinics counseling and hospitals treating LBGQT children and teenage suiciders.

   Buss Family sells Lakers to Dodgers’ owner Mark Walter for ten billion as the team blocks ICE from storming their stadium and rounding up migrants.

 

Friday, June 20, 2025

Dow:  42,206.82

The summer solstice begins at 8:40 PM; summer already well under way in hot, dusty America.

   Perhaps the hat is to blame for the rising clouds of political violence as a man protesting crime strangely tries to kidnap Memphis Mayor while a pro-Palestinian tries to run Jewish Rep. Max Miller (D-Oh) off the road.  The last American Hamas hostage freed, arriving to home and family in Tenafly, NJ.

   Iran/Israeli war prompts Americans touring the MidEast to return home.  Administration and Intelligence services dispute Fodrow facility – Gabbard saying Iran is still far from creating nuclear bombs, but Trump disagrees and says America will be counting down the days.

   A busy week gone and coming in the courts... trials on for R. Kelly, pimp/rapper Fat Joe, Mangione, Menendez.  Karen Read jurors and Parisi kidnapee talk to the press, arrests in Morphew

 

  

 

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Dow:  Closed

Appeals court says Trump can keep the masked National Guard in California to hunt migrants.  AyGee in Florida proposes to send migrants to an island surrounded and sometimes crawling with snakes and alligators.  Evictors in Philadelphia invade house to throw out tenant but find... an alligator.

   War whisperers say that Iran is “considering” talks, just as Trump is “considering” attacking Fodrow and maybe assassinating Supreme Mullah Khameini. No longer feeling safe, a tourist in Iran (!) gets on a bicycle and pedals over the border to safety.

   TV chef and compiler of the worst American restaurants @ Burell died due to a drug overdose.  Former reality star @ Burack killed by hit and run driver.

    Overnight (about 7PM EST) a squadron of B-2 bombers attack Iran, launching MOPS bunker busting bombs on Fodrow, flattening two other nuke facilities.  Patriots proclaim that a trick to make Iran believe that the attack was coming through Guam worked – or maybe their defenses were already so degraded by Israel that they could not resist.  DHS warns of Iranian revenge against US troops abroad while terrorist cells and lone wolves plot to attack American cities.

  

 

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Dow:  Closed

Morning brings press conerene with DefSec Pete Hegseth and Lt. Gen. Dan Caine.  Hegseth calls Father “bold and brilliant”, praises the pilots and Israelis and gives glory to God.  Caine says that Iranian retaliation for “”Operation Midnight Hammer” would be an “extremely poor choice.”

  On Sunday talkshows, pundits discuss Iranian-backed or lone wolf terror abroad or at home, ABC Colonel Ganyard calls Guam deception “good optics”.  Ann Flaherty tells critics “You don’t know what you don’t know,” and more words of support emanate from Speaker Mike and Senate Leader Thune.  Rachel Scott, and Pierre Thomas discuss possible effects on oil prices, China, Russia and the Straits of Hormuz, Wall Street and our on-again/off-again allies in the Gulf.  Not wanting to scare the sheep, the other networks feature ranting preachers, infomercials and celebrity fluff.

   Veep Vance says America is not at war with Iran, “we are at war with Iran’s nuclear program.”  Sen. Tom Cotton says look to history in Iran, Russian President Medvedev floats Putin giving or selling nukes to Khameini – Vance calls this “bizarre”.  Donkeys are divided: Kinzinger supports the attack, others oppos (citing violations of the Constitution.

  Busy DefSec Marco Rubio says “Forget about intelligence.  Iran has played games for forty years but President Trump doesn’t play games.  What Iran should do would b to bring the enriched uranium out of the ground and turn it over to us.”

 

Monday, June 23, 2025

Dow:  42,581.78

Footage of attacks on Iranian nuke sites show damage to dirt with allegations by pundits that a “climate of surprise and wonder” and estimates of a 2 to 5 year delay in uuclearization are perhaps compromised by rumors that enriched uranium had been sneaked out.  As Trump hails a ceasefire, Iran fires missiles at civilians and the American base in Qatar while IDF bombs a prison in Tehran (strange, given that most dead prisoners were Khameini dissidents).  Oil prices go up, then down – stocks down, then up.  Amidst elephants, evil Sen. Massie opposes while the intimidated Sen. Murkowski supports.

   As deadly heat covers America east of the Missississippi voters wonder whether they should go out and vote tomorrow, ICE (not what the hot people want) arrests wife of a Marine vet breastfeeding her baby causing onlooker to complain: “There’s no humanity.”  And then they attack and beat up a landscaper whose three sons are Marines and getting angry.

   In legal matters, SCOTUS greenlights ICE deportation raids on farms, immigrations offices and churches; Diddy trial prosecution wraps, rapper Fat Joe arrested for pimping, rapper R. Kelly complains of prison assassination plots, Morphew husband arrested for murder, bad dad for leaving kid in hot car and, of course the perennials... Mangione, Menendez, Gilgo beachniks and the Minnesota/Moscow maulers.

 

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Dow:  43,089.02

Intelligent intelligencers now say that the Iranian nuke program will continue within months, not years.  President Trump denies, but swears at mullahs and his buddy Bibi for breaking their cease fire, then putting it back together.  Stocks and oil prices ride a roller coaster.

   As the President flies off to the Netherlands for a summit of those cheap NATO bastards, Little Marco toes the party line saying that, with Iran’s Supreme Leader still in hiding, Tehran is wracked with chaos and on the verge of glorious revolution.  Privately, MAGAnauts say America never has nor never should trust Iran to do anything but be Iran.

   Half the USA doesn’t care – they’re too busy sweating and swearing at record temperatures... Philadelphia and Boston top 100°, election day tops out at only 99° but the overnight low is 81°.  Manchester, NH is five degrees hotter than Vegas.  The good news is that Tropical Storm Andrea fizzles as a fish storm.

   It’s not any better in the Old World because 150 music lovers at a French fest are stabbed with needles that may or may not contain drugs and/or poisons while the Jeff Bezos/Lauren Sanchez wedding in Venice draws celebrities like Oprah, Leonardo and Kim K. but protests from locals.

 

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Dow:  42,992.56

New York donkeys nominate Zorro, but the election is far from over... in November he’ll face the unanimous choice of Republicans, Guardian Angel Curtis Sliwa and the corrupt Adams, running as an Independent (as well as a likely Cuomo re-entry as the standard bearer of any of several made-up parties).  There will also be somebody named Jim Walden and perhaps other publicity-seekers with signatures or filing fees, as well as write-ins up to and probably including Paperboy Prince.

   The politicians will have disappeared, for the time being, but the deadly heat will remain in New York, in DC, Boston and Nashville (110°) with the heat exploding soda cans and bankrupting lower-income families who have air conditioning.  The Weather Overground predicts temperatures will normalize by the weekend but TV doctors are still telling people to stay indoors (because of the heat, yes, but also swarms of ticks and killer honeybees).  They recommend watch movies.

   The grim soap opera of the Iran/Israeli war with its new cast member, America, provides innumerable twists and turns – peace treaty on, off, IDF killing 46 Gazans waiting in food lines that Netanyahu now says are Hamas conspiracies; President Trump in the Hague denying his own intelligence services and insisting that the Fordow nuke plant is destroyed beyond repair.  Steven Witkoff proposes that Pentagon leakers and culpable journalists be tried for treason – even as Khameini emerges from his hidey-hole to execute more dissidents and various police sorts round up eleven Iranians as alien terrorists,

 

Rumors of the end to the Israel/Iraq war and a peace treaty lasting two days lifted the Dow, which lifted the Don ever closer to parity with our start twelve years ago.  NY Dems’ nomination of 33 year old Mamdani drew a mixed response, but few really like Cuomo or Mayor Adams.  Some, more than others, hope or worry about the cease fire and... oh by the way... the Big Beautiful Budget remains stalled.

 

 

 

THE DON JONES INDEX

 

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

 

Gains in indices as improved are noted in GREEN.  Negative/harmful indices in RED as are their designation.  (Note – some of the indices where the total went up created a realm where their value went down... and vice versa.) See a further explanation of categories HERE

 

ECONOMIC INDICES 

 

(60%)

 

CATEGORY

VALUE

BASE

RESULTS by PERCENTAGE

SCORE

OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS

 

INCOME

(24%)

6/17/13 revised 1/1/22

LAST

CHANGE

NEXT

LAST WEEK

THIS WEEK

THE WEEK’S CLOSING STATS...

 

Wages (hrly. Per cap)

9%

1350 points

 6/19/25

+0.39%

 7/25

1,575.83

1,575.83

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages   31.18

 

Median Inc. (yearly)

4%

600

 6/19/25

+0.05%

 7/3/25

746.04

746.41

http://www.usdebtclock.org/   43,804 831 853

 

Unempl. (BLS – in mi)

4%

600

 6/19/25

+2.38%

 7/25

543.13

543.13

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000/    4.2 nc

 

Official (DC – in mi)

2%

300

 6/19/25

+0.17%

 7/3/25

215.84

215.48

http://www.usdebtclock.org/      7,244 258 270

 

Unofficl. (DC – in mi)

2%

300

  6/19/25

+0.30%

 7/3/25

270.62

269.82

http://www.usdebtclock.org/      13,754 2,802 840

 

Workforce Participation

   Number

   Percent

2%

300

  6/19/25

 

 +0.026%

 +0.032%

 7/3/25

299.38

299.48

In 164,231 283 325 Out 102,323 366 400 Total: 266,554 649 725

61.6126 6102 .608

 

WP %  (ycharts)*

1%

150

  6/19/25

  -0.32%

   7/25

150.95

150.95

https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate  62.40

 

OUTGO

(15%)

 

Total Inflation

7%

1050

 6/19/25

 +0.1%

   7/25

938.67

938.67

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.1

 

Food

2%

300

 6/19/25

 +0.3%

   7/25

265.50

265.50

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.3

 

Gasoline

2%

300

 6/19/25

 -2.61%

   7/25

260.38

260.38

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm      -2.6

 

Medical Costs

2%

300

 6/19/25

 +0.2%

   7/25

279.49

279.49

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.2

 

Shelter

2%

300

 6/19/25

 +0.3%

   7/25

253.42

253.42

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.3

 

WEALTH

 

Dow Jones Index

2%

300

  6/19/25

 +1.95%

 7/3/25

326.27

332.62

https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/   42,171.66 992,56

 

Home (Sales)

(Valuation)

1%

1%

150

150

  6/19/25

 -5.63%

+1.33%

   7/25

121.44

286.03

121.44

286.03

https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics

Sales (M):  4.00 4.03 Valuations (K):  414.0 422.9

 

Millionaires  (New Category)

1%

150

  6/19/25

+0.0467%

 7/3/25

132.91

132.97

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    23,564 578 589

 

Paupers (New Category)

1%

150

  6/19/25

+0.0187%

 7/3/25

132.83

132.85

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    37,421 413 406

 

 

GOVERNMENT

(10%)

 

Revenue (trilns.)

2%

300

  6/19/25

  +0.14%

 7/3/25

440.14

440.74

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    5,155 164 171

 

Expenditures (tr.)

2%

300

  6/19/25

  +0.10%

 7/3/25

288.06

287.78

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    7,163 171 178

 

National Debt tr.)

3%

450

  6/19/25

  +0.07%

 7/3/25

363.37

363.12

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    36,966 999 7.024

 

Aggregate Debt (tr.)

3%

450

  6/19/25

  +0.12%

 7/3/25

379.77

379.30

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    104,354 516 645

 

 

TRADE

(5%)

 

Foreign Debt (tr.)

2%

300

  6/19/25

  +0.27%

 7/3/25

262.14

261.38

http://www.usdebtclock.org/    9,234 243 270

 

Exports (in billions)

1%

150

 6/19/25

 +3.91%

   7/25

180.31

180.31

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html  289.4

 

Imports (in billions))

1%

150

 6/19/25

 +19.37%

   

155.36

155.36

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html  351.0

 

Trade Surplus/Deficit (blns.)

1%

150

 6/19/25

 +128.08%

   

342.58

342.58

https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html   61.6

 

 

 

 

SOCIAL INDICES 

 

(40%)

 

458

 

ACTS of MAN

(12%)

 

 

 

World Affairs

3%

450

 6/19/25

    nc

 7/3/25

471.96

471.96

Canada’s Carney plans tariff revenge on US aluminum and steel.  Mix of support (from businesses) and hate (from residents) in Venice for Bezos wedding and Trump joins the exodus to Europe to wallow in the lap of luxury at the NATO summit.

 

War and terrorism

2%

300

 6/19/25

 +0.5

 7/3/25

287.82

289.26

Last American Hamas hostage returns home to New Jersey as MidEast war heats up, cools down, heats up and China worries about closing the straits of Hormuz.  Russia/Ukraine just carry on.

 

Politics

3%

450

 6/19/25

 +0.2

 7/3/25

468.06

469.00

A 33 year old Islamist wins New York Democratic primary.  Iran/Israel puts migrant raids on back burner... just for a few days while the flocus is on 9/11 sorts as opposed to tomato pickers.  SecPress Karoline Leavitt says 20M immigrants are all dangerous and proposes to throw them into Florida swamps infested with snakes and alligators.

 

Economics

3%

450

 6/19/25

 -0.2%

 7/3/25

435.28

434.41

BBB budget also subsumed by war.  TV-con-mystics say social security will run out in 2034.  All time 7/4 travel trouble predicted on the roads and in the air.  Time for a cruise?  Krippled Kroger closing stores, but Amazon starts drone deliveries.

 

Crime

1%

150

 6/19/25

 +0.1

 7/3/25

214.26

214.47

Bad dad leaves kid to die in hot car while he drinks at the Hanky Panky Lounge.  Strange “crimefighter” busted trying to kidnap soft on crime Memphis Mayor.  Crimefighting congregation stops, arrests wannabe church shooter in Michigan.

 

ACTS of GOD

(6%)

 

Environment/Weather

3%

450

 6/19/25

 -0.2%

 7/3/25

368.61

367.87

Deadly heat reaches 110° in Washington, 100° in Boston.  Fifty cities break heat records, some for all of June.  Tropical storm Andrea flares up, then fizzles.

 

Disasters

3%

450

 6/19/25

+0.3%

 7/3/25

415.72

416.97

Boy survives lightining strike in Central Park, girl survives Florida shark attack. Hiker rescued three cays after falling off cliff.  Passengers survive NYC boat crash that injures 10, but South Lake Tahoe boat capsizes and kills 8; Brazil balloon fire also kills 8.  Mom throw baby out window of burning house, Good Samaritans catch it.

 

LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX

(15%)

 

Science, Tech, Education

4%

600

 6/19/25

 +0.1%

 7/3/25

615.22

615.84

Hackers hack AFLAC duck as the New York Times report that China is stealing secrets... from Russia!  Images from Chilean telescope show more distant galaxies full of aliens as well as lighting up Dark Energy as a private space mission lifts off.

 

Equality (econ/social)

     4%

600

 6/19/25

 +0.3%

 7/3/25

660.38

662.36

Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders get raises from $400 to $1600/game.  French misogynists stab 150+ women with syringes of unknown product (meth? Vaxxes?) at rockfest while New York election hailed (or cursed) as a generational shift.

 

Health

4%

600

 6/19/25

  -0.2%

 7/3/25

429.01

428.15

New COVID plague is “razoe sore throat”.   Honda recalls over 200K vehicles with bad brakes.  Bactarial “Little Remedies” honey cugh syrup.  TV docs say microwaving food in plastic will release microplastic particle that will KILL You.  (They also say drink with metal, not plastic straws... no matter what the tariffs are.)

 

Freedom and Justice

3%

450

 6/19/25

  +0.1%

 7/3/25

485.48

485.97

Defense rests without testimony in Diddy trial.  Karen Read (mostly) acquitted – her mob threatens witnesses and prosecutors.  Sherri Papini says her boyfriend (not 2 Hispanic women) was the kidnapper.  Columbia U’s Islamic activist Mahmous Khalid out on bail after 105 days.

 

CULTURAL and MISCELLANEOUS INCIDENTS

(6%)

 

Cultural incidents

3%

450

 6/19/25

  +0.1%

 7/3/25

562.63

563.19

Dodgers/Padres brawl after Ohtani HBP (ICE gloats).  Wild victory parade after Oklahoma City beats Indiana in NBA Game Seven.  USA beats Haiti in soccer.

   Actor Jeremy Llan White to play Springsteen in “The Boss”.  Buss family buys Lakers.  Beyonce kicks off tour in Paris with guest... Miley Cyrus.  Singer/actress Rihanna honored at Kid’s Choise awards tells the little rascals to “be themselves” (unless acting).

   RIP: Reality star Sara Burack, killed by hit/run driver; Fed Ex founder Fred Smith, Gailant (“Hee Haw”) Sartain; “Sanford and Son” actress Lynn Hamilton, musicians Mike Ralph (Bad Company) and teen idol Bobby Sherman.

 

Miscellaneous incidents

4%

450

 6/19/25

   +0.1%

 7/3/25

539.08

539.62

Maido of Peru named world’s best restaurant.  Hot Dog eater Joey Chestnutt pivots; eats forty chicken tenders. Newark called #1 airport in USA; Provo, Utah the best city.

 

 

 

 

The Don Jones Index for the week of June 19th through June 25th, 2025 was UP 10.16 points

The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator.  The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.

Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.

 

 

ATTACHMENT ONE – FROM

 

Wiki Outline

ATTACHMENT “A”

WIKI OUTLINE

2025 New York City mayoral election

Bottom of Form

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For related races, see 2025 United States local elections.

2025 New York City mayoral election


← 2021

November 4, 2025

2029 →

 

 

Nominee

Eric Adams

TBD

 

Party

Independent

Democratic

 


 

 

Nominee

Curtis Sliwa

Jim Walden

 

Party

Republican

Independent

 

 


Incumbent Mayor

Eric Adams
Independent

 

 

 

Elections in New York State

show

Federal government

show

State government

show

New York City

show

Albany

show

Buffalo

show

Rochester

show

Syracuse

·         v

·         t

·         e

 

This article is part of
a series about

Eric Adams

 


show

New York City Police Department


show

18th Borough President of Brooklyn


show

110th Mayor of New York City

·         v

·         t

·         e

The 2025 New York City mayoral election is scheduled to occur on November 4, 2025. The incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, was elected mayor on the Democratic Party line in 2021, but is seeking re-election to a second term as an independent. He was indicted on federal corruption charges in September 2024 and has faced calls to resign from office. The Department of Justice ordered prosecutors to drop the charges against Adams in February 2025, and the case was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025.

Primary elections for the Democratic Party are scheduled to be held on June 24, 2025, with the early voting period beginning on June 14. The Republican Party will not hold a primary election; Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee for mayor. In New York City, primaries are held using ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting.

Background

[edit]

Eric Adams was elected mayor of New York City in 2021, narrowly winning a primary election and defeating Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa in the general election. Adams' tenure has wrought a wealth of controversy, with the mayor supporting tough-on-crime policies such as the reintroduction of plainclothes police officers and increased policing in the city's subway system.[1][2] Adams has also received criticism for his handling of the migrant housing crisis,[3] the FBI investigation into his 2021 campaign,[4] his support for zero tolerance policies against the homeless,[5] and his perceived closeness to Republican president Donald Trump.[6][7] A December 2023 poll published by Quinnipiac University Polling Institute showed Adams' approval rating at 28% among registered voters, the lowest approval of any mayor since the institution began polling in the city in 1996.[8] An early October 2024 poll conducted by Marist College found his approval rating to be just 26%, and that 69% thought he should resign.[9] Due to Adams' unpopularity, speculation arose about the potential for a left-wing primary challenger to his re-election bid.[10]

On September 25, 2024, following a series of criminal investigations into his administration, Adams was indicted on federal bribery, fraud, and conspiracy charges.[11] He is the first New York City mayor to be charged with crimes while in office, and has received several calls to resign before the end of his term.[12][13][14]

On February 10, 2025, the United States Department of Justice's acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General, Emil Bove, ordered federal prosecutors to dismiss all charges against Adams without prejudice pending a review to be conducted following the general election in November.[15][16] This sparked a series of resignations within the Department of Justice, where 7 prosecutors, including acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten—who was the lead prosecutor on the case—resigned.[17][18] Seven days later, Brad Lander (who also is a candidate in this election), under his power as the city comptroller issued a publicly viewable letter to Eric Adams.[19] The letter gave Adams an ultimatum till February 21 to present a contingency plan to deal with the crisis.[20] In the event that Adams did not present such a plan by that time, Lander stated in the letter that he would initiate the "Inability Committee" (one of the two ways to oust the mayor).[19][21] The case against Adams was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025.[15]

On April 3, 2025, Adams announced that he would exit the Democratic primary and instead run in the general election as an independent.[22] Adams's move changed the dynamic of the race.[23] Former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo has led most Democratic primary polls since announcing his intention to run on March 1,[24] but the Working Families Party has not committed to endorsing the winner of the Democratic primary and is unlikely to endorse Cuomo if he wins. This cluster of events opens the possibility of a competitive four-way general election race between a Republican candidate, a Democratic candidate, a Working Families Party candidate, and Adams.[23] Adams is the first incumbent mayor to seek re-election without the nomination of either major party since John Lindsay in 1969; Lindsay lost the Republican nomination, but ran and won on the Liberal Party line.[25] Adams is circulating petitions to run on an "EndAntiSemitism" ballot line, as well as a "Safe&Affordable" ballot line.[26]

Democratic primary

[edit]

Main article: 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary

Primary elections for the Democratic Party are scheduled to be held on June 24, 2025, with the early voting period beginning on June 14.[27] In New York City, primaries are held using ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting.[28]

In early 2025, polls showed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo leading all other mayoral candidates among Democratic voters.[24] A campaign calling on voters not to list Cuomo on the multi-choice ranking system for the Democratic primary formed in early 2025.[29][30][31] Leading up to the election, polls showed that Cuomo continued to be the frontrunner in the Democratic primary, with Assembly member Zohran Mamdani in second place.[32][33][34] One June poll found that Mamdani had a narrow lead over Cuomo.[35]

Candidates

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

·         Adrienne Adams, Speaker of the New York City Council (2022–present) from the 28th district (2017–present)[36]

·         Selma Bartholomew, educator[37]

·         Michael Blake, former state assemblymember from the 79th district (2015–2021), candidate for Public Advocate in 2019, and candidate for New York's 15th congressional district in 2020[38]

·         Andrew Cuomo, former Governor of New York (2011–2021), Attorney General of New York (2007-2010), and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (1997–2001)[39]

·         Brad LanderNew York City Comptroller (2022–present)[40]

·         Zohran Mamdanistate assemblymember from the 36th district (2021–present)[41]

·         Zellnor Myrie, state senator from the 20th district (2019–present)[42]

·         Paperboy Prince, artist and perennial candidate[37]

·         Jessica Ramos, state senator from the 13th district (2019–present)[43]

·         Scott Stringer, former New York City Comptroller (2014–2021) and candidate for mayor in 2021[44]

·         Whitney Tilson, hedge fund manager[45]

Withdrawn

[edit]

·         Eric Adams, incumbent mayor (running as an independent)[22]

·         Corinne Fisher, standup comedian and author[46]

·         Deirdre Levy, special needs teacher[46]

Declined

[edit]

·         Jennifer Jones Austin, lawyer and nonprofit CEO[47]

·         Jamaal Bowman, former U.S. Representative from New York's 16th congressional district (2021–2025) (endorsed Mamdani)[48][49]

·         Justin Brannancity councilmember from the 47th district (2018–present) (running for comptroller)[50]

·         Kathryn GarciaNew York State Director of Operations (2021–present), former Commissioner of the New York City Department of Sanitation (2014–2020), and candidate for mayor in 2021[51]

·         Dan GoldmanU.S. Representative from New York's 10th congressional district (2023–present) (endorsed Myrie)[47]

·         Letitia JamesAttorney General of New York (2019–present) and former New York City Public Advocate (2014–2018) (running for re-election, endorsed Adrienne Adams)[47][52]

·         Mark LevineManhattan Borough President (2020–present)[53] (running for comptroller)[54]

·         Yuh-Line Niou, former state assemblymember from the 65th district (2017–2022) and candidate for New York's 10th congressional district in 2022 (endorsed Mamdani)[53][55]

·         Antonio ReynosoBrooklyn Borough President (2022–present) (running for re-election, co-endorsed Adrienne Adams, Lander, and Mamdani)[54][56]

·         Ritchie TorresU.S. representative from New York's 15th congressional district (2021–present)[57] (endorsed Cuomo)[58]

·         Jumaane WilliamsNew York City Public Advocate (2019–present), candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018, and candidate for governor in 2022 (running for re-election, co-endorsed Adrienne Adams, Lander, and Mamdani)[59][60][61]

Results

[edit]

Democratic primary results

Party

Candidate

Round 1

 

 

Votes

%

 

Democratic

Adrienne Adams

 

 

 

Democratic

Selma Bartholomew

 

 

 

Democratic

Michael Blake

 

 

 

Democratic

Andrew Cuomo

 

 

 

Democratic

Brad Lander

 

 

 

Democratic

Zohran Mamdani

 

 

 

Democratic

Zellnor Myrie

 

 

 

Democratic

Paperboy Prince

 

 

 

Democratic

Jessica Ramos

 

 

 

Democratic

Scott Stringer

 

 

 

Democratic

Whitney Tilson

 

 

Total active votes

 

100.00%

Republican primary

[edit]

The Republican Party will not hold a primary election; Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee for mayor.[32][62]

Candidates

[edit]

Nominee

[edit]

Republican primary candidates

Candidate

Experience

Announced

Ref


Curtis Sliwa

Founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels
Nominee for mayor in 2021


February 13, 2025
Website

[63]

Declined

[edit]

·         Eric Adams, incumbent Democratic mayor (2022–present) (running as an independent)[64]

·         Joe Borelli, former minority leader of the New York City Council (2021–2025) from the 51st District (2015–2025)[65]

·         John Catsimatidis, CEO of Gristedes and D'Agostino Supermarkets and candidate for mayor in 2013 [66]

·         Rudy Giuliani, former mayor (1994–2001) and former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1983–1989)[67]

·         Jim Walden, antitrust and government law attorney (running as an independent)[68]

Endorsements

[edit]

hide

Curtis Sliwa

Organizations

·         Bronx Republican Party[69]

·         Brooklyn Republican Party[69]

·         Manhattan Republican Party[69]

·         Queens Republican Party[69]

·         Staten Island Republican Party[69]

Results

[edit]

Republican primary results

Party

Candidate

Votes

%

 

Republican

Curtis Sliwa

 

 

Total votes

 

100.0

Third-party and independent candidates

[edit]

Fight and Deliver

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

·         Andrew Cuomo, former Governor of New York (2011–2021) (also running in Democratic primary)[70]

Working Families Party

[edit]

The Working Families Party (WFP) often endorses Democratic Party nominees in general elections even if those nominees did not receive WFP support in their respective Democratic primaries. However, Ana María Archila of the Working Families Party has indicated that if Andrew Cuomo wins the Democratic mayoral primary, the party will most likely nominate someone other than Cuomo for mayor. The WFP has expressed support for Democratic candidates Adrienne AdamsBrad LanderZohran Mamdani, and Zellnor Myrie.[23][71]

Independents

[edit]

Declared

[edit]

Independent candidates

Candidate

Experience

Announced

Ref


Eric Adams[a]

Incumbent mayor (2022–present)
Brooklyn Borough President (2014–2021)
NY state senator from the 20th district (2007–2013)


April 3, 2025
Website

[22][72]


Jim Walden[b]

Antitrust and government law attorney
Former assistant U.S. Attorney


October 23, 2024
Website

[73][74]

Potential

[edit]

·         Ed Skyler, former deputy mayor for Michael Bloomberg[75]

Endorsements

[edit]

hide

Jim Walden

Executive branch officials

·         Richard Donoghue, former Acting United States Deputy Attorney General (2020–2021) (Republican)[61]

Statewide officials

·         David Paterson, former Governor of New York (2008–2010) (Democratic)[73]

Organizations

·         NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees[76]

·         NYPD Retired Sergeants Association[76]

General election

[edit]

Polling

[edit]

Andrew Cuomo vs. Curtis Sliwa vs. Eric Adams vs. Jim Walden

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Andrew
Cuomo (D)

Curtis
Sliwa (R)

Eric
Adams (I)

Jim
Walden (I)

Undecided

Emerson College[77][A]

May 23–26, 2025

1,000 (RV)

± 3.0%

44%

13%

10%

7%

26%

Emerson College[78][A]

March 21–24, 2025

1,000 (RV)

± 3.0%

43%

13%

11%

4%

29%

Zohran Mamdani vs. Curtis Sliwa vs. Eric Adams vs. Jim Walden

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Zohran
Mamdani (D)

Curtis
Sliwa (R)

Eric
Adams (I)

Jim
Walden (I)

Undecided

Emerson College[77][A]

May 23–26, 2025

1,000 (RV)

± 3.0%

35%

16%

15%

6%

27%

hide

Hypothetical polling

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Eric
Adams

Joe
Borelli

Chris
Christie [d]

Andrew
Cuomo

Brad
Lander

Zohran
Mamdani

Curtis
Sliwa

Jim
Walden

Undecided

Manhattan Institute[79][e]

June 10–16, 2025

1,000 (LV)

± 3.1%

11%

45%

13%

5%

27%

 

 

 

 

19%

33%

16%

5%

28%

 

 

 

 

10%

39%

25%

12%

3%

11%

 

 

 

 

17%

30%

18%

5%

30%

Manhattan Institute[80][e]

January 24–30, 2025

618 (RV)

± 3.9%

40%

30%

30%

 

 

 

 

59%

25%

16%

 

 

 

 

38%

35%

27%

 

 

 

 

30%

52%

19%

 

 

 

 

20%

44%

23%

13%

 

 

 

 

22%

17%

44%

17%

 

 

 

 

20%

39%

23%

18%

 

 

 

 

27%

50%

23%

 

 

 

 

40%

27%

33%

 

 

 

 

23%

42%

35%

 

 

 

 

19%

55%

26%

 

 

 

 

20%

34%

45%

Andrew Cuomo vs. Adrienne Adams as WFP nominee

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Andrew
Cuomo (D)

Adrienne
Adams (WFP)

Undecided

Upswing Research & Strategy (D)[81][f]

200 (LV)[g]

34%

41%

25%

Andrew Cuomo vs. Brad Lander as WFP nominee

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Andrew
Cuomo (D)

Brad
Lander (WFP)

Undecided

Upswing Research & Strategy (D)[81][f]

200 (LV)[g]

41%

38%

21%

Andrew Cuomo vs. Zohran Mamdani as WFP nominee

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Andrew
Cuomo (D)

Zohran
Mamdani (WFP)

Undecided

Upswing Research & Strategy (D)[81][f]

200 (LV)[g]

46%

35%

19%

Eric Adams vs. generic Republican

Poll source

Date(s)
administered

Sample
size[c]

Margin
of error

Eric
Adams (D)

Generic
Republican

Undecided

Slingshot Strategies (D)[82]

May 2–8, 2023

1,500 (RV)

± 2.5%

53%

20%

27%

 

WABC

A1X01 FROM ABC

Ranked-choice voting explained: What to know for New York City mayoral election

 

Friday, June 13, 2025 7:44PM

 

Sade Baderinwa explains ranked choice voting.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New Yorkers will once again rank their top choices for mayor of New York City for the primary election.

"We order things naturally, we all have our top favorite three ice creams, or top favorite breakfast dishes," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/New York.

And thanks to ranked-choice voting, New Yorkers can do the same in some political elections.

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank as many as five candidates in order of preference.

If your top choice is eliminated, your vote is then transferred to the next candidate on your ballot. If a candidate gets a majority of votes (over 50%) they are declared the winner.

Proponents say the system favors the candidates who appeal to the widest group of voters.

"Your vote is more powerful if you take advantage of the rankings, you can vote for one," Lerner said. "Nobody is going to force you to vote for more than one, but if you want the full power of a ranked choice voting system, do use the rankings."

So voters don't have to select five candidates, but it is important to note you cannot vote for someone more than once.

And you are still able to write in candidates.

As for how you should rank your choices?

"Your first choice should be the candidate you are passionate about, your second choice is the candidate you think would do a really good job and if number one weren't running, that would be your first choice," Lerner said. "Your third or fourth choices should be candidates you think are going to be OK, you have no problem with them. And your fifth choice is the candidate, well, I can live with this one, but never rank somebody that you don't want to see in office."

Early voting gets underway Saturday in New York City and primary day is Tuesday, June 24.

Out and about with NYC’s mayoral hopefuls on the first day of early voting

Meanwhile, mayoral campaigns are doing prep work of their own, with some campaigns, including Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani’s, encouraging voters to cast their ballots in the remaining days of early voting. (The BOE is also encouraging taking advantage of early voting to beat the heat.) 

So far, early voting numbers have dwarfed 2021’s turnout. As Gothamist reported, young people and people who live in Brownstone Brooklyn have turned out in huge numbers to vote early. Those folks are more interested in candidates Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani than front-runner Andrew Cuomo – who is more popular among older voters and voters of color.

At a Juneteenth event on Thursday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams kept a cool head, saying that her mayoral campaign’s strategy for getting out the vote remains the same. “It’s not the first hot day that we’ve had when people have to come out to vote. Please vote. It’s going to be hot. Stay hydrated,” she said. “It doesn’t take that long to cast your vote, so hopefully it won’t impede the voters,” she added. 

Mamdani’s campaign is also planning pop-up tents, water and snacks for volunteers, while state Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s campaign is prepping kits for their teams to stay cool, with sunscreen, electric fans and the works. 

“Let’s make sure now that the air conditioning is working in every polling site,” Lander said. “And let’s make sure it’s on in advance.” He added: “I do not have confidence that Eric Adams’ administration will do it. My administration will do it.”

On Wednesday, Cuomo called on Mayor Eric Adams to plan for the extreme weather on Election Day, when people might end up waiting in line outside to vote. Cuomo urged the mayor – who he’s trying to unseat – “to deploy the necessary resources, equipment and personnel to ensure that every polling site is cool, comfortable and accessible, and ensure that bottled water is provided to every registered New York City voter who plans to vote in person next Tuesday,” the former governor said in a statement.

In response to questions about preparing for heat, a spokesperson for Mayor Adams said that the independent BOE is responsible for elections, but said they are coordinating with them.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a directive Wednesday for state agencies to prepare for “severe weather including thunderstorms and extreme heat” starting Thursday and possibly continuing through next week.

 

 

GUK

A2X43  FROM GUK

New York City might elect a truly progressive mayor – thanks to ranked-choice voting

Mamdani’s campaign deserves credit for offering a clear, inspiring, progressive message. But ranked-choice voting is also helping make him competitive

Katrina vanden Heuvel  Wed 18 Jun 2025 09.21 EDT

 

With a week left until New York’s Democratic mayoral primary, one might have thought that the former governor Andrew Cuomo would be measuring the drapes at Gracie Mansion.  Real estate developers, corporations like Doordash, a smattering of billionaires and even Billy Joel have shoveled cash into his campaign, with his Super Pac spending more money than any other outside force in the city’s political history. This is on top of his entering the race with major name recognition advantage, amounting to a 20- or 30-point lead as recently as May.

But according to a new poll, Zohran Mamdani – the insurgent state assemblyman and democratic socialist whom the Nation recently co-endorsed along with fellow mayoral candidate and New York City comptroller Brad Lander – has pulled ahead of Cuomo for the first time.

And while Mamdani’s campaign deserves credit for offering a clear, inspiring, progressive message, the fact that he is competitive can also be partly credited to New York City’s ranked-choice voting (RCV) system. It’s a winning system for candidates who would otherwise be sidelined or would cannibalize each other’s support – and for voters who can finally cast their ballots based on policy rather than pragmatism.

America’s politics have long been dominated (or diluted) by first-past-the-post (FPTP) voting. In it, citizens cast their ballot for one candidate, and whoever receives the most votes wins. Straightforward as it seems, this method forces an either/or choice, often resulting in voters deciding between the lesser of two evils. Not only does this reinforce a two-party duopoly in general elections, but it also incentivizes a binary choice between the two leading candidates in primaries.

For the candidates themselves, the system encourages scorched-earth campaigns that divide parties and inflame the narcissism of small differences. The progressive senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren came into the 2020 Democratic presidential primary as allies with much more in common ideologically than their centrist opponents. But there was no electoral incentive for either of them to form an alliance with the other. Instead, they fought to consolidate a minority faction within the party, and got mired in a grisly and public feud. The mudslinging did leave one person standing – Joe Biden.

In contrast, RCV makes it possible for dark horse candidates to work together. After Mamdani’s campaign reached the fundraising limit, he urged his supporters to donate to a fellow anti-Cuomo candidate, Adrienne Adams. Adams, in turn, has maintained a focus on criticizing Cuomo, even deleting a tweet that was perceived as a swipe at Mamdani. These contenders are making it clear they truly believe – as the Nation’s editorial board wrote in our endorsement – New Yorkers deserve better than Andrew Cuomo.

Critics of ranked-choice voting argue it’s too confusing, but successful implementations of the system in other jurisdictions suggest otherwise. In Alaska’s 2022 congressional special election, the first statewide RCV election there, 85% of people who cast their ballots said they found the method to be simple. It also enabled the Democrat Mary Peltola to fend off an extremist challenge from Sarah Palin. Maine has also seen promising results from RCV, with 60% of its voters favoring the system. Cities like Minneapolis and Cambridge, Massachusetts, have enjoyed higher turnout after the implementation of RCV.

But RCV is only as effective as its participants make it. Ahead of New York City’s mayoral primary in 2021, I wrote a column expressing high hopes for how the debut of RCV could reshape the city’s politics. But that race became chaotic for other reasons.

Scott Stringer and Dianne Morales’s campaigns collapsed. Advocacy groups had to un-endorse and re-endorse – in some cases, multiple times. There was a progressive effort to coalesce around Maya Wiley, including a belated endorsement from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Meanwhile, pragmatists who felt Eric Adams and Andrew Yang lacked substance turned to the sanitation commissioner, Kathryn Garcia. If Wiley and Garcia had cross-endorsed, one of them might have defeated Adams. Instead, Adams won the primary in the final round by just over 7,000 votes.

This time, the mayoral candidates seem to have learned. On Friday, Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other, encouraging their supporters to rank the other second. Mamdani explained the decision with a refreshing mix of idealism and realism: “This is the necessary step to ensure that we’re not just serving our own campaigns – we’re serving the city at large.” This was followed by another cross-endorsement, between Mamdani and former assemblyman Michael Blake, on Monday. And the national progressive movement is much more united than it was in 2021, with both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders endorsing Mamdani in the home stretch this time.

By treating each other like allies rather than adversaries, the anti-Cuomo coalition might just prevail. If anything, it is the establishment wing of the New York Democratic party that is struggling to coalesce – as evinced by the New York Times’ non-endorsement endorsement that, if you squint, could be perceived as encouraging New Yorkers to support Cuomo, Lander, hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson, or flee the city.

The Nation has a long history of covering New York’s mayoral races. Although no New York mayor has been elected to higher office since 1869 – just four years after the magazine was founded – the office has long held fascinating implications for American progressivism.

Fiorello La Guardia, whom Mamdani and Lander have both named as the greatest mayor in the city’s history, took office at the height of the Great Depression and led the city through the second world war. Over 12 years of cascading crises, he transformed the city with a bold vision characterized by expanding public housing and public spaces, curbing corruption, and unflinchingly supporting the reforms of the New Deal.

Now, nearly a century later, New Yorkers have an opportunity to bring the city into a new era once again. And ordinarily, making that kind of change possible would require making a tough choice. But if it happens this time, it will be because of a ranked choice.

·         Katrina vanden Heuvel is editorial director and publisher of the Nation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a contributor to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times

 

 

Cityandstate

A3X11 FROM CITYANDSTATENY.com

Endorsements in the 2025 New York City mayoral race

Labor unions, political clubs and power brokers. Stay up to date on which mayoral candidates are getting the coveted endorsements for 2025.

Here’s who’s running for New York City mayor in 2025

By Annie McDonough  June 20, 2025 03:53 PM ET

Endorsements are a key piece of the puzzle for mayoral candidates – alongside fundraising and communicating their policies and message to voters. They can help broaden a politician’s appeal beyond their base or even deliver on-the-ground votes. Major labor unions and political organizations often have detailed interviews and voting processes to determine their pick. 

As the June 24 primary approaches, formalized alliances are beginning to take shape between the candidates themselves. One day before the start of early voting, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and city Comptroller Brad Lander became the first pair to cross-endorse each other, urging their respective supporters to rank the other second on their ballots in a bid to ice out front-runner Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani and former Assembly Member Michael Blake later cross-endorsed each other too.

Cross-endorsements are still a relatively new strategy in New York City as candidates seek to utilize the ranked choice voting system adopted in 2021. A late-in-the-game endorsement of then–Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang in 2021 ultimately propelled her from third to second place as votes were tabulated. That endorsement went just one way – Garcia didn’t endorse Yang back.  

There have already been a couple of non-mutual endorsements in this year’s primary too. State Sen. Jessica Ramos endorsed Cuomo late last week (and got a lot of blowback in the process), but the former governor did not return the favor. Former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson said he would rank Cuomo No. 2 on his ballot during the second mayoral debate

We’re staying on top of the public endorsements by labor unions, political power brokers, advocacy groups and more. Keep up with all the major nods here. And because there are a couple familiar faces running again, check out our 2021 endorsements tracker to compare and contrast.) 

The endorsements listed here are ones City & State was able to confirm with the individuals or groups directly, through news reports or on the endorsers’ social media accounts.

This post was last updated on June 20.

Mayor Eric Adams (Democrat running as an independent candidate)

None reported yet.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (Democrat)

Elected officials: Mayoral candidate and state Sen. Jessica Ramos, Reps. Ritchie TorresGreg MeeksAdriano Espaillat and Tom Suozzi, state Sens. James Sanders (ranked No. 1), Toby Ann Stavisky and Joseph Addabbo Jr., Assembly Members Yudelka Tapia (ranked No. 1), Eddie GibbsCharles Fall, Latrice Walker, Jordan Wright, Erik Dilan, Sam Berger, Stacey Pheffer Amato, Vivian Cook, John Zaccaro, William Colton, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, Ed Braunstein, David Weprin, Manny De Los Santos, Clyde Vanel, Alicia HyndmanGeorge Alvarez (ranked No. 1), Council Members Kamillah HanksFarah Louis, Darlene Mealy, Susan Zhuang, Lynn Schulman and Selvena Brooks-Powers

Labor: 32BJ SEIU, Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, District Council of Carpenters, District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Laborers’ International Union of North America New York affiliate, Teamsters Local 237, IBEW Local 3, Utility Workers Union of America Local 1-2, New York City Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, New York City Coalition of the International Union of the Operating EngineersFDNY EMS Local 2507 and Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621New York State Iron Workers District Council (ranked No. 1), Teamsters Joint Council 16, Uniformed Firefighters Association, Uniformed Firefighters Officers Association, Uniformed Fire Alarm Dispatchers Benevolent Association, the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York

Organizations: Executive committee of the Staten Island Democratic PartyVillage Reform Democratic Club, Aldo’s Democratic Club, New York League of Conservation Voters (d with Lander), Citizens Union (d with Lander and Myrie), amNY editorial boardStaten Island Advance editorial boardthe New York Daily News editorial board (ranked No. 1)

Others: Former New York Gov. David Paterson, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloombergformer state Comptroller Carl McCall, former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Black clergy members including Rev. Kevin Johnson of Abyssinian Baptist Church and Rev. Johnnie Green of Mount Neboh Baptist Church, Bobov Orthodox community leaders (ranked No. 1), Chairman of the Democratic Party of Puerto Rico Luis Dávila PernasSatmar community leaders in Williamsburgcoalition of Hasidic sects in Borough Park (No. 1), fellow candidate Whitney Tilson (No. 2), South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn

Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (Democrat)

Elected officials: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ranked No. 1), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (ranked No. 1), Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (ranked No. 3), fellow candidate and Comptroller Brad Lander (No. 2), Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (after Lander, and alongside Adrienne Adams), state Attorney General Letitia James (No. 3), state Sens. Jabari Brisport, Kristen Gonzalez, Julia Salazar (with Adrienne Adams, Lander and Myrie), Gustavo Rivera (ranked No. 1), John Liu, Assembly Members Claire Valdez, Phara Souffrant Forrest, Marcela Mitaynes, Sarahana Shrestha, Khaleel Anderson (ranked No. 2 or No. 3), Emily Gallagher (ranked No. 1 or No. 2), George Alvarez (ranked No. 2), Robert Carroll (ranked No. 2), Jessica González-Rojas (as top tier choice d with Lander, followed by second tier choices Adrienne Adams and Myrie), and City Council Members Jennifer Gutiérrez (with Adrienne Adams and Lander), Sandy Nurse (with Lander, Adrienne Adams and Myrie), Lincoln Restler (with Adrienne Adams and Lander), Chi Ossé (with Lander, Adrienne Adams and Myrie), Alexa Avilés (ranked No. 1), Tiffany Caban (ranked No. 1), Crystal Hudson (with Myrie, Adrienne Adams and Lander), Shahana Hanif (with Lander), Carmen De La Rosa (ranked No. 2)

Labor: District Council 37 (ranked No. 2), United Auto Workers Region 9A (ranked No. 1), Professional Staff Congress (ranked No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3), UNITE HERE Local 100 (ranked No. 2), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 161 (ranked No. 1), Teamsters Local 804 (after No. 1 choice Ramos, and alongside Lander)

Organizations: New York Working Families Party (ranked No. 1), New York City Democratic Socialists of AmericaNew York Communities for ChangeCAAAV (formerly the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence) VoiceDRUM (Desis Rising Up & Moving) BeatsJewish Voice for Peace ActionNew York Progressive Action Network (ranked No. 2 or No. 3), New Kings Democrats (with Lander, Ramos and Myrie), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (ranked No. 1 or No. 2), Three Bridges Democratic Club (d with Adrienne Adams and Blake), the Muslim Democratic Club of New York City (ranked No. 1), Sunrise NYCGen-Z for ChangeCAIR Action New YorkFordham College Democrats, College Democrats of New York, College Democrats of America (with Lander and Ramos), Make the Road Action (after Lander, who they ranked No. 1), Churches United for Fair Housing Action (after Lander, who they ranked No. 1), Emgage Action (ranked No. 1), Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (ranked No. 2), Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn (ranked No. 2), Alliance of South Asian American LaborStonewall Democratic Club of New York City (ranked No. 3), New York State Tenant Bloc (ranked No. 1), Tenants PAC (ranked No. 1)Riders Alliance (with Myrie, Adrienne Adams, Lander, Stringer, Blake), Staten Island Democratic AssociationBrooklyn Young Democrats (ranked No. 2), Bangladeshi-Americans for Political Progress (ranked No. 1), Citizen Action of New York (with Lander, Adrienne Adams, Myrie and Blake), BKForge (ranked No. 2), Human Services Action (ranked No. 5)

Other: Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman, former Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (ranked No. 2), The Nation (ranked No. 1), former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (No.1)

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (Democrat)

Elected officials: Fellow candidate and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani (No. 2), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (ranked No. 3), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ranked No. 3), Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (ranked No. 1, followed by Adrienne Adams and Mamdani), Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (as his top choice with Adrienne Adams, followed by Mamdani), New York Attorney General Letitia James (No. 2), state Sens. Liz Krueger (ranked No. 1), Julia Salazar (with Adrienne Adams, Mamdani and Myrie), Andrew Gounardes (with Zellnor Myrie), Gustavo Rivera (ranked No. 2), Assembly Members Khaleel Anderson (ranked No. 1), Emily Gallagher (ranked No. 1 or No. 2), Phara Souffrant Forrest (ranked No. 2), Monique Chandler-Waterman (ranked No. 2), Robert Carroll (ranked No. 1), Claire ValdezJessica González-Rojas (as top tier choice d with Mamdani), City Council Members Tiffany Cabán (ranked No. 2), Jennifer Gutiérrez (with Adrienne Adams and Zohran Mamdani), Sandy Nurse (with Adrienne Adams, Mamdani and Myrie) and Lincoln Restler (with Adrienne Adams and Zohran Mamdani), Chi Ossé (with Adrienne Adams, Mamdani and Myrie), Alexa Avilés (ranked No. 2), Crystal Hudson (with Myrie, Adrienne Adams and Mamdani), Shahana Hanif (with Mamdani), Carmen De La Rosa (ranked No. 3)

Labor: United Auto Workers Region 9A (ranked No. 2), Professional Staff Congress (ranked No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3), UNITE HERE Local 100 (ranked No. 3), Teamsters Local 804 (after No. 1 choice Ramos, and alongside Mamdani)

Organizations: New York Working Families Party (ranked No. 2), Upper West Side Action GroupNew York Progressive Action Network (ranked No. 1), Three Parks Independent DemocratsHells Kitchen Democrats, Broadway Democrats, Independent Neighborhood DemocratsCentral Brooklyn Independent DemocratsVillage Independent DemocratsNew Kings Democrats (with Myrie, Ramos and Mamdani), Abundance New York (with Myrie), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (ranked No. 1 or No. 2), Bay Ridge Democrats, Indivisible Brooklyn504 Democratic ClubBKForgeFordham College Democrats, College Democrats of New York, College Democrats of America (with Ramos and Mamdani), Make the Road Action (ranked No. 1), Churches United for Fair Housing Action (ranked No. 1), Emgage Action (ranked No. 2), New York City Organization of Public Service RetireesJim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (ranked No. 3), Four Freedoms Democratic Club (ranked No. 1), Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn (ranked No. 1), Unity Democratic Club (ranked No. 1), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 161 (after Mamdani, who is ranked No. 1, and alongside Ramos), Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City (ranked No. 2), New York State Tenant Bloc (ranked No. 2), Riders Alliance (with Myrie, Adrienne Adams, Mamdani, Stringer, Blake), New York League of Conservation Voters (with Cuomo), Brooklyn Young Democrats (ranked No. 1), Bangladeshi-Americans for Political Progress (ranked No. 2), Citizens Union (d with Cuomo and Myrie), Citizen Action of New York (with Mamdani, Adrienne Adams, Myrie and Blake), BKForge (ranked No. 1), Human Services Action (ranked No. 2)

Others: Texas Rep. Greg Cesar, New York City Housing Authority tenant leaders including Aixa Torres, president of Alfred E. Smith Houses in Manhattan, former Assembly Member Richard Gottfried (ranked No. 1), The Nation (ranked No. 2), former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (No. 3), the New York Daily News editorial board (ranked No. 3)

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (Democrat)

Elected officials: New York Attorney General Letitia James (No. 1), Rep. Yvette ClarkeRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ranked No. 2), Rep. Nydia Velázquez (ranked No. 2), Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (as his top choice with Lander, followed by Mamdani), Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (after Lander and alongside Mamdani), state Sens. Leroy Comrie (ranked No. 1), James Sanders (ranked No. 2), Julia Salazar (with Lander, Mamdani and Myrie), Gustavo Rivera (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Assembly Members Andrew Hevesi, Brian CunninghamKhaleel Anderson (ranked No. 2 or No. 3), Emily Gallagher (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Monique Chandler-Waterman (ranked No. 3), George Alvarez (ranked No. 3), Jessica González-Rojas (as second tier choice d with Myrie, preceded by top tier choices Mamdani and Lander), City Council Members Yusef Salaam, Kevin Riley (ranked No. 1), Althea Stevens, Chris Banks, Rita Joseph (ranked No. 1), Diana Ayala, Amanda Farías, Jennifer Gutiérrez (with Lander and Mamdani), Sandy Nurse (with Lander, Mamdani and Myrie) and Lincoln Restler (with Lander and Mamdani), Chi Ossé (with Lander, Mamdani and Myrie), Alexa Avilés (ranked No. 3), Tiffany Caban (ranked No. 3), Nantasha Williams, Mercedes NarcisseCrystal Hudson (with Lander, Myrie and Mamdani), Carmen De La Rosa (ranked No. 1)

Labor: District Council 37 (ranked No. 1), Communication Workers of America Local 1180UNITE HERE Local 100 (ranked No. 1), Professional Staff Congress (ranked No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3), United Auto Workers Region 9A (ranked No. 5)

Organizations: New York Working Families Party (ranked No. 3), The Muslim Democratic Club of New York City (ranked No. 2), Make the Road Action (after Lander, who they ranked No. 1), Churches United for Fair Housing Action (after Lander, who they ranked No. 1), Emgage Action (ranked No. 3), Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (ranked No. 1), Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City (ranked No. 1), Higher Heights for America PAC, the New Majority NYC (ranked No. 1), Downtown Women for Change (ranked No. 1), Riders Alliance (with Myrie, Mamdani, Lander, Stringer, Blake), Brooklyn Young Democrats (ranked No. 4), Bangladeshi-Americans for Political Progress (ranked No. 3), BKForge (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Human Services Action (ranked No. 1)

Others: Former Council Member I. Daneek Miller, former Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, Greater Allen Cathedral’s the Rev. Stephen A. Green, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Citizen Action of New York (with Mamdani, Lander, Myrie and Blake), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (ranked No. 3), former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (No 2.), coalition of Hasidic sects in Borough Park (No. 2), the New York Daily News editorial board (ranked No. 2)

Former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer (Democrat)

Elected officials: Reps. Jerry NadlerAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ranked No. 4), Nydia Velázquez (ranked No. 4), Assembly Member Deborah GlickAssembly Member Micah Lasher

Organizations: West Side DemocratsDowntown Independent DemocratsLexington Democratic ClubGrand Street DemocratsEl Nuevo Caribe Democratic ClubNew York City Organization of Public Service RetireesHuman Services Action (ranked No. 4)

State Sen. Jessica Ramos (Democrat)

Labor: Teamsters Local 808Teamsters Local 804 (ranked No. 1), New York State Iron Workers District Council (ranked No. 2), UNITE HERE Local 100 (ranked No. 4), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 161 (after Mamdani, who is ranked No. 1, and alongside Lander)

Organizations: New Kings Democrats (with Lander, Myrie and Mamdani), Chelsea Reform Democratic ClubFordham College Democrats, College Democrats of New York, College Democrats of America (with Lander and Mamdani), Emgage Action (ranked No. 4), New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees, the New Majority NYC (ranked No. 2), Brooklyn Young Democrats (ranked No. 5)

Rescinded Ramos endorsements:

Elected officials: State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (previously ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Assembly Member Emily Gallagher (previously ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Assembly Members Khaleel Anderson (previously ranked No. 5)

Labor: United Auto Workers Region 9A (previously ranked No. 3), Professional Staff Congress (previously ranked No. 4 or No. 5)

Organizations: New York Working Families Party (previously ranked No. 5), Downtown Women for Change (previously ranked No. 1), Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (previously included on its slate), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (previously ranked No. 5), BKForge (previously ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), New York Progressive Action Network (previously ranked No. 2, No. 3 or No. 4), Citizen Action of New York (previously included on its slate), Riders Alliance (previously included on its slate), Three Bridges Democratic Club (previously including on its slate)

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (Democrat)

Elected officials: Reps. Dan GoldmanAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez (ranked No. 5), Nydia Velázquez (ranked No. 5), state Attorney General Letitia James (No. 4), state Sens. Leroy Comrie (ranked No. 2), Julia Salazar (with Lander, Mamdani and Adrienne Adams), Andrew Gounardes (with Brad Lander), Liz Krueger (after Lander), Gustavo Rivera (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Assembly Members Yudelka Tapia (ranked No. 2), Khaleel Anderson (ranked No. 4), Emily Gallagher (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Monique Chandler-Waterman (ranked No. 1), George Alvarez (ranked No. 4), Jessica González-Rojas (as second tier choice d with Adrienne Adams, preceded by top tier choices Mamdani and Lander), Council Members Rita Joseph (ranked No. 2), Kevin Riley (ranked No. 2), and Sandy Nurse (with Lander, Adrienne Adams and Mamdani), Alexa Avilés (ranked No. 4), Tiffany Caban (ranked No. 4), Crystal Hudson (with Lander, Adrienne Adams and Mamdani), Chi Ossé (with Adrienne Adams, Lander and Mamdani), Carmen De La Rosa (ranked No. 4)

Labor: District Council 37 (ranked No. 3), Professional Staff Congress (ranked No. 4 or No. 5), United Auto Workers Region 9A (ranked No. 4)

Organizations: New York Working Families Party (ranked No. 4), New York Progressive Action Network (ranked No. 2 or No. 3), New Kings Democrats (with Lander, Ramos and Mamdani), Abundance New York (with Lander), Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn (ranked No. 2), Riders Alliance (with Adrienne Adams, Mamdani, Lander, Stringer, Blake), Brooklyn Young Democrats (ranked No. 3), Citizens Union (d with Cuomo and Lander), Citizen Action of New York (with Mamdani, Lander, Blake and Adrienne Adams), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (ranked No. 4), Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (ranked No. 4), BKForge (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Human Services Action (ranked No. 3)

Other: Attorney and former political candidate Zephyr Teachout, former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (No. 4), coalition of Hasidic sects in Borough Park (No. 3)

Former Assembly Member Michael Blake (Democrat)

Elected officials: State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5), Assembly Members George Alvarez (ranked No. 5), Emily Gallagher (ranked No. 3, No. 4 or No. 5),  Khaleel Anderson (ranked No. 5), New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa (ranked No. 5)

Labor: United Auto Workers Region 9A (ranked No. 5), Professional Staff Congress (ranked No. 4 or No. 5)

Organizations: Emgage Action (ranked No. 5), Three Bridges Democratic Club (d with Ramos and Mamdani), Jews for Racial and Economic Justice’s political arm The Jewish Vote (ranked No. 5), Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club (ranked No. 5), Citizen Action of New York (with Mamdani, Lander, Myrie and Adrienne Adams), Riders Alliance (with Adrienne Adams, Mamdani, Lander, Stringer, Myrie)

Other: Former mayoral candidate Maya Wiley (No. 5)

Whitney Tilson, former hedge fund manager (Democrat)

Other: Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman (who has since donated $250,000 to a political action committee supporting Cuomo)

Jim Walden, attorney (independent candidate)

Organizations: New York City Organization of Public Service RetireesNYPD Retired Sergeants Association

Other: Former prosecutors including former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard Donoghue

Curtis Sliwa, Guardian Angles founder and radio personality (Republican)

Organizations: Queens County Republican Party, Bronx County Republican Party, Kings County Republican Party, Staten Island Republican Party, Manhattan Republican Party, New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees

NYC BOE and campaigns prep for scorcher Election Day

Temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees on Tuesday, leading the BOE and some campaigns to encourage voters to cast their ballots on the remaining, slightly cooler, days of early voting.

2025 New York City Mayoral Election

Temperatures are expected to reach 100 degrees on primary election day as an oppressive “heat dome” passes over parts of the central and eastern U.S., combining dangerously high temperatures with smothering humidity. The weather forecast is likely to impact Election Day voter turnout, and it’s just the latest twist in a primary election season absolutely packed with them.

The conditions could be dangerous for voters and poll workers – the latter of which, the New York City Board of Elections notes, will be working up to 17 hours Tuesday. “This is fundamentally a facilities and workforce challenge, and we are treating it with the urgency it deserves,” deputy executive director of the BOE Vincent Ignizio said in a statement. In an advisory sent out on Thursday, the BOE noted that it will be prioritizing poll sites that don’t have air conditioning to provide fans, water and coordinate with the relevant utilities to ensure continuous power.

Related articles

Out and about with NYC’s mayoral hopefuls on the first day of early voting

Meanwhile, mayoral campaigns are doing prep work of their own, with some campaigns, including Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani’s, encouraging voters to cast their ballots in the remaining days of early voting. (The BOE is also encouraging taking advantage of early voting to beat the heat.) 

So far, early voting numbers have dwarfed 2021’s turnout. As Gothamist reported, young people and people who live in Brownstone Brooklyn have turned out in huge numbers to vote early. Those folks are more interested in candidates Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani than front-runner Andrew Cuomo – who is more popular among older voters and voters of color.

At a Juneteenth event on Thursday, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams kept a cool head, saying that her mayoral campaign’s strategy for getting out the vote remains the same. “It’s not the first hot day that we’ve had when people have to come out to vote. Please vote. It’s going to be hot. Stay hydrated,” she said. “It doesn’t take that long to cast your vote, so hopefully it won’t impede the voters,” she added. 

Mamdani’s campaign is also planning pop-up tents, water and snacks for volunteers, while state Sen. Zellnor Myrie’s campaign is prepping kits for their teams to stay cool, with sunscreen, electric fans and the works. 

“Let’s make sure now that the air conditioning is working in every polling site,” Lander said. “And let’s make sure it’s on in advance.” He added: “I do not have confidence that Eric Adams’ administration will do it. My administration will do it.”

On Wednesday, Cuomo called on Mayor Eric Adams to plan for the extreme weather on Election Day, when people might end up waiting in line outside to vote. Cuomo urged the mayor – who he’s trying to unseat – “to deploy the necessary resources, equipment and personnel to ensure that every polling site is cool, comfortable and accessible, and ensure that bottled water is provided to every registered New York City voter who plans to vote in person next Tuesday,” the former governor said in a statement.

In response to questions about preparing for heat, a spokesperson for Mayor Adams said that the independent BOE is responsible for elections, but said they are coordinating with them.

Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a directive Wednesday for state agencies to prepare for “severe weather including thunderstorms and extreme heat” starting Thursday and possibly continuing through next week.

AM.NY

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NYC Mayor’s Race: Cuomo sounds alarm on far-left and Iran; secures President Bill Clinton endorsement

By Barbara Russo-Lennon   Posted on June 22, 2025

Hours before Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sounded off on the far-left movement that he says is “really taking over” the Democratic party.

Cuomo made the remarks during a Sunday morning appearance at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn on June 22.

“They’re called the Democratic Socialists,” he said. “And it is a far-left view, and I don’t think it is productive for the Democratic party, for the city. It’s about dismantling the police department, legalizing prostitution, abolishing the jail system, everything free—free transportation, free schools, free food, free everything. And we’ll figure out a way to tax the wealthy. All great ideas, but just in practice, it doesn’t work.”

Bottom of Form

Recent polls have Cuomo ahead among the Democratic primary field, with Democratic socialist Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani his closest threat and gaining ground in the final weeks of the race.

While alluding to Mamdani’s candidacy and what he considers to be socialist policies as being unrealistic for New York, the former governor said his experience as a competent manager makes him uniquely qualified to run the country’s largest city.

“I don’t do a lot of things in life, but I know how to make government work. I did it at HUD. I did it when I was governor of the state of New York,” Cuomo said. “I can’t sing. I can’t dance. I don’t play golf. But I can make the government work. I can turn the city around.”

He then turned to international politics, focusing on President Donald Trump’s Saturday night missile attack on Iran. 

While the former governor denounced the way Trump launched the attack without consulting with Congress, he agreed with the President that Iran “can not have nuclear weapons.” 

“It’s dangerous not only for the region, it’s dangerous internationally, it’s dangerous for the United States,” he said. “As a New Yorker, my natural instinct as a former governor of New York is that New York should get ready for a possible reprisal from Iran. I would be on high alert here.”

Clinton backs Cuomo

Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton has also given Cuomo his support, the former governor’s campaign announced Sunday. 

“The election will decide the next mayor of New York, and I urge you to vote for Andrew Cuomo,” Clinton said in a statement. “As President, I chose Andrew to be my Secretary of Housing and Urban Development [HUD], and he never let me down—but more importantly, he didn’t let the nation down.”

Cuomo served under Clinton as the head of HUD from 1993 to 1997. 

“He built public housing all across the country, from Chicago to L.A., designed and implemented new innovative programs to successfully combat homelessness, and fought discrimination, including against the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and antisemitism,” the former President added as he cited the “desperate need” for affordable housing in NYC. 

Cuomo thanked Clinton for his support in a statement to the press, returning the accolades to the country’s 42nd President. 

“His administration was one of the most accomplished in modern political history — and that’s what government is supposed to be all about,” Cuomo said. “He never ran from a challenge and, in fact, ran towards them. Together we built housing, battled homelessness and fought for justice for communities too often left out and left behind.”

 

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From AOC to Bloomberg, here are some key endorsements in the NYC mayoral Democratic primary election

New York City's mayoral primary election heads to the polls today, and the leading Democratic candidates have picked up some key endorsements in the final stretch of the race.

CBS News New York's Political Reporter Marcia Kramer sat down with J.C. Polanco, assistant professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, and political consultant O'Brien Murray to discuss why these endorsements matter. 

Early voting ended Sunday, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, June 24. Polls are now open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Bloomberg endorses Cuomo

The biggest endorsement, to date, appears to be the decision by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to endorse former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

"Huge endorsement for former Gov. Cuomo. Why? Because [former] Mayor Bloomberg talks to a specific type of voter -- down the Upper East Side corridor, down the Upper West Side corridor, up to Park Slope and Brooklyn. He talks to voters that come out in large propensities that are Democrats, that will cross over to vote Republican," Polanco said. "By endorsing former Gov. Cuomo, he gives them the green light -- you can support this guy, forget about the baggage you've heard about, he's the guy that I trust -- and they trust Bloomberg, this is going to be great for Cuomo."

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"There are three things that [former] Mayor Bloomberg brings: Money, money and money. With that comes ... polling, it will help him in the polling, number one. Number two, it will help him with fundraising. Number three, it will help him with voters on Election Day," said Murray. "But at the end of the day, Bloomberg's people were donating to this campaign before and donating to the Super PAC, according to published reports. If that continues, you could see Bloomberg money go to a Super PAC and Bloomberg donors go to a Cuomo campaign."

In his announcement, Bloomberg did not mention Cuomo's sexual harassment or nursing home scandals. Bloomberg said there are no perfect candidates, and while Cuomo may not be a perfect choice, he is the best choice. 

"I think it's perfect, I think we all know the baggage that former Gov. Cuomo has, he doesn't have to remind people of it, it's baked into former Gov. Cuomo's candidacy. And again, it gives the green light to Democrats that are Bloomberg Democrats -- these are independent democrats that really loved his mayoralty -- and this endorsement reminds them of those good 12 years that they enjoyed, and he's giving them the green light," Polanco said.

"I was lucky enough to work in a race with Mayor Koch about 10 years ago and this reminds me of the Mayor Koch quote: 'If you agree with me 10 out of 10 times, you're crazy. If you agree with me 8 out of 10 times, please vote for me.' Because that's Michael Bloomberg's quote, basically what he's saying there is no New Yorker is going to agree with any candidate across the board and if they do, they are crazy," said Murray. "But right now, [former] Mayor Bloomberg is most important for this. It adds credibility, it adds money and it adds stability at a time when we see New York's future uncertain."

Polanco again called it a "huge endorsement," adding, "If you ask New Yorkers in the street, like you do, 'What do you think of [former] Mayor Bloomberg?' you're going to hear positive, rave reviews. This is someone who won three consecutive terms as mayor of New York City."

"Progressives never supported Cuomo, they never supported Bloomberg. Everyone else that's not a progressive will come out in droves as much as they can and the energy they have, because they want New York to be what Bloomberg had and not what [Bill] de Blasio had and not what the future could be under anything that progressive," Murray added. 

Fellow Democratic candidate State Sen. Jessica Ramos made the shocking move to endorse Cuomo, telling her supporters to rank him number one. Ramos had been a harsh critic of the former governor but said she now believes he's the best person to take on President Trump.

Cuomo also received endorsements from his predecessor, former New York Gov. David Paterson, and from Jewish community groups, including Ahronim, the Bobov community in Borough Park, Crown Heights PAC, Crown Jewish United and the Far Rockaway Jewish Alliance. 

The New York Daily News also endorsed CuomoCLICK HERE for more from his campaign. 

AOC & Sanders endorse Mamdani

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani received a high-profile endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the race.

"I think most New Yorkers recognize that there was no other candidate for AOC to support. He is the socialist candidate, AOC is socialist. I think viewers would be as surprised as finding out I'm Latino, they know I'm Latino, they know that AOC was going to support the socialist," said Polanco. "It doesn't bring any new voters, because all those voters and endorsements that Mamdani brought to the table, it was already baked in."

"I disagree and here's why: Because it didn't go to [Brad] Lander, and Lander needed it. Not only did he not get it, Adrienne Adams was ranked higher," Murray said, referring to Ocasio-Cortez's full ranked choice voting list. "At this point, when you have a situation where you have an opportunity for Adrienne Adams to get some wind in her sails and AOC behind her, after Mamdani, that is something that hurt Brad Lander like you wouldn't believe."

Mamdani later received another endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, and the Queens socialist has taken advantage of ranked choice voting to align himself with fellow candidates Comptroller Brad Lander and former state Assemblyman Michael Blake, in part, to unite against Cuomo in the polls.

"Four years ago, we wound up with one of the worst mayors in our history, largely because the two top alternatives in the race did not come together and join forces to cross-endorse each other. We can't afford to make that mistake again," Lander said when they announced their cross-endorsement.

Polanco said it's all about addition.

"Being ranked on that sheet matters," he said. "It's important for each candidate to get as much support as possible from their fellow candidates on each side, because as they drop off the count, the idea is that their supporters will now have their entire support moving forward. And that matters at a game in which a few votes may decide who's going to be the winner."

Mamdani has also received an endorsement from state Sen. John Liu, who represents Queens and made history as the first Asian American to win citywide office. CLICK HERE for more from Mamdani's campaign. 

NYT sounds off on Lander, Mamdani

While not, technically, an endorsement, a panel of New York Times opinion experts picked Lander as the best overall choice to run the city.

"In the end, a veteran civic leader and elected official, Brad Lander, the city comptroller, emerged as the top overall choice among the panelists, including four who recently shifted away from Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Mamdani and other candidates," the piece read. "Mr. Lander was also cited as best on education, the economy and leadership. Those who favored him cited his experience in city government and his ability to work with others — but, truth be told, he also benefited from lacking the heavy baggage of Mr. Cuomo and the democratic socialist image of Mr. Mamdani."

While the newspaper's Editorial Board no longer does endorsements, the story could still have a major impact on the race. The board's 2021 endorsement of Kathryn Garcia provided a significant boost to her campaign. 

CLICK HERE for more from Lander's campaign.  

The board has since come out against Mamdani, writing, "We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers' ballots. His experience is too thin and his agenda reads like a turbocharged version of Mr. de Blasio's dismaying mayoralty," in reference to former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Mamdani shrugged off the criticism. 

"These are the opinions of about a dozen New Yorkers, and a democracy will be decided by close to a million New Yorkers. They certainly have the right to their opinions, and New Yorkers have the right to their votes," he said.

AG James for Speaker Adams

Meanwhile, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams received endorsements from state Attorney General Letitia James and DC37, the city's largest municipal employee union.

"Adrienne Adams is a fearless leader who puts people over politics. She has repeatedly stood up for New Yorkers and won, keeping libraries open and protecting childcare for families. She is leading the City's fight against the Trump administration, including keeping ICE out of Rikers. I'm proud to endorse Adrienne as my number one choice for Mayor and look forward to having her in the fight to protect New York City," James said in a statement. 

Murray noted that while James endorsed Adams, it was Mamdani who helped the speaker raise enough money to access the city's matching funds. 

"That's the most amazing thing here. The Upstart did more for her to raise money and get her on the map than Tish James did," said Murray.

"And it was all about social media," Polanco added. 

CLICK HERE for more from Adams' campaign. 

Other Democratic candidates

Use the following links for a closer look at each candidate's endorsements:

·         Former state Assemblyman Michael Blake

·         State Sen. Zellnor Myrie

·         State Sen. Jessica Ramos

·         Former city Comptroller Scott Stringer

·         Businessman Whitney Tilson

Police unions holding out until general election

Murray also pointed out the city's police unions are not making an endorsement in the race. 

"I think what they're trying to do is figure out what they have to or can do for Mayor Adams. They do not want to go against the incumbent right now, and they don't have to in the primary," he explained. "Because once they go for somebody in this primary, they're stuck with that person in the general. This gives them a full boat to wait until deciding what to do after the summer."

Iran bombing top of mind among NYC Democratic mayoral candidates

 

 

·         New York City

Renee Anderson

Renee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV.

 

 

ABC

A6X21 FROM ABC NEWS

Brad Lander heads back to immigration court; Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani spar as campaign nears end

Saturday, June 21, 2025 2:27PM

 

New York City's mayoral candidates are making their final rounds as the June primary enters its final stage. Lauren Glassberg has more.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- With the hotly contested New York City mayoral primary election just days away, the candidates are in the final stretch of making their arguments amid record early voting turnout.

Polls show former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has held onto his lead, with Queens state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani closing in, but still in second place.

City Comptroller Brad Lander and Mamdani teamed up in Brooklyn Friday afternoon to shore up support.

They arrived at Grand Army Plaza to canvas voters, riding Citi Bikes side by side in the Prospect Park West bike lane.

Lander said the bike ride is representative of ranked-choice voting, adding it's "a joyful form of politics, instead of a bitter, sour, backwards-looking form of poltics. And of course gathering all of our voters together, that's a majority of New Yorkers on Tuesday."

They're asking voters to rank one first and the other second for mayor.

The goal is to freeze out Cuomo, whom both candidates are trying to stop.

"I hope he will call on his superpac to take those hideous ads down," Lander said.

The super PAC acknowledged it had lengthened and darkened Mamdani's beard on a flyer, which was never distributed.

On Friday, Mamdani said there's a direct link between that ads by the super PAC and the death threats he and family members have received.

"If you design mailers that lengthen and darken my beard, if you paint me as a radical, it is not a surprise to see the kind of threats that come," Mamdani said.

Mamdani is also lobbying the Campaign Finance Board to lift the fundraising cap, saying the system isn't working, giving Cuomo a huge advantage.

"We raised $8.3 million from 20,000 people over donations of less than $70, a total of 8.3 million," Mamdani said.

Mamdani is also taking issue with how much money Cuomo's super PAC has raised and the way he has relied on some very big donors like the former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the City Council President and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams is also telling her supporters, many of whom are black and from Queens, to rank any of the Working Families Party candidates and not Cuomo.

But an endorsement by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina on Friday could work in Cuomo's favor.

On Friday morning, mayoral candidate and City Comptroller Brad Lander also entered a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to observe immigration court proceedings, just as he did a few days ago.

But the last time he attempted to do that, he was taken into custody by federal agents during an immigration hearing for allegedly obstructing federal agents when escorting an immigrant out of court.

He was released a few hours later and appeared with Gov. Kathy Hochul who said the charges against him had been dropped.

Lander says he'll keep standing with immigrant communities.

"When I was sitting at the detention center on Tuesday, there was a sign asking if you've been separated from your child. We've normalized family separations. That's why I'll continue to fight and return to Federal Plaza to help more families," Lander said.

Day six of early voting ends with more than 250,00 votes cast. Early voting ends June 22 and the primary is June 24.

As we look ahead to Election Day, the race itself is heating up, but for Tuesday, it is expected to be a scorcher. The Board of Elections say they're prepared with fans.

 

NBC

A7X22 FROM NBC

What to expect in NY's primaries: Storylines to watch, ranked-choice effect

New York state primaries are on Tuesday. This is the last weekend for early voting. In NYC, the system uses a ranked-choice format, meaning voters can rank up to five candidates in order of their preference.

By Robert Yoon l The Associated Press  Published June 20, 2025  Updated on June 20, 2025 at 12:10 pm

NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.

What to Know

·         A total of 30 City Council districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday. The Democratic primary for NYC mayor is the top race to watch, with Andrew Cuomo still leading a crowded 11-candidate field and Zohran Mamdani closing the gap in recent weeks

·         The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically is the heavy favorite for the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning NYC. This year’s party nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat but skipped the primary to run as an independent in Nov.

·         In the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking to return to elected office more than a decade after multiple sexting scandals ended his congressional career.

·         Also facing a primary is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024. He faces a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins.

Voters across New York state on Tuesday will pick nominees in municipal primaries that include high-profile comeback bids in New York City by a former governor and a former congressman who both left office mired in scandal.

At the top of the ballot, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads a crowded 11-candidate Democratic primary field for New York City mayor nearly four years after resigning from office following allegations he sexually harassed 11 women.

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has also emerged as a major contender for the nomination, winning key endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Also vying for the nomination are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander.

The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically is the heavy favorite for the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning New York City. This year’s party nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat but skipped Tuesday’s primary to run as an independent in November. Adams was indicted in a 2024 corruption case that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department later droppedCurtis Sliwa, founder of the anti-crime patrol group the Guardian Angels, will once again be the Republican Party nominee.

In the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking to return to elected office more than a decade after multiple sexting scandals ended his congressional career, doomed his 2013 mayoral bid and resulted in a 21-month federal prison sentence. Weiner faces four other candidates, including state Assemblyman Harvey Epstein.

A total of 30 City Council districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday.

 

Interactive: What is ranked-choice voting and how does it work?

Early NYC voting sites: Where do I vote early?

Also facing a primary is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024. He faces a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins.

The New York City contests use a ranked-choice voting system in which voters may rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate's votes reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. Ranked-choice voting is used only to determine winners in contests with more than two candidates in which no one receives a majority. The process is not used in any other jurisdiction in the state.

Across the state, voters will decide primaries for local offices, including a competitive contest for Buffalo mayor. In the Democratic primary, acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon seeks a full term after replacing Buffalo’s longest-serving mayor, Byron Brown, who resigned in October to head an off-track betting agency. He faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Sean Ryan, who has the endorsement of the county Democratic Party. Also running are City Council member Rasheed Wyatt, former fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr. and community organizer Anthony Tyson-Thompson.

Under New York state election law, an automatic recount is triggered in races with more than 1 million votes if the margin of victory is fewer than 5,000 votes. For smaller races, the automatic recount is triggered if the margin of victory is either 0.5% or less, or up to 20 votes. In a ranked-choice election, if the margin between the final two candidates meets the recount threshold, then all the ballots in the election are recounted round by round. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here’s a look at what to expect Tuesday:

Primary day

New York will hold municipal primaries across the state on Tuesday. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Who gets to vote?

New York has a closed primary system. Registered party members may vote only in their own party’s primary.

How are ranked-choice voting results reported?

In New York City, initial vote results released on primary night will include preliminary tallies only of first-choice votes. These results are not final or official.

As these results are reported, the AP will call winners in races in which it's clear a candidate will receive more than 50% of the vote, either in the initial count or once ranked-choice results are counted.

City election officials are expected to release preliminary results a week after the primary. This involves running the ranked-choice voting process on just the ballots that have been tabulated by that time. These results will not be final or official and may continue to change as all remaining ballots are processed and tabulated.

This means that it’s possible, at least in theory, that the leading candidate when preliminary ranked-choice voting results are released may go on to lose the election once all the ballots have been counted and the final ranked-choice voting results are determined. The AP will call a winner based on ranked-choice voting results if it's clear another candidate cannot catch up when additional votes are counted.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Feb. 20, there were 5.1 million registered voters in New York City. Of those, 65% were Democrats and 11% were Republicans. About 1.1 million voters were not registered with any party.

Slightly more than 1 million voters cast ballots in the 2021 New York City primaries, about 27% of eligible voters, according to the city’s Campaign Finance Board. About 12% of ballots in that primary were cast before election day.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 presidential election, the AP first reported New York City results at 9:01 p.m. ET, about a minute after polls closed. New York City’s election night tabulation ended for the night in Queens at 12:25 a.m. ET with about 90% of total ballots counted across the city.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the November general election.

 

ABC

A8X23 FROM ABC NEWS

NYC mayoral primary race enters final weekend, last chance for early voters

Saturday, June 21, 2025 8:46AM

Lindsay Tuchman has more details on what the city is doing to protect voters from the heat.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- This weekend marks the last for candidates to make their pitch and early voters to cast their ballots before Tuesday's primary.

For voters wanting to hit the polls ahead of election day, early voting ends Sunday.

Polls will be open Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Officials are urging voters to cast their ballots over the weekend or during cooler hours of the day as temperatures are expected to climb into three-digits.

Polls show former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has held onto his lead, with Queens state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani closing in, but still in second place.

City Comptroller Brad Lander and Mamdani teamed up in Brooklyn Friday afternoon to shore up support.

They arrived at Grand Army Plaza to canvas voters, riding Citi Bikes side by side in the Prospect Park West bike lane.

Lander said the bike ride is representative of ranked-choice voting, adding it's "a joyful form of politics, instead of a bitter, sour, backwards-looking form of poltics. And of course gathering all of our voters together, that's a majority of New Yorkers on Tuesday."

They're asking voters to rank one first and the other second for mayor.

The goal is to freeze out Cuomo, whom both candidates are trying to stop.

"I hope he will call on his superpac to take those hideous ads down," Lander said.

The super PAC acknowledged it had lengthened and darkened Mamdani's beard on a flyer, which was never distributed.

On Friday, Mamdani said there's a direct link between that ads by the super PAC and the death threats he and family members have received.

"If you design mailers that lengthen and darken my beard, if you paint me as a radical, it is not a surprise to see the kind of threats that come," Mamdani said.

Mamdani is also lobbying the Campaign Finance Board to lift the fundraising cap, saying the system isn't working, giving Cuomo a huge advantage.

"We raised $8.3 million from 20,000 people over donations of less than $70, a total of 8.3 million," Mamdani said.

Mamdani is also taking issue with how much money Cuomo's super PAC has raised and the way he has relied on some very big donors like the former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, the City Council President and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams is also telling her supporters, many of whom are black and from Queens, to rank any of the Working Families Party candidates and not Cuomo.

But an endorsement by U.S. Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina on Friday could work in Cuomo's favor.

On Friday morning, mayoral candidate and City Comptroller Brad Lander also entered a federal courthouse in lower Manhattan to observe immigration court proceedings, just as he did a few days ago.

But the last time he attempted to do that, he was taken into custody by federal agents during an immigration hearing for allegedly obstructing federal agents when escorting an immigrant out of court.

He was released a few hours later and appeared with Gov. Kathy Hochul who said the charges against him had been dropped.

Lander says he'll keep standing with immigrant communities.

"When I was sitting at the detention center on Tuesday, there was a sign asking if you've been separated from your child. We've normalized family separations. That's why I'll continue to fight and return to Federal Plaza to help more families," Lander said.

Day six of early voting ended with more than 250,00 votes cast. Early voting ends June 22 and the primary is June 24.

As we look ahead to Election Day, the race itself is heating up, but for Tuesday, it is expected to be a scorcher. The Board of Elections say they're prepared with fans.

NYT

A9X24 Candidates Interviewed by The Times

·   Zellnor Myrie: The progressive state senator from Brooklyn has received some attention for his proposal to create one million homes and for his sincere, thoughtful demeanor.

·   Scott Stringer: The former New York City comptroller has tried to win over voters by centering his campaign on improving life for families and opposing President Trump.

·   Brad Lander: The city comptroller, who has run as an earnest technocrat with a stack of progressive plans, spoke about being targeted by Mayor Eric Adams, universal prekindergarten and how he seriously considered becoming a rabbi.

·   Zohran Mamdani: The state lawmaker from Queens, who is also a democratic socialist, has emerged as one of the front-runners in the race by focusing on affordability, pledging to make buses free and to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized apartments.

·   Michael Blake: He emerged from the debate as a scene-stealer for his attacks on Cuomo. He spoke about his push to eliminate credit scores on rent and homeownership applications and whether it’s OK to put ketchup on a cinnamon raisin bagel.

·   Whitney Tilson: The former hedge fund executive, who has portrayed himself as an alternative to the left-leaning candidates in the race, touched on his love for cycling and his escalating criticism of Mamdani.

·    Adrienne Adams: The speaker of the New York City Council is running on a message of “no drama, no scandal — just competence and integrity.” She spoke about her experience and her middle-class upbringing in her interview.

·   Andrew Cuomo: In his interview, the former governor and front-runner in the race said he regretted his decision to resign as governor of the state in 2021 while he was facing sexual harassment allegations.

 

News and Analysis

·   Mamdani Faces New Attacks: After a poll showed that Cuomo maintained a modest but diminished lead over Mumdani, Cuomo criticized the state lawmaker over comments he made on a podcast about the phrase “globalize the intifada.”

·   Lander Arrested: The city comptroller and mayoral candidate was detained at an immigration courthouse as he tried to escort a migrant whom ICE agents sought to arrest. He received widespread support following the incident, but it was unclear how it would affect his third-place campaign.

·   Mayor Eric Adams: The mayor has appeared regularly on Fox News and with other conservative outlets. He participated in an interview with Sneako, a conservative online content creator who has faced bans from YouTube and Twitch for spreading misinformation and comments deemed as antisemitic.

·   Cross-Endorsements: Mamdani and Lander, the two leading progressive candidates in the race, have cross-endorsed each other. Mamdani also announced a second cross-endorsement for Blake.

·   Cuomo Endorsements: Housing for All, a super PAC representing landlords’ interests, announced plans to spend $2.5 million on campaign ads to promote CuomoJessica Ramos, the state senator from Queens, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who donated $5 million to a pro-Cuomo super PAC, and former Gov. David Paterson have also endorsed him.

·   Mamdani Endorsements: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont backed Mamdani, joining Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in endorsing the front-runner of progressives.

·   The Sprint for City Hall: Here’s our limited-run series on the critical Democratic primary race for mayor.

ABC

A10X25 FROM ABC

New York City mayoral candidates cast ballots early, drum up support in final stretch of race

By Eyewitness News 

Thursday, June 19, 2025 5:01PM

Lauren Glassberg reports from Lower Manhattan.

 

NEW YORK (WABC) -- With the June primary just five days away, some of the leading Democratic candidates are casting their ballots early and drawing in key endorsements.

At least three Democratic mayoral candidates opted to cast their early voting ballots on the Juneteenth holiday - Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams.

While each of the candidates puts their best foot forward in the fight to the finish line, the front-runners are drumming up support in the final stretch of the race.

The projected front-runner, Andrew Cuomo, received major support from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg with a $3.3 million donation to the Super PAC Fix the City, bringing the total contributions of his campaign to $8.3 million.

The former mayor is now responsible for one third of the PAC's $24 million raised. The money is being used to blanket airways with anti-Mamdani ads in the final days of the primary.

The donation prompted Mamdani to accuse Cuomo of trying to buy the election.

"Politics is not something that can be bought by billionaires and corporations, it's something that can be won by working people and that's something on the ballot this June," Mamdani said.

RELATED | Ranked-choice voting explained: What to know for New York City mayoral election

Bloomberg endorsed Cuomo last week and called him the "one candidate whose management experience and government know-how to stand above the others."

Cuomo, 67, has worked in and around government and politics his entire career.

Mamdani, 33, counters criticisms of his thin resume with reminders of the scandals that drove Cuomo from office.

Assemblyman Mamdani has been running a strong second to the ex-governor in most polls. But he is facing criticism over remarks he made where he avoided denouncing the phrase, "globalize the Intifada." The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum appeared to condemn the statement.

But on Thursday he was all smiles and energetic after voting at a polling site in Astoria alongside his wife.

"There have been difficult moments absolutely, especially as I've faced death threats and threats to the ones that I love, I've had to even hire security to that end, and that is troubling and that's also sadly an aspect of life in the Trump administration's world, and yet we know that doesn't define our city and it doesn't define this race, and what this race will ultimately be defined by is the most pressing crisis across the five boroughs, which is that of affordability," Mamdani said.

Cuomo says Mamdani's super PAC should return donations from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, saying the organization is anti-Israel. And he says Bloomberg is backing him because of experience as governor and his strong support for the Jewish community.

"He wants to make sure we have a mayor who is competent and qualified and he believes that is me," Cuomo said. "I believe Mr. Bloomberg is concerned as are many Jewish New Yorkers about statements Mr. Mamdani has made."

 

Meanwhile, Lander, the city comptroller, voted Thursday in Park Slope. He has been front and center the last two days after being arrested by ICE following an immigration hearing.

On Thursday, he said he would continue showing up for immigrants.

"New Yorkers need a mayor who will stand up and fight instead of selling us out to Donald Trump, like our current mayor has," Lander said. "We we need a mayor who will stand up for New York values."

A Marist College survey Wednesday found Cuomo would defeat Mamdani after seven rounds of ranked-choice voting, 55 percent to 45 percent.

Meanwhile, former mayor Bill de Blasio has not minced words against his former government colleague, but has joined the DREAM Coalition, which stands for Don't Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor.

De Blasio told 'Up Close' and other outlets that he does not plan on publicly endorsing a candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary, but has made no secret of his disapproval of Cuomo running.

According to the Board of Elections, over 168,000 people have cast ballots in the first five days of early voting, which is double the turnout in 2021.

Early voting ends June 22 and the primary is June 24.

NYC PRIMARY ELECTION RESOURCES

 

Up Close Election Special: Closer look at the candidates for New York City mayor

How to register to vote in NY, NJ, and CT

How to vote early in the NYC mayoral primary

Ranked-choice voting explained: What to know for NYC mayoral election

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Politico

A11X26 from POLITICO


Divergent focuses for Cuomo, Mamdani in the NYC mayoral race’s final sprint

The ex-governor kept a spotlight on the “intifada” debate, while the political newbie slammed a Bloomberg-funded super PAC.

New York City mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani seeks to keep the focus on a well-funded super PAC supporting frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. | Emily Ngo/POLITICO

By Emily NgoJoe Anuta and Cris Seda Chabrier

06/19/2025 07:23 PM EDT

 

NEW YORK — The final, frenzied sprint in New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor featured Andrew Cuomo homing in on Zohran Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and Mamdani blasting the millions of dollars Michael Bloomberg has poured into a pro-Cuomo super PAC.

In campaign stops Thursday, the rivals both name-checked the billionaire former mayor, who has contributed $8.3 million to the pro-Cuomo PAC in an effort to blunt Mamdani’s momentum. Mamdani slammed the spending as an affront to democracy. Cuomo praised Bloomberg for taking a stand.

 “Michael Bloomberg has sought to buy elections before. He spent an unbelievable amount of money when he ran for president,” Mamdani told reporters at an Astoria, Queens, bar. “It’s to fulfill the vision that he d with New Yorkers many years ago: that this city should be a luxury product. And what we want this city to be is a city for working- and middle-class people.”

Cuomo acknowledged Bloomberg’s endorsement but devoted more pointed attention to Mamdani’s recent remarks about the “globalize the intifada” phrase, which many Jews view as a call to violence against them. Mamdani is not being criticized for using the phrase, but for his response when asked to opine on it.

“He happens to be a billionaire. Good for him. He also happens to have been a highly successful mayor of New York City,” Cuomo said of Bloomberg during a campaign stop in the Co-op City section of the Bronx. “Mr. Bloomberg is also concerned, as are many Jewish New Yorkers, about statements that Mr. Mamdani has made. You know, when you say ‘globalize the intifada,’ that is basically repugnant to the Jewish community and is basically inciting violence.”

With the June 24 primary just around the corner and early voting already underway, several candidates for the Democratic nomination crisscrossed the city on the Juneteenth holiday. Brad Lander, a third candidate who enjoyed a recent breakthrough with his arrest by federal immigration officials, continued his push to stay in the conversation. But he stepped gingerly into the “intifada” debate, trying to inject nuance into the flashpoint topic.

“I don’t like the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’” Lander, who is Jewish, told reporters after voting in Park Slope, Brooklyn. “Some people, when they say it, they might mean ‘fight for the rights of Palestinians,’ but I’ll tell you, all I can hear is ‘open season on Jews.’”

Lander, the city comptroller who has cross-endorsed with Mamdani under the city’s ranked-choice voting system, also defended the democratic socialist.

“We do not agree on everything about Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights,” he said. “And I was proud to rank him second.”

Mamdani, a critic of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, was asked this week if the phrase, which has become a rallying cry for some pro-Palestinian protesters, made him uncomfortable. He did not condemn or reject it and was asked again about it Thursday.

“These words have different meanings for many different people,” Mamdani said, repeating his vow to combat antisemitism. “I’ve been clear that any incitement to violence is something that I’m in opposition to, and that the use of any language to that end is clearly something that I oppose.”

In recent days, Mamdani has also discussed threats he’s faced over the course of his campaign, often for being Muslim. On Thursday, his campaign released a statement saying the NYPD is investigating a car bomb threat against him. In the statement, Mamdani said the threat “is not surprising after millions of dollars have been spent on dehumanizing, Islamophobic rhetoric designed to stoke division and hate.”

Recent polls put Mamdani, a state lawmaker, in second place behind Cuomo. Lander has placed third in recent polling. Mamdani said his surge just behind Cuomo is what’s motivating Bloomberg’s largesse — and that it highlights Cuomo’s alignment with the wealthy.

He also pointed to the NYPD’s post-9/11 surveillance of Muslims under Bloomberg, including at mosques and schools.

“I am very critical of their limited vision as to who belongs in New York City and who is worthy of support and who is worthy of suspicion,” he said.

While Cuomo and the super PAC backing him have focused many of their attacks on Mamdani’s views around Israel, Cuomo has also called into question his experience. Mamdani, who’s 33, has rebutted those broadsides by pointing to Cuomo’s own record, including sexual harassment allegations that the former governor has denied and his handling of Covid. Cuomo continued to hammer away at Mamdani’s relatively light resume Thursday.

“Mayor of New York, you need to have experience, you need to have credentials,” he said. “You need to have had a job where you managed something before, right?”

NBC

A12X27 FROM NBC

Few political operatives have it easier than opposition researchers in New York City this year.

New York’s 2025 municipal races feature a scandal-laden cast of characters whose alleged or proven misdeeds have made front-page headlines for years. They include the front-runner heading into Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary.

The ordeal sparked a new FBI review of Clinton’s use of a private email server just days before the 2016 presidential election, which Clinton lost to Trump. The FBI’s investigation also led to Weiner’s pleading guilty in 2017 to transferring obscene material to a minor, being sentenced to almost two years in prison and registering as a sex offender.

Weiner is now out of prison, and his political animal can’t be caged. He is vying for a spot on the New York City Council — part of an unofficial slate testing what voters will forgive and what they won’t in 2025.

In an interview this month, Weiner argued that the way he’s handled his controversies can’t be compared to the ways Cuomo and Adams have handled theirs.

“I’m not denying. I’m not pointing fingers. I’m not asking for a pardon,” said Weiner, running for a district encompassing the Lower East Side and East Village neighborhoods of Manhattan.

 

NBC x22

A13X22 FROM NBC

What to expect in NY's primaries: Storylines to watch, ranked-choice effect

New York state primaries are on Tuesday. This is the last weekend for early voting. In NYC, the system uses a ranked-choice format, meaning voters can rank up to five candidates in order of their preference.

By Robert Yoon l The Associated Press  Published June 20, 2025  Updated on June 20, 2025 at 12:10 pm

NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.

What to Know

·         A total of 30 City Council districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday. The Democratic primary for NYC mayor is the top race to watch, with Andrew Cuomo still leading a crowded 11-candidate field and Zohran Mamdani closing the gap in recent weeks

·         The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically is the heavy favorite for the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning NYC. This year’s party nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat but skipped the primary to run as an independent in Nov.

·         In the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking to return to elected office more than a decade after multiple sexting scandals ended his congressional career.

·         Also facing a primary is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024. He faces a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins.

Voters across New York state on Tuesday will pick nominees in municipal primaries that include high-profile comeback bids in New York City by a former governor and a former congressman who both left office mired in scandal.

At the top of the ballot, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo leads a crowded 11-candidate Democratic primary field for New York City mayor nearly four years after resigning from office following allegations he sexually harassed 11 women.

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has also emerged as a major contender for the nomination, winning key endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Also vying for the nomination are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Comptroller Brad Lander.

The winner of the Democratic mayoral primary typically is the heavy favorite for the general election in overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning New York City. This year’s party nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat but skipped Tuesday’s primary to run as an independent in November. Adams was indicted in a 2024 corruption case that President Donald Trump’s Justice Department later droppedCurtis Sliwa, founder of the anti-crime patrol group the Guardian Angels, will once again be the Republican Party nominee.

In the Democratic primary for New York City Council District 2, former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is seeking to return to elected office more than a decade after multiple sexting scandals ended his congressional career, doomed his 2013 mayoral bid and resulted in a 21-month federal prison sentence. Weiner faces four other candidates, including state Assemblyman Harvey Epstein.

A total of 30 City Council districts will hold contested primaries on Tuesday.

 

Interactive: What is ranked-choice voting and how does it work?

Early NYC voting sites: Where do I vote early?

Also facing a primary is Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who won a criminal conviction against Donald Trump in 2024. He faces a challenge from attorney Patrick Timmins.

The New York City contests use a ranked-choice voting system in which voters may rank up to five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest vote-getter is dropped, with that candidate's votes reallocated to voters’ next-highest choices. Ranked-choice voting is used only to determine winners in contests with more than two candidates in which no one receives a majority. The process is not used in any other jurisdiction in the state.

Across the state, voters will decide primaries for local offices, including a competitive contest for Buffalo mayor. In the Democratic primary, acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon seeks a full term after replacing Buffalo’s longest-serving mayor, Byron Brown, who resigned in October to head an off-track betting agency. He faces a tough challenge from state Sen. Sean Ryan, who has the endorsement of the county Democratic Party. Also running are City Council member Rasheed Wyatt, former fire Commissioner Garnell Whitfield Jr. and community organizer Anthony Tyson-Thompson.

Under New York state election law, an automatic recount is triggered in races with more than 1 million votes if the margin of victory is fewer than 5,000 votes. For smaller races, the automatic recount is triggered if the margin of victory is either 0.5% or less, or up to 20 votes. In a ranked-choice election, if the margin between the final two candidates meets the recount threshold, then all the ballots in the election are recounted round by round. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Here’s a look at what to expect Tuesday:

Primary day

New York will hold municipal primaries across the state on Tuesday. Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

Who gets to vote?

New York has a closed primary system. Registered party members may vote only in their own party’s primary.

How are ranked-choice voting results reported?

In New York City, initial vote results released on primary night will include preliminary tallies only of first-choice votes. These results are not final or official.

As these results are reported, the AP will call winners in races in which it's clear a candidate will receive more than 50% of the vote, either in the initial count or once ranked-choice results are counted.

City election officials are expected to release preliminary results a week after the primary. This involves running the ranked-choice voting process on just the ballots that have been tabulated by that time. These results will not be final or official and may continue to change as all remaining ballots are processed and tabulated.

This means that it’s possible, at least in theory, that the leading candidate when preliminary ranked-choice voting results are released may go on to lose the election once all the ballots have been counted and the final ranked-choice voting results are determined. The AP will call a winner based on ranked-choice voting results if it's clear another candidate cannot catch up when additional votes are counted.

What do turnout and advance vote look like?

As of Feb. 20, there were 5.1 million registered voters in New York City. Of those, 65% were Democrats and 11% were Republicans. About 1.1 million voters were not registered with any party.

Slightly more than 1 million voters cast ballots in the 2021 New York City primaries, about 27% of eligible voters, according to the city’s Campaign Finance Board. About 12% of ballots in that primary were cast before election day.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 presidential election, the AP first reported New York City results at 9:01 p.m. ET, about a minute after polls closed. New York City’s election night tabulation ended for the night in Queens at 12:25 a.m. ET with about 90% of total ballots counted across the city.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 133 days until the November general election.

 

 

 

 

A14X28 FROM GUK

Israel is playing an outsized role in New York City’s mayoral race. Will it matter?

The election has turned into an Israel-Palestine proxy war of sorts, even as voters on both sides wish the focus remained on local issues

By Alice Speri  Sun 22 Jun 2025 07.00 EDT

Speaking from a Jerusalem bomb shelter last week as Iran and Israel exchanged fire, a New York state senator posted a video message to New York City voters: “There is a mayoral primary coming up this week where one of the candidates does not believe the Jewish state has a right to exist,” said Sam Sutton, the senator from Brooklyn. “We don’t want to be in a situation like this in America.”

Sutton called on New Yorkers to elect a “great friend of the Jewish people”: Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former governor.

The appeal was a stark illustration of the outsized role a foreign country and its conflicts have come to play in local elections. While Tuesday’s vote is just the primary, the winner of the Democratic contest historically has gone on to win the mayoral contest in November – though this year could be different.

“This election has turned into a two-person contest between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mandani, two candidates with very stark views on this matter,” said Jacob Kornbluh, a senior politics reporter with the Forward Jewish newspaper.

With New York City’s nearly one million Jews making up the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, mayors of the past have always claimed support for the country with little pushback. But the war in Gaza has fundamentally changed the dynamic. Mamdani’s outspoken support for Palestinians might have previously tanked his candidacy, but his insurgent campaign has galvanised voters. Cuomo has responded by portraying Mamdani as “dangerous” and himself as uniquely positioned to fight antisemitism, a growing source of anxiety among Jewish voters.

Cuomo’s campaign – flush with millions from pro-Israel billionaires like Bill Ackman – has ramped up attacks against Mamdani as he surged in the polls, including by distributing mailers condemned as racist. The former governor has stated unequivocally that “anti-Zionism is antisemitism”.

It’s not just Cuomo appealing to the fears of Jewish voters. Eric Adams – the current mayor, who is running as an independent given his plummeting popularity – recently adopted a contentious definition of antisemitism and floated running on an “EndAntisemitism” party line.

Mamdani grew emotional last week while discussing the personal toll of the attacks, including multiple death threats, and has invoked his experience as a Muslim New Yorker to say he understands the pain of the Jewish communities that he pledges to protect.

“The attacks on Zohran are textbook post 9/11 Islamophobia,” said Sumaya Awad, a Palestinian New Yorker and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, one of the first groups to back his candidacy. She praised Mamdani for not “backing down”.

Mamdani co-founded his college’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, and as a state assembly member, introduced legislation to stop the funding of illegal Israeli settlements. He has built an enthusiastic coalition of young, progressive, and unabashedly pro-Palestinain New Yorkers, as well as immigrants and many of the city’s roughly 800,000 Muslims.

City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander, who is Jewish and has cross-endorsed Mamdani, has sought to find a middle ground and accused Cuomo and Adams of “using Jews as pawns”, he told the Guardian in an interview – “not with the intention of making Jews any safer, but with the intention of gaining political advantage for themselves”.

“Thankfully it’s not the job of the mayor to find mutual recognition and peace and safety for Israelis and Palestinians,” he said. “It is incumbent on the next mayor, whatever their position is, to find ways to reach across the divide.”

As some candidates stoke fears, anxiety around the election is palpable among many Jewish voters.

Alex Kaufman, a leader of LGBTQ Zionists of NYC, which endorsed Cuomo, said he had always prioritized issues like housing affordability, sustainability, and racial inclusion. “But this year, my number one issue is antisemitism,” he said. “I’ve never felt this unsafe.”

With election day around the corner, the race has turned into an Israel-Palestine proxy war of sorts, even as voters on both sides wish the focus remained on local issues. Candidates have been asked in mayoral debates about their support for Israel and whether they would visit – with Mamdani’s answers that he supports Israel’s right to exist as a state “with equal rights” and that as mayor he would stay in the city rather than travel to a foreign country drawing both praise and condemnation (including some from the left, who criticised him for recognising Israel at all). In recent days, Cuomo has seized on Mamdani’s position on the words “globalize the intifada”, saying they fuel “hate” and “murder”.

Beth Miller, the political director of Jewish Voice for Peace’s advocacy arm, which has been canvassing for Mamdani, said that his success challenges the long-held wisdom that a New York mayor must support the Israeli government. “If you believe in safety, freedom, dignity, and justice for people here at home, you can’t have a Palestine exception to that,” she said.

‘The status quo is being bent’

New York’s Jews are a diverse constituency – ranging from some anti-Zionists and others variously critical of Israel to orthodox communities traditionally voting as a unified bloc for more conservative candidates. A recent poll of the city’s Jewish Democrats showed 31% supporting Cuomo, 20% backing Mamdani, and 18% behind Lander.

In the middle are New York Jews who consistently vote Democratic and espouse a host of liberal and even progressive causes. Many are still reeling from the 7 October 2023 attacks in Israel, are uneasy about the tone of US protests against the war in Gaza, and are increasingly worried about Jewish safety, pointing to recent violent attacks in Washington DC, and Colorado, and defacing of Jewish businesses and synagogues in the city.

Kaufman, of LGBTQ Zionists, said he wished there were “better options” but that many of his acquaintances were coalescing around Cuomo even as they have reservations about his past conduct, including the sexual assault allegations that ended his governorship. Others gravitated toward Lander, but were troubled by his endorsement of Mamdani. Some said they were “terrified” of the latter, pointing to his refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and his presence at protests where Houthi flags were on display.

Cuomo has promised to run as an independent if Mamdani wins on Tuesday. Because Adams is running as an independent, and Mamdani is also expected to remain on the ballot as the Working Families Party candidate, the contest is far from over.

But to some, the fact that an openly pro-Palestinian candidate has made it this far is a sign of a profound shift in the city’s politics.

“The status quo is being bent,” said Awad. She said she cried when filling in her ballot early. “Hope is such a rare thing to feel these days.”

 

 

Fox

A15X30 FROM FOX NEWS

New York City on high alert for Democrat mayoral primary after US strikes Iran

Democratic frontrunner Andrew Cuomo acknowledges Iran 'cannot have nuclear capability,' while rivals take harsher anti-war stance ahead of Tuesday's primary

By Deirdre Heavey , Paul Steinhauser Fox News  Published June 23, 2025 1:27pm EDT

 

New York City is prepping for primary elections on Tuesday as one of several major U.S. cities on high alert following U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. 

"We’re tracking the situation unfolding in Iran," the NYPD said in an X post Saturday night. "Out of an abundance of caution, we're deploying additional resources to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across NYC and coordinating with our federal partners. We’ll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC."

As New Yorkers brace for a major heat wave on Election Day, New York State Police are also "working to protect at-risk sites and fight cyberattacks," Gov. Kathy Hochul d Saturday night. 

placeholder

Home to the largest Jewish diaspora outside Israel, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which reached a boiling point with U.S. involvement Saturday, has seeped onto the New York City campaign trail. 

'GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA' PHRASE STIRS TENSIONS ON NYC CAMPAIGN TRAIL AS MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT RAGES

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned from office in 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment, has emerged as the frontrunner in a crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination. 

CUOMO'S LEAD SHRINKS WITH UNDER ONE WEEK UNTIL NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL PRIMARY: POLL

Following the United States' successful strikes on Iran Saturday night, Cuomo acknowledged, "Iran cannot have nuclear capability," and admitted that eliminating Iran's nuclear capacity "is in everyone's best interest."

However, Cuomo joined the barrage of Democrats criticizing Trump for striking Iran without congressional approval. Reps. Thomas Massie, a Republican, and Ro Khanna, a Democrat, who proposed the bipartisan War Powers Resolution with 49 co-sponsors as of Sunday, called Trump green-lighting strikes against Iran "unconstitutional."

Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution

"I don't support the way he did it. I do believe he should have consulted Congress," Cuomo, who secured an endorsement from former President Bill Clinton over the weekend, said in a statement. 

However, Cuomo's closest competitors in the race were not so diplomatic. 

State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist with endorsements from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, slammed Trump Saturday night

"Donald Trump ran for president promising to end wars, not start new ones," Mamdani said. "Today’s unconstitutional military action represents a new, dark chapter in his endless series of betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos."

Mamdani, who would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City if elected, added he is "thinking of the New Yorkers with loved ones in harm’s way."

Cuomo took a jab at Mamdani on Sunday, according to The New York Times, telling reporters, "This is not the time for on-the-job training," in light of the U.S. strikes on Iran. 

Additionally, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has cross-endorsed Mamdani as they attempt to consolidate support against Cuomo within the ranked-choice voting style, said during a Working Families Party unity rally Sunday, "Jewish New Yorkers and Muslim New Yorkers are not going to be divided against each other."

On Sunday night, Lander, who is Jewish, dissed "Trump’s reckless & unconstitutional strikes against Iran" as a "dangerous escalation of war" that "threaten countless Iranian, Israeli & American lives."

Democratic mayoral candidates who will also appear on Tuesday's ballot include former Comptroller Scott Stringer, educator Selma Bartholomew, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Sen. Jessica Ramos, investor and editor at Stansberry Research Whitney Tilson, former State Assembly Member Michael Blake and content creator and music artist Paperboy Prince. 

The Democratic nominee will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an Independent.

Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden is also running as an Independent, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa will once again be the Republican nominee.

Jewish Forward

A16X30a FROM THE JEWISH FORWARD

An assortment of bagels. 

By Hannah Feuer   June 10, 2025

Bagels have long played an outsized role in New York City politics, from Cynthia Nixon’s disastrous order combining cinnamon raisin and lox to the time Bill DeBlasio seemed to lie about getting his bagel toasted.

Clearly, this cultural signifier matters to New Yorkers — and especially Jewish voters, for whom a respectable bagel order can be a litmus test.

In an effort to bring some much needed clarity to the chaotic New York City mayoral race, I have ranked the candidates exclusively based on their bagel orders, as told to The New York Times, the Forward, and other outlets. Criteria included the order’s specificity, originality, relatability, and — most importantly — how I think it would taste.

Bottom of Form

I have ranked only the most prominent candidates, though I remain extremely curious about performance artist and mayoral candidate Paperboy Love Prince’s order, whose campaign is about as serious as this article.

Last week, mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos endorsed Andrew Cuomo, though she will still appear on the ballot. Prior to the endorsement, she told the Times that her order is “an everything bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers and red onions,” a strong entry that would place her toward the top of the ranking. But I assume her endorsement also applies to bagels.

1) Brad Lander

The order: “Everything bagel, sorry, Ezra Klein. Scallion cream cheese, slice of tomato, lightly toasted, lox.”

Judge’s comments: This is a bagel done right, with superb choice of schmear and toppings. Though toasted, it is only “lightly.”

Lander’s reference is to Times columnist Ezra Klein’s opinion piece titled “The Problem With Everything-Bagel Liberalism,” which critiques progressive policy that tries to do too much and ends up accomplishing nothing at all. But even Klein admits in his piece that “everything bagels are, of course, the best bagels.” I agree.

2) Adrienne Adams

The order: “An everything bagel with veggie cream cheese. Do not toast it.”

Judge’s comments: Adams deserves kudos as the lone candidate to take a strong stance against toasting, which everyone knows ruins a freshly baked bagel. Her choice of bagel and schmear choice is nothing special, but not offensive, either.

3) Zohran Mamdani

The order: “As someone who grew up in Morningside Heights, I have to go back to Absolute Bagels. Poppy seed bagel, scallion cream cheese. Some pulp Tropicana on the side. And this is going to lose me some votes, but to be honest with you: toasted.”

Judge’s comments: Mamdani gets props for his bold choice of poppy and for specifying the pulp level in his orange juice.

Absolute Bagels, however, shuttered last December and is awaiting reopening under new ownership. When it was in business, Absolute Bagels charged an extra 10 cents for toasting — an interesting add-on for the socialist candidate who has made affordability his signature issue. Could firsthand experience with this upcharge be the impetus behind his proposal for city-run grocery stores?

Last…

11) Andrew Cuomo

The order: “Bacon, cheese and egg on an English muffin, and then I try to take off the bacon, but I don’t really take off the bacon. The bagel I try to stay away from, to keep my girlish figure.”

Judge’s comments: This “bagel” order bungles the chronology of ingredients in the classic bacon, egg and cheese. And an English muffin is decidedly not a bagel.

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If Cuomo Wins, It Was All But Inevitable. Here’s Why.

For decades, New York politics was defined by party machines, yes, but also a hyper-engaged voting public. Now, with the end of both, a candidate’s starpower is all that counts.

By Will Bredderman   06/18/2025 05:00 AM EDT

 

In The Power Broker, the ultimate account of New York politics in the 20th century, historian Robert Caro revealed how an anonymous court secretary named Vincent Impellitteri became mayor of America’s largest city.

It started in 1945 when New York’s then-dominant Democratic leaders gathered to build their ticket for the three top jobs in local government. After deciding on Brooklyn District Attorney William O’Dwyer for mayor and Bronx state senator Lazarus Joseph for city comptroller, they faced a dilemma in picking a candidate for the since-abolished office of city council president.

“Since O’Dwyer was Irish and from Brooklyn, while Joseph was Jewish and from the Bronx, the slate could have ethnic and geographic balance only if its third member was an Italian from Manhattan,” Caro wrote. Then, one of the party bosses noted that legal secretary jobs in the state courts went only to machine loyalists, meaning any of them could be counted on to do what party leaders wanted. “He turned to the list of legal secretaries and ran his finger down it looking for a name that even the dumbest voter would be able to tell was Italian — and came to Vincent R. Impellitteri.”

Five years later, when O’Dwyer faced an investigation into his ties to organized crime, President Harry Truman — in the closest thing to a precedent for the Donald Trump administration’s abandonment of the bribery case against Mayor Eric Adams — appointed the embattled Democrat ambassador to Mexico, letting him flee the reach of justice. The city’s succession rules left the still-unknown Impellitteri interim mayor of New York. But the rules also compelled a near-immediate special election to complete O’Dwyer’s term, and the Democratic leaders judged Impellitteri unfit for the job and denied him their nomination.

Improbably, Impellitteri launched his own “Experience Party” ballot line and won, riding a mass backlash from a public infuriated over local corruption in general and the O’Dwyer scandal in particular.

Florita Rogovoy speaks to people in front of a stand to solicit signatures for Vincent Impellitteri.

A supporters solicits signatures for acting Mayor Vincent Impellitteri at Times Square in New York City, in September 1950. | The New York Times via Redux Pictures

Vincent Impellitteri is sworn in as the mayor of New York City by Supreme Court Justice Joseph A. Gavagan.

Impellitteri, right, is sworn in as mayor by state Supreme Court Justice Joseph A. Gavagan, center, in November 1950. | Patrick Burns/The New York Times via Redux Pictures

This episode encapsulates political life in New York City for most of the last century: machines strong enough to raise a nobody to the highest echelons of political power, but that kept the public engaged enough in municipal affairs that it could at times buck their influence. Through World Wars, a Great Depression, race riots, white flight, civil rights fights, crime waves, strikes and a brush with municipal bankruptcy, this tension — between Democratic Party organizations that fostered corruption but also uplifted average citizens, and average citizens motivated to punish the party’s worst failures and excesses — remained remarkably consistent, from Robert Anderson Van Wyck through Rudolph Giuliani.

But that was then. The strange political resurrection of ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo 75 years later illustrates how badly the city’s institutions, both the political machines and the civic consciousness that were both a product of them and checked them, have broken down.

The city’s Democratic powerbrokers have all but stampeded over each other to endorse Cuomo — despite their having demanded his resignation three years ago after an attorney general’s report found he had sexually harassed subordinates — and despite their own long-running personal feuds with the ex-governor and close relationships with rival candidates.

Nearly all polls have shown Cuomo in the lead, though the most recent surveys suggest a tightening race with Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the candidate of the Democratic Socialists of America.

If Cuomo, the born politician with his universal name recognition, triumphs in the Democratic primary this month, it will complete a revolution that started 12 years ago, when ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner used his viral fame to vault ahead of municipal pols in the 2013 mayoral race before he imploded. Hyper-local political networks — whether embodied in the machines or in their opposition — have lost the ability and even the will to mobilize voters en masse and to independently elevate mayoral candidates.

This has coincided with a collapse in participation in local elections, and the rise of what Dr. Heather James, a social sciences professor at Borough of Manhattan Community College, termed “superstar politics” — in which national name recognition counts for everything.

“The information structure has nationalized,” she asserted. “Cuomo is sort of his own superstar name in New York. He definitely benefits from that consolidation of information. It’s harder for other candidates to get their name out there and compete.”

The gears of yesteryear’s machines were political clubs organized at the neighborhood level. These clubs, according to the political scientist James Q. Wilson, offered a combination of “tangible incentives” — most notoriously, patronage jobs, though some Tammany Hall leaders simply provided free meals to impoverished constituents at club meetings — and “intangible” ones, such as “the expression of neighborhood, ethnic or tribal solidarity and for social action among old acquaintances.”

Wilson and the historian Caro both noted this system was grossly corrupt, but also resulted in hyper-responsive city services and a tight bond between communities and local government.

In his 1962 study The Amateur Democrat, Wilson highlighted how Impellitteri’s successor, Robert Wagner, along with countless candidates for state and city office, drew upon a new, rival infrastructure of similarly hyper-local reform Democratic clubs that developed as young professionals flooded Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Wilson noted these organizations offered only intangible incentives appealing to an educated and transient political base: high-minded political discussions, a crusading public spirit and regular social mixers that allowed new arrivals to make friends and meet romantic partners.

Wilson noted that the incentives and demographics might have been different, but both aimed at controlling local offices through aggressive outreach and engagement at the neighborhood level. As a result, voter engagement was extremely high: Roughly 2.2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the 1953 mayoral election, a now-unimaginable 93 percent of registered voters.

As Manhattan grew wealthier, reform clubs came to dominate the borough, and the official Democratic machine shriveled to a rump organization based in Harlem, though in the working-class outer boroughs the bosses remained strong. The machines remained dominant, until mismanagement or corruption provoked enough outrage to elect a Republican or a Democrat who had broken with the party leadership. This era shaped Trump, known to admire the late, baseball bat-wielding Brooklyn boss Meade Esposito.

However, the real club Esposito swung was his organization, which could corral power across the three branches of government, something recent presidents and mayors have struggled with.

But multiple developments in the late 20th century and early 21st century shattered the political culture of New York — and made Cuomo-level name recognition the strongest force in politics.

Democrats’ power broke down somewhat in the two decades the party spent outside Gracie Mansion. After the trauma of 9/11, Giuliani became the first Republican mayor in city history to successfully hand over his office to his preferred successor: billionaire Michael Bloomberg, whose willingness to spend virtually unlimited funds to win re-election reduced the Democratic nomination to a booby prize for two cycles. This disrupted the cycle that was established over the past several decades of machine scandal followed by reform backlash.

But these two administrations did not entirely break the old machines. Bloomberg still needed the old political chieftains for the votes they controlled in the city council and state legislature. They also could save him money by preventing a talented challenger from emerging, and so he often propped them up with city contracts and even donations from his own vast fortune.

Still, Giuliani and Bloomberg’s administrations weakened the power centers of New York politics and the lively political culture that the old order had created.

Professor John Mollenkopf, of the City University of New York’s Center for Urban Research, proposed another cause for the breakdown of the old political order: the city’s pioneering matching funds system, through which the Campaign Finance Board awards taxpayer cash to multiply the amount of every small donation a candidate receives.

The city inaugurated the program after Giuliani-led investigations imploded the administration of Mayor Ed Koch, who was entangled in a vast corruption scheme involving outer borough Democratic bosses in the 1980s. Matching funds aimed to break the cycle of scandal and backlash, and shift influence from big players to small donors. What it did, Mollenkopf suggested, was break an entire model of politics as collective civic endeavor, and warp the economics of elections by pumping gargantuan sums of public cash — from $4.5 million in 1989 to $126.9 million in 2021 — into the process.

Mollenkopf stressed that he believes matching funds have had a net positive effect. But by funneling money to individual campaigns and away from organizations, whether reform- or machine-oriented, it recentered the city’s political life around specific politicians instead of the social networks behind them. Electing people to office became less the ongoing mission of groups that consistently raised money and turned out voters, and more one-off ventures by individual candidates who could access public dollars.

So the clubs withered. By 1996, the New York Times reported the number of Democratic clubs citywide had declined from a pre-World War II high of more than 1,000 to just 150. Official figures are hard to come by today, but based on public listings and discussions with party insiders, there appear to be only around 75 currently, and only a handful wield any influence.

The collapse of club infrastructure coincided with plummeting participation in local elections. The percentage of registered voters in New York who cast ballots declined from 93 percent in 1953 to 57 percent in 1993, and to just 24 percent in 2013. Only 1,149,172 New Yorkers voted in the 2021 election out of 5,586,318 on the rolls, barely above one in five. That means despite more than twice as many people being registered as in 1953, only a little more than half as many cast a ballot.

Further, the huge infusions of taxpayer dollars super-charged the political consulting industry, which grew ever-more technical and sophisticated in their methods of pinpointing, persuading and motivating the people most likely to vote — or at least in advertising their supposed ability to do so. The old-fashioned volunteer-driven door-knocking, phone-banking and local rallies the political clubs specialized in seemed decreasingly relevant. Mass participation gave way to micro-targeting, and the system of incentives around club life collapsed. In consequence, New York politics lost their unique character, and began to mirror the national scene.

“The rise of the campaign consultant class has kind of replaced the political organization,” Mollenkopf argued. “There’s an increasing amount of money in politics, and it’s become increasingly technocratic.”

Mollenkopf argued the machines actually grew comfortable with waning popular engagement, which had chastened them at times in the past. Rather than work to broadly mobilize voters, he said, today they deliberately depress participation: working to kick rivals off the ballot in legislative races and to keep the total number of voters down, so that the few New Yorkers still under their sway wield outsized power.

“They’re very comfortable with low turnout. There are people who care, whose paycheck depends on political access and political support, and they’ll turn out to vote,” Mollenkopf said.

And while machines once could arrange multiethnic alliances, the last fragments of civic infrastructure capable of activating low-income, low-education voters are ethno-religious: namely, the numerous Black churches and assorted ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects. These too have largely aligned with Cuomo, but like all other local institutions, they’ve suffered recent erosion. Many African-American congregations have lost members to Southern migration, while religious Jewish voters have drifted toward the Republican Party.

The atrophied state of local Democratic Party organizations made them exceptionally vulnerable to a superstar like Cuomo, whose name alone exerts incredible gravitational pull. The reason so many party leaders fell in line behind Cuomo is that none of them could have stopped him, argued Tyrone Stevens, a former Cuomo aide.

“The issue for these political leaders and these unions is no one person has the political organization by themselves in place where they can just hop on to it and ride to victory,” asserted Stevens. “It would be a risk for all these political leaders to say, ‘We’re going to try to stop Cuomo,’ if he ultimately wins.”

Cuomo, Stevens noted, would be in a position to award — or deny — jobs at City Hall to the favored aides of his supporters, and to grant or refuse requested favors. These are the meager spoils today’s depleted machines contend for.

Compounding all these dilemmas is the emergence of social media, which has altered the information environment most New Yorkers exist in.

“Ten years ago, you could ride the New York City subway and see people reading the newspaper,” Mollenkopf observed. “Now, everybody is looking at their phone.”

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America wave flags outside a building.

Members of the Democratic Socialists of America protest in New York City in 2019. The NYC DSA is the best example of a newer political organization that resembles the reform clubs of old. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The phones have enabled the rise of a new kind of superstar, seen this year in Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

Following the model fellow democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez created when she ousted Queens Democratic Party boss Joe Crowley in 2018, Mamdani has used his good looks, natural charisma and striking slogans to become a sensation in the fleeting visual world of social media. The two are, in short, influencers: the superstars of the ever-more fragmented future.

Like Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani has energized the city’s hyper-online under-40 vote and earned considerable traditional media attention. But such an approach has limited utility outside their overlapping Queens turf and a few inner-ring precincts of Brooklyn. And even the weakened party organizations behind Cuomo remain stronger citywide than the one supporting the assemblyman: the New York City chapter of the DSA.

The NYC DSA is the best example of a newer political organization that resembles the reform clubs of old. But it has exhibited structural problems that inhibit its ability to function as a civic force.

Successful democratic socialist parties internationally have mostly been direct outgrowths of labor organizations. But the NYC DSA, which only became an electoral force after 2016, has no comparable base for mass mobilization, and so its membership hovers around 10,000 — as Stevens and Mollenkopf noted, overwhelmingly white and ultra-educated. Its engagement shrank during the Biden years and reinflated with Trump’s return and Mamdani’s rise, indicating its strength is a product of superstar politics, not an antidote.

Zohran Mamdani celebrates signatures collected at a subway station for his petition to appear on the mayoral primary ballot in Queens, New York, on Feb. 28, 2025. Mamdani’s online dominance has let him position himself as the only alternative to Cuomo. | Angelina Katsanis for POLITICO

Further, it has positioned itself as openly antagonistic toward the sort of older Democratic voters, often Black or Jewish, whom Mamdani desperately needs to peel away from Cuomo.

“People interpret some of the DSA’s message as a rejection of the work that’s been done by those who’ve been in the party, who’ve gone to community meetings, who have been poll workers, who have been volunteers, who have been doing this for years,” said Stevens. “You can win state senate seats, you can win congressional seats, you can win assembly seats, you can win city council seats. But I don’t think DSA has the ability to propel a citywide candidate yet to victory.”

But Mamdani’s online dominance has starved his rivals of the all-important spotlight, letting him successfully position himself as the only alternative to Cuomo.

So on Tuesday, New York will witness two superstars colliding — a cataclysm that may finally annihilate the old civic system and create a model that elections, in New York and nationwide, could follow for decades to come.

 

Will Bredderman is a veteran political journalist, having begun his career at the Bay Ridge Courier and most recently served on the staff of the Daily Beast. His writing has appeared everywhere from New York magazine to the New York Post, and his investigative reporting has earned awards from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing and the New Jersey Society of Professional Journalists.

 

 

A18X32 FROM GUK

OpinionAndrew Cuomo

With Andrew Cuomo, Democrats are doing a disastrous imitation of Trump

Moira Donegan

 

The former governor, now a New York City mayoral candidate, marks the party’s drift into boorishness and cruelty

Tue 24 Jun 2025 06.00 EDT

 

As the far right has gained ascendancy, and the 2024 election is historicized as a blowout victory for Donald Trump rather than the relatively close contest that it actually was, members of the Democratic establishment and party leadership seem to be settling on the lesson that they will take into the second decade of the Trump era: if you can’t beat him, imitate him.

It’s long been the impulse of the party to move right, chasing Republican victories by replicating Republican policy positions, and since their loss last November many Democrats have followed in this decades-old tradition, shifting their rhetoric still further rightward on border policycryptoforeign policytrans rights and DEI. They respond to polling and to a vague sense of the cultural zeitgeist, aiming less to persuade than to imitate. Often, Democrats seem as if they are not offering a different policy vision for the country so much as they are offering a different stylistic one: the same austerity, cultural revanchism and inequality but in a more polite package.

Now the packaging, too, is changing. Having ceded much cultural and policy ground to Trump, and having thoroughly fled from their previous rhetoric endorsing social justice struggles for gender and racial equality, the party now seems to be looking to elevate not just its most conservative members, but also its most vulgar, cruel and combative ones, leaning into a masculinism that mimics the corruption, boorishness and irreverent disdain for the public of Trump himself. The Atlantic called it “Searching for the Democratic Bully”. We might also think of it as the abandonment of decency.

That is one way to characterize the Democratic leadership’s near-lockstep support of Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York state whom many polls favor to win the Democratic nomination for the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday. Cuomo has racked up endorsements from a generation of centrist Democratic heavyweights: from the former president Bill Clinton, to the South Carolina representative Jim Clyburn, to the aggressively pro-Israel New York congressman Richie Torres, to the New York Times, which had pledged not to endorse in local races less than a year ago – only to publish an op-ed praising Cuomo and casting aspersions on his major challenger for the mayoral nomination, the charismatic millennial state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.

Cuomo, in many ways, is a Democratic Trump: he is loud, vulgar, ill-informed, resentful, vengeful, contemptuous of his constituents, and accused of being abusive toward women. He is apparently indifferent to corruption and willing to tell lies; he is reportedly obsessed, as Trump is, with getting revenge on his perceived enemies. He is ageing, rich, out of touch and hated by the left, having left the governor’s mansion with a long record of stymieing progressive agenda items in one of the nation’s largest blue states. This is evidently just the kind of candidate the Democratic leadership is looking for.

It’s not as though Cuomo has not been tested. He resigned from the governor’s office in disgrace in 2021, just four years ago, following a slew of sexual misconduct allegations that were declared credible in a thorough report from the New York attorney general, Letitia James. (Cuomo has denied wrongdoing, though he extended apologies to some of the women at the time.) Cuomo has spent the past four years attempting to punish the women who came forward against him, suing one – a then-25-year-old assistant – for defamation and demanding her gynecological records in court, and dragging the others through vexatious and punitive legal proceedings for which New York taxpayers have been footing the bill, to the tune of tens of millions. He has been publicly swiping at James, too, for having the gall to do her duty and investigate the claims against him.

His petulant and childish behavior since resigning largely matches the way he behaved as governor, when Cuomo was known for his acute personal hostility to other lawmakers, prominently those in his own party. When a state anti-corruption commission started sniffing around deals made by Cuomo and his allies, Cuomo had the commission shut down. After Cuomo bungled his handling of the pandemic, making a mistake that may have cost thousands of seniors their lives, Cuomo could have accepted responsibility and apologized to the New Yorkers whose loved ones died. Instead, he and his aides tried to cover up the deaths, and when a state assemblymember, Ron Kim, spoke out against them, Cuomo called him repeatedly and threatened to “destroy” him, according to Kim.

To me, this reads as insecurity, egotism, the kind of pettiness and self-seeking that makes someone morally unfit for leadership. But for the Democratic party, feeling demoralized and emasculated, this kind of bullying and flagrant disregard for principle have come to seem like virtues. In endorsing him for New York City mayor, Torres called Cuomo a “tough guy”, and not a “nice guy”, which he meant as a compliment. This is more or less the establishment’s consensus: rather than oppose Trumpism’s masculinist domination politics and unaccountable cult of personality, the idea now, in the party’s embrace of Cuomo, seems to be to mimic them; not to oppose corruption and dictatorial politics per se, but to offer a Democratic version of them.

This is a moral failure, as well as a failure of imagination. Just four years ago, the Democrats offered a real contrast to Trump, the abuser in chief, by calling for Cuomo’s resignation, and signaling that the abuse of women would not be tolerated within their ranks. The about-face by those who called for Cuomo’s resignation then but are unwilling to declare him unfit for office now – including the state senator Jessica Ramos, the US senator Kirsten GillibrandTorres and the Times – is a sign of the establishment’s cowardice. If they are willing, even conspicuously eager, to abandon their stated principles when they think that those principles have become politically inconvenient, why should New Yorkers trust them to behave with integrity and trustworthiness the rest of the time?

In addition to dishonorable, it is not clear that the Democrats’ embrace of masculine bullies will even be politically wise. After all, why would those voters who long for a strongman chase after a pale Democratic imitation of Trump, when Republicans are offering them the real thing? Isn’t it more pragmatic – as well as more dignified – to present voters with something different, and maybe even more decent and hopeful, than the mixture of domination and resentment on offer from the right?

But perhaps what is most telling about the Democratic party’s embrace of Cuomo is not just their disregard for principle or policy, but their willingness to squander other talent. The mayoral race in New York City is crowded, but Cuomo’s two nearest contenders – Mamdani and Brad Lander, the city comptroller – have run remarkable campaigns. Lander has touted a considerable record of accomplishments for the city, underscoring his ability to deliver on promises to New Yorkers and his willingness to persist against formidable interests in long fights for things like bike lanes and affordable housing. Mamdani, meanwhile, has an infectious charisma, and has launched a campaign that has excited young voters, energized a small army of volunteers, and deployed innovative messaging tactics, achieving impressive numbers with relatively little money. You would think that the Democratic party would be more eager to make use of these men’s talents – the policy achievements of one, the preternatural campaign skills of the other. Instead, mainstream Democrats seem fearful, and almost hostile, towards these candidates. Then again, that’s much the way they feel about their voting base itself.

·         Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

 

 

 

 

Mamdani

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NYC mayoral wannabe Zohran Mamdani keeps struggling to defend ‘globalize the intifada’ rallying cry — as even cross-endorser Lander piles on

By Mikella Schuettler, Hannah Fierick and Matt Troutman   Published June 19, 2025, 3:59 p.m. ET

 

Mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani on Thursday continued to stumble defending the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry – as even fellow Democratic candidate Brad Lander, who cross-endorsed him, joined a pileup of criticism.

The usually smooth-talking Mamdani devolved into word salad as he maintained the phrase is not an incitement to violence against Jews.

“These words have different meanings for many different people, and my point is rather to say that each and every New Yorker deserves that safety and that my focus is going to be on making this an affordable city,” Mamdani said at a news conference.

“I’ve been clear that any incitement of violence is something that I’m in opposition to.”

Zohran Mamdani keeps struggling to defend his refusal to denounce the rallying cry, “Globalize the infitada.”

00:0004:09

The Democratic socialist’s awkward response came after he not only refused to denounce the anti-Israel cry but argued he viewed it as a call to stand up for Palestinian human rights.

Socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani once rapped about his ‘love’ for Hamas terror-funding group ‘Holy Land Five’

Hunger strikes! Tears! Arrest! It’s been a week of ridiculous performances as NYC liberals chase folk-hero status

Andrew Cuomo racks up Democratic power player Rep. Jim Clyburn’s endorsement in NYC mayoral race

He also tried to downplay the term by noting the US Holocaust Memorial Museum used the Arabic word “intifada” to describe the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising by Polish Jews against the Nazis.

The museum slapped down Mamdani’s argument — as did his critics, who view the Queens state assemblyman as, at best, being blind to antisemitism.

Thursday’s backlash included Lander, the lefty city comptroller who last week vowed to rank Mamdani second on his ranked-choice city ballot — a pledge his friendly rival returned.

The pair’s cross-endorsement could carry weight in the ranked-choice voting primary, where voters pick up to five candidates in order of preference.

Even if a voter’s first choice is eliminated in successive rounds of ranked-choice calculations, their other picks – from second on down – could still be in the mix and emerge as the eventual overall winner with more than 50% of the vote.

Mayoral contender Brad Lander criticized Mamdani’s remarks but still ranked him second in the primary.

Lander told the “Pod Save America” podcast Tuesday that the phrase “globalize the intifada” carries violent associations for Jews such as himself, especially after the recent assassination of two Israeli Embassy staffers and a Molotov cocktail-hurling wacko’s attack in Colorado.

“Maybe you don’t mean to say it’s open season on Jews everywhere in the world, but that’s what I hear,” Lander said of those who use the term.

“And I’d like to hear that from other people as well,” he said of his comments, implicitly knocking Mamdani. 

But Lander still insisted during the podcast that he doesn’t believe Mamdani is antisemitic — and noted his own problems with Israel’s war in Gaza and treatment of Palestinians.

He repeated his measured criticism Thursday of Mamdani’s defense of “globalize the intifada” and overall support of his rival’s character as he voted early in the primary.

“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.

“We do not agree on everything about Israel and Palestine, but I do believe that he will protect Jewish New Yorkers and our rights, and I was proud to rank him myself.”

Mamdani has said he rejects any incitement to violence.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has seen his polling lead in the mayoral primary chipped away by Mamdani, didn’t miss the chance to lambast his opponent after a brief speech at a Bronx Juneteenth celebration.

Cuomo twice mispronounced Mamdani’s name — as he did during a recent debate, drawing an emphatic correction from his rival — while he accused him of “inciting violence against the Jewish community worldwide.

“He is divisive across the board,” Cuomo said.

Lander, during his podcast interview, argued it was Cuomo — not Mamdani — who failed to try to unite New Yorkers during that debate.

 “I do not agree with him on Israel and Palestine on every issue, and that’s appropriate,” Lander said of Mamdani, before adding, “Cuomo did not try one iota to speak to Muslim New Yorkers or signal that he will bring people together.” 

Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City, if elected.

NY Times

A20X42 FROM NEW YORK TIMES

Money Talks as Mamdani Walks

Zohran Mamdani, who is second to Andrew M. Cuomo in the polls, was rebuffed in his bid to raise his spending cap. It did not stop his seven-hour trek down Manhattan.

By Jeffery C. Mays  Published June 20, 2025 Updated June 21, 2025, 2:04 p.m. ET

 

If New York’s Democratic primary for mayor was to be decided by whoever had the most money and energy, Zohran Mamdani would be at a cash disadvantage but with a surplus on vigor.

He began Friday by asking the city’s Campaign Finance Board to give him a waiver to exceed the almost $8 million spending cap for the primary — hoping to come closer to leveling the huge spending advantage of his chief rival, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Fix the City, a super PAC supporting Mr. Cuomo, has raised more than $24 million, with much of it fueling an expensive attack ad campaign against Mr. Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and democratic socialist.

He later campaigned with Brad Lander, the city comptroller, in Prospect Park in Brooklyn, after riding there on electric Citi Bikes from Mr. Lander’s home in Park Slope. And then he ended the day with a planned seven-hour walk from the north tip of Manhattan in Inwood Hill Park to its southern tip at Battery Park, inviting his followers to join him “Forrest Gump” style.

His battle for more money, however, was destined for less traction.

The Campaign Finance Board quickly said increasing the spending cap per Mr. Mamdani’s request would be against the rules. Tim Hunter, a spokesman for the agency, said the only time the cap can be increased is when a candidate who is not participating in the matching funds program raises more money than those who are participating in the program.

That happened in the 2021 mayoral primary when Ray McGuire, one of the longest-serving Black executives on Wall Street, blew through the spending cap. It was then raised from $7.3 million to $10.3 million.

“We understand the challenge posed by independent spenders to the goals of the matching funds program,” Mr. Hunter said, but the “law does not apply to spending by participating campaigns or independent spenders.”

Fix the City’s spending prowess is unprecedented in city elections. The most money spent by a single super PAC in the 2021 mayoral race was about $6.5 million by New Start NYC, which supported the unsuccessful campaign of the former Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan.

Editors’ Picks

The total amount that super PACs spent on the mayoral campaign was about $32 million, according to Campaign Finance Board records.

Fix the City, which was founded by close allies of Mr. Cuomo, has already spent $16 million.

Leading the donations to Fix the City is former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the billionaire who has endorsed Mr. Cuomo and given more than $8 million to the group.

“He is terrified right now, which is why you’re seeing billionaires have to give another donation after they’ve already given one to his super PAC,” Mr. Mamdani said of Mr. Cuomo. “Because they’re calling him back up and they’re saying, ‘This isn’t the race that we wanted.’”

One super PAC has already spent about $16 million to support Andrew M. Cuomo in the mayor’s race.

Liz Benjamin, a spokeswoman for Fix the City, said Mr. Mamdani’s letter to the Campaign Finance Board asking for the spending cap to be raised “reads like campaign performance art.”

 

A21X43  FROM the NEW YORK TIMES

 

The left has not been able to match the outside expenditures of groups like Fix the City.

Leaders We Deserve, a group headed by David Hogg, the former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, gave $300,000 to a Working Families Party super PAC supporting Mr. Mamdani and a slate of anti-Cuomo candidates this month, making the group the largest contributor to a Mamdani-affiliated super PAC.

“The side of the working class never has the resources of the side of billionaires and mega-corporations,” said Joe Dinkin, deputy national director of the Working Families Party.

Two PACs, New Yorkers for Lower Costs and the Working Families Party’s national PAC, expect to reach $2 million in spending on the race, he said.

“We’ve reminded voters of Cuomo’s record of siding with the powerful few and introduced people to Zohran,” Mr. Dinkin said.

The Campaign Finance Board said on Friday that it would give out just over $5 million in new public matching funds to eight Democratic candidates for mayor, including Michael Blake, a former assemblyman from the Bronx, who received his first public money payment of just over $2 million.

Mr. Blake said he was preparing to use the money to pay for new advertisements before the close of voting at 9 p.m. Tuesday. He has polled at or near the bottom of the field but had a breakout performance at the first mayoral debate; his lack of funds and low standing in the polls disqualified him from participating in the second.

 We now have an opportunity to get my message out to people,” Mr. Blake said in an interview. His goal, he said, was to focus on Black and Latino voters and give them an alternative to Mr. Cuomo.

“Cuomo has pretty much every large union except for one or two. Zohran has a massive army from the democratic socialists. You have to be able to counter that with an operation,” Mr. Blake said. “What happened today now gives us a chance to do that.”

Reporting was contributed by Tim Balk, Nicholas Fandos and Emma G. Fitzsimmons.

Jeffery C. Mays is a Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall.

See more on: Andrew CuomoMichael BlakeBrad Lander

 

A22X44  from GUK


‘New Yorkers have been betrayed’: can Zohran Mamdani become the most progressive mayor in the city’s history?

Six months ago, the 33-year-old was an unknown outsider polling in single digits. Now he is in striking distance of becoming New York’s youngest, most leftwing mayor in a century

By Ed Pilkington   Sat 21 Jun 2025 07.00 EDT

 

Zohran  Kwame Mamdani is huddling with advisers surrounded by agitated protesters, New York police department (NYPD) officers and lines of metal barriers penning us in. An hour ago Brad Lander, the elected comptroller of New York who is running against Mamdani in the race to become the city’s next mayor, was arrested by masked agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) as he accompanied an individual out of immigration court. Video shows the agents shoving Lander against a wall, handcuffing him, and scuffling him away.

The incident has clearly rattled Mamdani. He looks tense, and when greeted by supporters his trademark beaming smile is replaced by a tight grin.

Days earlier Mamdani cross-endorsed with fellow progressive Lander ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic primary, which makes this personal. “This is horrifying,” he says.

Behind us looms the brutalist tower of the Federal Building, its tombstone-grey granite and glass exterior wrapped in fine mist. It is a setting out of a dystopian Gotham City.

“No peace, no justice,” the protesters chant. “Ice out of the court, Ice out of the city.”

 “This is an authoritarian regime that has dispatched masked men in unmarked cars to detain and disappear as many immigrants as they can find, and anyone standing in their way,” Mamdani says. “Ice agents attempted to rough up Comptroller Lander and make an example of him – if that’s what they are willing to do to an elected official, what will they do to an unknown immigrant?”

There is a potent family link too. “That’s the very court I took my father to a few months ago for his citizenship interview,” he explains.

“I hugged him tightly, not knowing if I would see him at the end or if he too would be detained, as so many immigrants have been. I waited in a coffee shop for four and a half hours hoping he would come downstairs, and he did.”

It is not impossible, given the state of the race, that in three days’ time Mamdani, until recently a virtual unknown, will prevail in the primary ballot and take a giant leap towards becoming the next occupant of Gracie Mansion. Should he go on to win the general election in November, he would be propelled onto the front lines of the battle to protect New Yorkers from Donald Trump’s mass deportations and other legally-dubious incursions.

Could he handle it?

“I do believe that I could. I will unabashedly stand up for our sanctuary city policies which have kept New Yorkers safe, and use every tool at the city’s disposal to protect our immigrants.”

And then he adds: “There is no option of surrender.”

That Mamdani should be a serious contender for the leadership of America’s largest city is both a sign of the times and of his individual capabilities. Polls show him within striking distance of the frontrunner Andrew Cuomo in what is now essentially a two-horse race, with Lander trailing a distant third.

Mamdani came to the US aged seven from Uganda where he was born to parents of Indian descent. His father is a political scientist Mahmood Mamdani, and his mother, Mira Nair, is the Oscar-nominated director of Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding.

He is a democratic socialist endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He has been outspoken on the Gaza war, which he views as a genocide, and is unrestrained in his criticism of Trump, whom he calls an authoritarian. He denounced Lander’s arrest as “fascism”.

He is equally scathing about the establishment of the Democratic party, which he tells me has “betrayed” the people of New York. And yet here he is, an unashamed progressive Muslim immigrant, snapping at the heels of the ultimate Democratic machine politician, the thrice-elected former governor of New York, Cuomo.

The outcome of the ranked-choice vote could illuminate so much more than the future of New York, important though that is.

There’s age. Mamdani, if elected, would become at 33 the youngest mayor in a century; Cuomo, 67, would be its oldest in a first term. Could this election deliver a blow to what Ocasio-Cortez has called the “gerontocracy” of American politics?

There’s Trump. Lander’s arrest could be just the start – only a day before the comptroller was apprehended, the president announced he was prioritizing deportations from New York and other Democratic-run cities, putting whoever wins the mayoral race in the line of fire.

And there’s the Democratic party itself. Mamdani calls the election a referendum on the future of the party – and given the parlous state in which it currently finds itself, trapped in the headlights of a president who appears hell-bent on destroying American democracy as we know it, he may not be wrong.

This is gearing up to be a seismic clash at a turning point for the country. No wonder Mamdani looks tense.

Mamdani on Lander’s arrest: ‘If that’s what they are willing to do to an elected official, what will they do to an unknown immigrant?’ 

 Our interview was not meant to be like this. The plan was for us to meet in Mamdani’s campaign office near Madison Square Park, but the shock of the Lander arrest sends him scrambling down to Federal Plaza, the Guardian in hot pursuit.

It’s a bit like a game of cat and mouse. We follow the candidate as he moves away from Federal Building, and takes off with his posse of campaign managers to find a quiet place to talk. He says we’ll regroup at a sandwich bar nearby then abruptly changes the location, but amid the confusion he’s always impeccably polite. “Thank you for your understanding,” he says to me.

We finally get to sit down in a Le Pain Quotidien around the corner from where Lander is being detained. Mamdani asks if I mind that he eats while we talk – it’s mid-afternoon by now and it’s his first meal of the day. When I express sympathy, he gives a maudlin smile and says: “I chose this.”

We begin by discussing his explosive rise, from a barely known member of the state assembly representing Queens into a political phenomenon. The previous Saturday, at a rally at Terminal 5, a music venue in Hell’s Kitchen, Mamdani was introduced by Ocasio-Cortez, who likened how he has burst onto the scene to her own unlikely eruption as Bronx bartender turned congresswoman in 2018.

Did Mamdani expect to be where he is now when he launched his run last October?

From the start he believed in the possibility of his campaign, he says, but did not expect his numbers to surge until the end. “Instead we’ve been firmly in second place for the last few months, and we’ve narrowed a 40-point gap with Cuomo down to single digits despite Republican billionaires spending close to $20m in attack ads against me.”

That Mamdani has caught the imagination of young New Yorkers is self-evident at the Saturday night rally. The venue is packed with over 3,000 supporters, most in their 20s and 30s, waving placards saying “A City We Can Afford”.

Comedian the Kid Mero hosts, a marching band performs Empire State of Mind, and the DJ plays hope and change-themed tracks (the rally closes with Bob Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’). It all has the razzmatazz of a premature victory party.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani hold a rally at Terminal 5 in Manhattan, on 14 June. 

 Mamdani commands the stage, displaying an ease with TikTokable soundbites and a beguiling charisma which are essential qualifications for high office these days. He echoes the lyrical rhetoric of Barack Obama: when he wins on 24 June, he orates, “it will feel like the dawn of a new day, and when the sun finally climbs above the horizon that light will seem brighter than ever”.

A key to his success among young voters – and in turn, the amassing of a vast army of 46,000 volunteers who have knocked on more than a million doors – has been his savvy use of social media. He has posted a stream of viral videos, shot on gritty New York streets, infused with the humor and pace that he first honed during his younger years when he was an aspiring rapper going by the name of Mr Cardamom.

To publicise his plan to freeze the rents of all rent-stabilised apartments, Mamdani posted a TikTok video in which he dives fully clothed into the frigid waters off Coney Island. It was titled: “I’m freezing … your rent.”

If I tell you that I’m going to freeze your rent, you know exactly what I mean

Zohran Mamdani

When Cuomo entered the mayoral race, Mamdani filmed in front of Trump Tower to visually connect the two men as bullies accused of sexual misconduct – Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, Cuomo was forced to resign as governor in 2021 following reports that he sexually harassed female staff, which he denies.

Such grabby stuff has spawned a whole cluster of fan-based Instagram groups. Among them: Hot Girls for Zohran and, not to be outdone, Hot Boys for Zohran.

Fun this may be. But it’s also serious politics. It’s earned him the adoration of countless young voters at a time when social media is increasingly critical to winning elections – just ask Trump who, with his 106 million X followers and his Truth Social platform, literally owns political social media, leaving most Democratic leaders languishing in the wilderness.

“New Yorkers of all ages are engaging with the world around them through their phones,” Mamdani says. “One reason we’ve been able to get so many to engage with us is that they’ve heard about our politics in places they typically would not.”

He calls his social media strategy the “politics of no translation”. What is that?

“It’s when you speak directly to the crises that people are facing, with no intermediaries in between. We need a politics that is direct, that speaks to people’s own lives. If I tell you that I’m going to freeze your rent, you know exactly what I mean.”

Mamdani: ‘We need a politics that is direct, that speaks to people’s own lives.’ 

 Mamdani puts his spectacular popularity with young New Yorkers down to a hunger for a “new kind of politics, one that puts working people at the heart of it and showcases a new generation of leadership”. There’s maybe something else also at play: he has a magnetism that just seems to draw people towards him.

The young waiter who takes his order of grilled chicken salad appears starstruck, and after we finish talking the waiter comes back to the table and engages Mamdani in intense conversation. The candidate obliges, despite his frantic schedule that will see him dashing between boroughs late into the night.

I get flashes of that magnetism as we sit at our table. Like any politician, Mamdani has his talking points, but he drops his guard when I ask him what he remembers about arriving in New York as a kid. He leans towards me, and his face opens, and he seems transported.

“I remember going to Tower Records around 66th Street or so, and browsing all the different CDS, then stepping outside and buying my first bootleg copy of Eiffel 65, the euro pop group with the song Blue (Da Ba Dee). I remember playing soccer in Riverside Park, I remember falling in love with chess.”

Reverie over, Mamdani the mayoral candidate is back, shoveling down food in between espousing political strategy. And this is when we get down to it, and the real challenge he faces. Because his appeal to young New Yorkers is not enough to win.

To defeat Cuomo on Tuesday he has to reach beyond young voters. He has to get to the older African Americans and Hispanics in the outer boroughs who dependably turn out to vote, and thus often decide the outcome of New York Democratic primaries.

Polls suggest that such voters are still favouring Cuomo as a safe pair of hands, though there has been a recent uptick among older Latinos. Mamdani is candid about how hard this has been.

“It was very difficult for us to get into these spaces to make our case,” he admits. “Especially as we began with 1% name recognition. But things are shifting, now we’re finding that we are double-booked for churches on a Sunday morning.”

Paradoxically, the outer borough communities that he has to convert are home to the very same voters with whom Trump made astonishing inroads last November. It’s the guilty secret of New York, which is so proud of its status as a liberal bastion: Trump enjoyed his biggest swing of any state in the country here – about 11.5% – and increased his vote by double digits in both the Bronx and Queens.

“It wasn’t just the scale of the swing,” Mamdani says. “It was that it took place far from the caricature of Trump voters, and into the heart of immigrant New York.”

After Trump’s victory, Mamdani had to turn the political impulse of lecturing into listening and went on a listening tour to the outer boroughs. “I went to Fordham Road in the Bronx and Hillside Avenue in Queens, and asked these New Yorkers, most of whom are Democrats, who they voted for and why. I learned that many did not vote, and many voted for Trump, and they did so because they remembered having more money in their pocket four years ago.”  Covid?

The plea he heard over and over again was for an economic agenda that would make people’s tough lives easier. “And that is how we have run this race,” he says.

That’s where his affordability ticket kicks in. Rents will be frozen in rent-stabilised apartments that house 2 million New Yorkers, two-thirds of whom are people of colour. Childcare will be provided at no cost, the minimum wage will be raised, city-run groceries will be opened offering cheaper healthy food, buses will be made fast and free.

To pay for all that, taxes will be raised for corporations and for the top 1% of earners with incomes above $1m. When I ask him to imagine how he imagines New York would look after he had been in Gracie Mansion for two terms, he replies: “It is a city that is more affordable, that works better, and where we have restored public excellence into public service.”

New Yorkers have been betrayed by the politics of our city

Zohran Mamdani

Mamdani’s affordability manifesto is a conscious blueprint for reconnecting working-class Americans, of all races, back to the Democratic party in the fight against Trump. It’s also a damning indictment of where he believes the Democratic leadership has gone wrong.

He goes so far as to use that word “betrayal”. “New Yorkers have been betrayed by the politics of our city,” he says.

As evidence he points to Trump’s deportations. We’re still sitting in Le Pain Quotidien, Mamdani’s salad now half-eaten and his tie off, and we are both painfully, though unspokenly, aware that Lander remains in custody as we speak (he was released a few hours later without charge).

Up to 400,000 New Yorkers are at risk of Trump’s deportations, he says, yet under the current Democratic mayor, Eric Adams, whose corruption charges were dropped by Trump in what was widely seen as a quid pro quo, the city has assisted fewer than 200 people facing imminent removal.

Mamdani pledges that under his leadership, the city would provide legal representation for all immigrants in detention proceedings. That would boost their chances of going home to their families some elevenfold.

His critique of the Democratic party doesn’t end there. For him, Cuomo is the epitome of where the established party has gone off the rails.  Hunter Cuomo!

“I believe we lost the presidential election because we had left the working class behind a long time ago. They were told time and time again that their leaders would fight for them, and those leaders, like Andrew Cuomo, sold them out.”

He’s in his flow now, his arms flapping in grand gestures of the sort that his staff have worked hard to get him to tone down. There’s animation in his portrayal of Cuomo, containing a hefty dose of venom, and even disgust.

“We are considering electing a former governor who resigned in disgrace, one who cut Medicaid, stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA [which runs the subway], hounded the more than a dozen women who credibly accused him of sexual harassment even suing them for their gynecological records. It begs the question: what high ground do we have in the Democratic party when we critique Donald Trump?”

Towards the end of his Terminal 5 rally speech, Mamdani warned his supporters to expect a barrage of negative attack ads from Cuomo and his billionaire backers in the closing stage of the race.

But it’s not just the barrage of TV ads that are attacking Zohran. The most withering criticism has come from the New York Times editorial board, which went so far as to opine that he didn’t deserve a spot on the ballot. Mamdani swats that one away with the curt remark: “These are the opinions of about a dozen New Yorkers. They’re entitled to them.”

The paper described his proposals as unrealistic. That’s paradoxical, he says. Working-class Americans are losing faith in the Democratic party, yet anyone who comes up with policies that address their daily struggles is castigated for being pie in the sky.

“If you want to fight for working people priced out of their own city, then you are told you are out of touch.”

The Anti-Defamation League, the Holocaust Museum, and several Jewish leaders have also blast out to scorch him in the final stretch. Shortly after we meet, a podcast is posted by the Bulwark in which Mamdani was asked whether he felt uncomfortable about the use by some pro-Palestinians of the phrase “globalize the intifada”, which has been condemned by some Jews as a call to violence.

He would not denounce the expression, saying it spoke to “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights”. The comment led to rapid backlash from some Jewish groups.

That was just the latest in a pattern in which, stepping outside a campaign tightly focused on affordability, he has been prepared to speak out about the highly contentious issue of the Middle East.

What high ground do we have in the Democratic party when we critique Donald Trump?

Zohran Mamdani

He has decried the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, and championed the cause of Mahmoud Khalil, the pro-Palestinian student activist at Columbia University who was released on Friday after more than three months detention on the orders of a federal judge.

Given the nature of his economically-focused campaign, wouldn’t it have been expedient to skirt around the issue of Gaza? .

“I have always been honest,” he says. “I am honest because I believe it is incumbent upon us to have a new kind of politics, consistent with international law, and I believe there are far more New Yorkers looking for that consistency than one would imagine.”

Mamdani has clearly been riled by the attacks made on him, which he calls Islamophobic. “I have been smeared and slandered in clear racist language,” he says, pointing to mailers from a Cuomo-supporting super PAC which altered his face to be darker and his beard to be thicker (the super PAC denied any intentional manipulation).

In the days after our interview, the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force announced they are investigating threats made against Mamdani, by an unidentified man who said he was a “terrorist” who is “not welcome in America”.

None of this is new for him. He’s had to deal with Islamophobia since 9/11, when he was nine and had been living in the city for just two years. He was spared the worst of the anti-Muslim fallout of the attacks, he says, partly thanks to a kind teacher who pulled him aside and told him to let her know if he was ever bullied.

But 9/11 left its mark. “Living in the shadows of that moment, it politicized my identity. It forced a nine-year-old boy to see himself the way the world was seeing him.”

That young boy is now three days away from a vote in which he seeks to become the first Muslim mayor of New York City.

As he finishes up his salad and downs a cup of hot water with honey and lemon, before rushing off to his next engagement, he looks a strange mix of bone tired and fired-up for the battle ahead.

Ramadan burrito, cybercrime sharia?

A23X45 FROM X

 

Amy Mek

@AmyMek

WARNING NYC Zohran Mamdani Isn’t Running a Campaign — He’s Leading an Islamic Political Insurgency

What we’re witnessing in New York isn’t a mayoral race. It’s civilizational jihad, and Zohran Mamdani is its smiling face.

At a Brooklyn press conference, Mamdani didn’t just talk policy. He delivered a call to his ummah, his radical global Islamic community, telling Muslims across NYC: We don’t just belong here. We belong in City Hall.

This is about dominion...

A CAIR-endorsed radical backed by international socialist movements and anti-Western networks.

A man who co-founded a radical Islamic hate group (SJP) - the campus arm of Hamas.

A Marxist who openly vilifies Hindus, Jews, defends pro-Hamas rallies, and wants to force halal Sharia-based food practices, holidays, etc into NYC’s public schools. 

A loud opponent of borders, ICE, and the very idea of American sovereignty.

And yet… NYC is sleepwalking toward disaster.

Make no mistake: Mamdani is not here to serve America. He is here to reshape it. His campaign fuses Islamic supremacism, post-colonial grievance, and revolutionary socialism into one calculated movement—funded, organized, and global in scope,  This is the Muslim Brotherhood playbook. This is the Red-Green Alliance. This is the long game: Use democratic systems to embed anti-democratic ideology, until the system cannot fight back.

June 24 isn’t just a primary - it’s a front line.

New York must decide:

Will we defend America, or surrender it to those who despise it?

Will we honor those murdered on 9/11 or hand power to those who chant “Intifada” in our streets?

If you love this city, if you value freedom, faith, and the rule of law - you must stop Zohran Mamdani.

NYC is NOT a caliphate. City Hall is NOT a mosque.

A24X46 FROM REDDIT

‘New Yorkers have been betrayed’: can Zohran Mamdani become the most progressive mayor in the city’s history?

PG

drmanhattanmar

1h ago

In a Timeline Like the current I imagine some nutjob (private citizen or federal agent) is already on his way to “get rid“ of Mamdani…

A25X47 FROM ROLLING STONE

RICH PEOPLE, PUNDITS REALLY DO NOT WANT ZOHRAN MAMDANI TO BE MAYOR

Allies of former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo are breaking New York City spending limits trying to make him mayor. Mamdani is still closing the gap

By NIKKI MCCANN RAMIREZ  June 20, 2025

 

The Democratic primary to unseat disgraced New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in full swing. With only a few days left to cast ballots, the uber-wealthy and America’s pundit class are doing everything they can to promote former New York governor and current mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo and to tank the prospects of his main opponent: Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani.

While New York limits mayoral candidates to less than $8 million in direct spending on their campaign, Cuomo turned to PACs and Super PACs to skirt the financial limits. The former governor’s candidacy has seen over $24 million in total spending, most of it from outside groups and his primary Super PAC, called Fix the City. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been the single largest backer of Cuomo’s candidacy, dumping over $8 million into Fix the City.

The PAC has run TV ads nonstop painting Mamdani as a “radical” who is too “risky” and “dangerous” for New Yorkers. The ad which Fix the City spent over $5.4 million on, repeatedly featured clips of Mamdani in a kurta — a common South Asian garment — which his campaign said was an intentional choice by the PAC given that Mamdani typically dons a suit and tie while campaigning. A Fix the City mailer — which the PAC claimed was a rejected proposal that never made it to circulation — went viral on social media earlier this month, after the Mamdani campaign accused the PAC of Islamophobia for darkening and thickening his beard.

Cuomo has also seen $2.3 million in support from a group called Housing for All, which has been exclusively funded so far by the New York Apartment Association, a lobbying group for landlords.

Alongside the string of attack ads painting Mamdani as a radical, the final days of the campaign have also brought with them a series of hysterical headlines from publications that should absolutely know better. “New Yorkers might vote for a socialist mayor, but a Muslim?” mused Kathleen Parker in The Washington Post’s opinion section, determining that Mamdani, if he wins the election, “might have a bigger role to play as the city’s first Muslim mayor than as an advocate for the disenfranchised,” while congratulating New Yorkers for being marginally less Islamophobic than they were in the post 9/11 afterburn. 

 

The Atlantic’s Michael Powell designated Mamdani’s proposals to tax wealthy corporations in the city in order to fund cheaper groceries, universal childcare, and free municipal buses, a form of socialist “magical realism” that was “disconnected from actual government budgets and organizational charts.” The same article lauds Cuomo for having provided free in-state tuition for low-income New Yorkers, raising the minimum wage, renovating the subway, and expanding pre-kindergarten to much of the state. None of those items apparently qualify as socialist wishcasting.

The New York Post, the tabloid poltergeist of the Murdoch news empire, advised readers to “Keep menace Zohran Mamdani completely off your NYC ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary” in likely the most aggressive anti-endorsements of the race. The New York Times editorial board similarly urged voters not to rank Mamdani, in a widely-panned opinion.

But while Cuomo allies and the assorted opinion sections may not like what Mamdani has to offer, large swaths of the people of New York certainly do. As of Wednesday, Mamdani has cut Cuomo’s lead in the primary by half when compared to Marist polling done in May.

The poll did not account for the final barrage of ads, cross endorsements between Mamdani and fellow candidate Brad Lander to accommodate NYC’s ranked-choice voting system, or a debate in which Cuomo was — in all but paper mache and sticks – a piñata for his fellow candidates.

 “Mamdani is clearly in Cuomo’s rearview mirror,” Lee Miringoff, who conducted the poll, told The New York Times, adding that “objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear.”

Al Jazz 222

A26X48 from al Jazeera

Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral bid is bigger than New York

Amid a global rightward shift, Mamdani’s progressive campaign offers a rare blueprint for the left to win.

Somdeep Sen

Associate Professor of International Development Studies at Roskilde University

Published On 21 Jun 202521 Jun 2025

Sitting in northern Europe, I shouldn’t care about the New York mayoral race.

Yet, despite all that is happening in the world, the contentious Democratic primary for the 2025 New York City mayoral election has found its way into conversations around me – and onto my social media feed.

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This attention isn’t just another example of the New York-centric worldview famously skewered in Saul Steinberg’s 1976 New Yorker cover, View of the World from 9th Avenue. A genuine political struggle is under way, one that has the potential to reverberate far beyond the Hudson River. At its centre is the increasingly polarised contest between Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.

The name Cuomo may ring a bell. He resigned as New York’s governor in 2021 following multiple allegations of sexual harassment. While he expressed remorse at the time, his political comeback has been marked by defiance – suing one of his accusers and the state attorney general who found the accusations credible. He claims the scandal was a “political hit job”.

Cuomo’s record in office was far from unblemished. He diverted millions of dollars from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), jeopardising the financial health of New York’s essential public transit system. He formed the Moreland Commission to root out corruption but disbanded it abruptly when it began probing entities linked to his own campaign. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his administration was accused of undercounting nursing home deaths, allegedly to deflect criticism of policies that returned COVID-positive patients to those facilities.

Given that legacy, one might imagine Cuomo’s chances of becoming mayor would be slim. Yet, he currently leads in the polls.

Close behind him is Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and state assemblyman from Queens. When he entered the race in March, Cuomo led by 40 points. A recent poll now puts Mamdani within 8 points.

Born in Kampala and raised in New York, Mamdani is the first Muslim candidate to run for mayor of the city. But his significance extends beyond his identity. What distinguishes Mamdani is his unapologetically progressive platform – and his refusal to dilute it in the name of “electability”. His appeal rests on substance, charisma, sharp messaging, and a mass volunteer-led canvassing operation.

At the heart of Mamdani’s campaign is a vision of a city that works for working-class New Yorkers. He proposes freezing rents for all rent-stabilised apartments, building 200,000 affordable homes, creating publicly-owned grocery stores “focused on keeping prices low, not making profit”, and making buses free. He supports free childcare for children under five, better wages for childcare workers, and “baby baskets” containing essentials for new parents.

To fund these initiatives, Mamdani proposes increasing the corporate tax rate from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent, and imposing a 2 percent income tax on New York City residents earning more than $1m annually.

He also wants to raise the minimum wage, regulate gig economy giants like DoorDash, and protect delivery workers. His plan to establish a Department of Community Safety would shift resources away from traditional policing towards mental health and violence prevention.

He further promises to “Trump-proof” New York by enhancing the city’s sanctuary status, removing ICE’s influence, expanding legal support for migrants, defending LGBTQ+ rights and protecting reproductive healthcare access.

But championing such bold policies – as a brown, Muslim candidate – has made Mamdani a lightning rod for hate. Recently, in a rare show of emotion, Mamdani teared up while recounting threats he has received: “I get messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim. I get threats on my life … on the people that I love.”

The NYPD is investigating two voicemails from an unidentified caller, who labelled Mamdani a “terrorist”, threatened to bomb his car, and ominously warned: “Watch your f..king back every f..king second until you get the f..k out of America.”

Cuomo’s campaign has also played into Islamophobic tropes. A mailer targeting Jewish voters from a Cuomo-aligned super PAC doctored Mamdani’s photo – darkening and lengthening his beard – and declared that he “rejects NYPD, rejects Israel, rejects capitalism and rejects Jewish rights”.

Much of this centres on Mamdani’s outspoken support for Palestinian rights. He has been criticised for refusing to affirm Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and for defending the slogan “globalise the intifada”, which he describes as “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights”. He also noted that the Arabic term intifada has been used by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum to describe the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.

Despite the attacks, Mamdani’s movement is surging. He has received endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, Attorney General Letitia James, the New York Working Families Party, United Auto Workers Region 9A, and Jewish Voice for Peace Action.

In contrast, Cuomo is backed by major real estate donors wary of Mamdani’s housing agenda. His campaign has received $1m from DoorDash, presumably in response to Mamdani’s proposed labour protections. Other prominent donors include Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman – both known for supporting Donald Trump.

Still, Mamdani’s grassroots campaign has continued to gain ground. Whether or not he wins the nomination, his candidacy has already achieved something vital: it has offered proof that an anti-corporate, anti-Trump, community-powered campaign – one rooted in progressive values and refusal to compromise – can resonate with American voters.

But the stakes extend far beyond New York. Across Europe, South America, South Asia and Africa, right-wing populists are gaining ground by exploiting economic precarity, stoking culture wars and vilifying minorities. Mamdani’s campaign offers a clear counter-narrative: one that marries economic justice with moral clarity, mobilises diverse communities and challenges the politics of fear. For progressives around the world, it is a rare and instructive blueprint – not just for resistance, but for rebuilding.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

 

NY Post

A27X49 FROM NEW YORK POST

NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani slams US bombing of Iran nuclear sites: ‘Dark new chapter’

By Carl Campanile, Dorian Geiger and Zoe Hussain

Published June 22, 2025   Updated June 22, 2025, 4:13 p.m. ET

Anti-Israel mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani blasted the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites as an “unconstitutional military action” — as other top primary contenders called President Trump reckless for greenlighting the military action. 

“Donald Trump ran for president promising to end wars, not start new ones,” the Democratic Socialist said in a statement released on X late Saturday, two days before the Big Apple’s Democratic Party primary.

“Today’s unconstitutional military action represents a dark, new chapter in his endless betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos,” said Mamdani, who has been closing the gap with frontrunner candidate Andrew Cuomo in recent polls. “In a city as global as ours, the impacts of war are felt deeply here at home.”

“Donald Trump ran for president promising to end wars, not start new ones,” candidate Zohran Mamdani said in a statement on X, blasting the bombings.

“Today’s unconstitutional military action represents a dark, new chapter in his endless betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos,” Mamdani said about Trump’s decision.

Mamdani also blamed the “political establishment” for spending money on weaponry and “endless wars” rather than on fighting poverty and promoting peace.

“For Americans middle aged and younger, this is all we have known,” said Mamdani, who is running a strong second in polls to front-runner Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor.

“We cannot accept it any longer,” the candidate said.

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Communist group slams Mamdani for ‘deceiving working class,’ making ‘false promises’

Cuomo, the ex governor, also condemned Trump’s strike on Iran, calling the president “the big bad wolf knocking at the door,” while speaking to reporters outside a press conference for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Though he agreed the US shouldn’t have gone about bombing Iran in the way they did, “the world is a safer place,” he contended. 

He also warned New Yorkers to be prepared for a “possible reprisal” from Iran and vowed to keep the Big Apple on “high alert,” if elected. 

City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander also condemned the bombing, calling it “reckless & unconstitutional.”William Farrington

“You have to separate the actual bombing of Iran and ending their military and nuclear capacity versus the means and the process by which Trump did it,” he said.

“I don’t support the way he [Trump] did it. I do believe he should have consulted Congress. I believe this is Trump saying, ‘ I don’t have to follow the rules. I do what I want to do when I do it,” he said.

City Comptroller and Democratic mayoral candidate Brad Lander also slammed the bombing.

·         Inside Operation Midnight Hammer: US dropped 14 bunker-buster bombs on Iran’s Fordow nuke site in biggest ever B-2 raid

·         What are bunker busters: Everything to know about the $500M bombs

·         Iran’s Foreign Minister warns US strikes will have ‘everlasting consequences’

·         Hegseth says Trump’s Iran strike shows American deterrence is back: ‘When this president speaks, the world should listen’

 

“Trump’s reckless & unconstitutional strikes against Iran are a dangerous escalation of war — and threaten countless Iranian, Israeli & American lives,” Lander wrote on X on Saturday, after President Trump’s address to the nation outlining why the US launched the bombs at Iran.

“My thoughts are with families fearing for their safety, and the thousands of New Yorkers worrying tonight about loved ones in Iran,” Lander said.

Trump defended the bombing in his speech by saying, “Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror.”

Trump defended the bombing, saying, “our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror.”via REUTERS

The US strikes came before Tuesday’s final day of voting in the Big Apple’s Democratic primary for mayor after Sunday’s last day of early voting, overshadowing and potentially impacting the outcome.

Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking re-election on an independent ballot line, said he ordered the NYPD to “increase its presence around religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites throughout the five boroughs” in the wake of the US attack.

“Thinking about our large Persian population here in NYC at this time,” he wrote on X on Saturday night. Mamdani’s close Democratic Socialist ally, New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, said Trump’s bombing of Iran is “grounds for impeachment.”

Mamdani has come under fire for his vicious bashing of Israel, which has also struck Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities in an effort to prevent Tehran from building nuke bombs.

He is a staunch supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against the Jewish state, and refused to condemn the “globalize the intifada” rallying cry — a slogan that has been denounced for allegedly stoking antisemitic violence.

The Democratic Party primary is set for in-person voting Tuesday after 10 days of early voting. The winner of the primary will have to run in November’s general election, but will very likely be the next mayor in the deeply blue Big Apple. 

 

 

A28X50 FROM USA TODAY (ADAMS)

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

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.

By Ben Adler AND James Powel

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. But the winner likely won't be known until at least July 1, when the unofficial results of the instant runoff conducted with ballots that rank up to five choices will be announced.

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.

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.

At some point after polls close at 9 p.m., the city Board of Elections will announce first-place vote totals, but no candidate is expected to clear the 50% threshold needed to be declared winner without a runoff.

Mayor Eric Adams tells reporters he planned to write himself in for mayor five times

Mayor Eric Adams isn’t running for re-election in the June 24 Democratic primary, but that didn’t stop him from voting. Outside of his Brooklyn polling place, he told reporters he planned to write his name in for mayor. “One, two, three, four and five, Eric Adams,” he said.

Under the city’s ranked choice voting, voters can choose up to five different candidates. Writing in the same candidate five times would invalidate the person's second through fifth-place votes, though not the entire ballot. “You cannot rank the same candidate more than once,” the city Board of Elections said in voter instructions.

Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the mayor was joking about voting for himself more than once.

"Everyone in the room knew he was joking, other than the reporters who sent the tweet," Levy told USA TODAY.

Levy didn’t know how the mayor voted, but he said he knew how to vote properly.

"I wasn't in the booth, so can’t tell you how he voted, but he knows how to vote properly," Levy added.

In 2021, Adams won the Democratic primary — when New York City first used ranked choice voting — before easily winning in the general election that year.

Adams has opted to run as an independent in the November 2025 general election. Even though the city skews heavily Democratic, the race for mayor isn’t over regardless of the June 24 Democratic primary outcome.

- Eduardo Cuevas

Mamdani would be New York's first Israel critic as mayor

The politics of a foreign country don’t normally weigh on municipal issues. But in a global city like New York, home to 1 million Jews, Israel and its siege of Gaza after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks have taken center stage in a campaign otherwise focused on affordability and public safety.

Since Israel’s founding, every New York City mayor has visited Jerusalem. Mayor Vincent Impellitteri first made the trip in 1951. Mamdani has declined to follow suit when asked whether he’d visit Israel. Instead, he’s said he’d prioritize Jewish safety in the five boroughs, but he has criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling its actions in Gaza a genocide.

Mamdani has defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to cut ties with Israel in order for it to change its policies toward Palestinians. Israel supporters have called the movement antisemitic for protesting the only Jewish state. On the debate stage, Mamdani has said he supports Israel’s right to exist “as a state with equal rights” when pressed on whether he supported Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

He also declined to condemn the controversial phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” The popular rallying cry for liberation by Palestinians and their supporters is heard by pro-Israel supporters as a call to violence against Jews, harkening back to resistance movements in the 1980s and 2000s. Mamdani was swiftly criticized for his comments, including by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Jewish Committee.

Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund manager, have repeatedly accused Mamdani of antisemitism, charges that Mamdani denies. A super PAC supporting Cuomo — which receives funding from former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman — have also unleashed tens of millions in ads painting Mamdani as an extremist. Mamdani, who is Muslim, and his supporters have said the attacks rely on islamophobic tropes. Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Meanwhile, candidates agree antisemitism is a pressing issue, evidenced by rises in attacks against Jewish people. Cuomo, who is not Jewish, made opposing antisemitism a top issue issue in his campaign. Other candidates who are Jewish have criticized Cuomo for his use of antisemitism as a campaign tactic.

The politics of a foreign country don’t normally weigh on municipal issues. But in a global city like New York, home to 1 million Jews with many having strong support for Zionism, Israel and its siege of Gaza after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks have taken center stage in a campaign largely focused on affordability and public safety. New York City is home to the most amount of Jews outside of Israel.

Since Israel’s founding, every New York City mayor has visited Jerusalem. Mayor Vincent Impellitteri first made the trip in 1951. Mamdani has declined to follow suit when asked whether he’d visit Israel. Instead, he’s said he’d prioritize Jewish safety in the five boroughs, but he has criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling its actions in Gaza a genocide.

Mamdani has defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to cut ties with Israel in order for it to change its policies toward Palestinians. Israel supporters have called the movement antisemitic for protesting the only Jewish state. On the debate stage, Mamdani has said he supports Israel’s right to exist “as a state with equal rights” when pressed on whether he supported Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

He also declined to condemn the controversial phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” The popular rallying cry for liberation by Palestinians and their supporters is heard by pro-Israel supporters as a call to violence against Jews, harkening back to resistance movements in the 1980s and 2000s. Mamdani was swiftly criticized for his comments, including by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Jewish Committee.

Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund manager, have repeatedly accused Mamdani of antisemitism, charges that Mamdani denies. A super PAC supporting Cuomo — which receives funding from former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman — have also unleashed tens of millions in ads painting Mamdani as an extremist. Mamdani, who is Muslim, and his supporters have said the attacks rely on islamophobic tropes. Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Meanwhile, candidates agree antisemitism is a pressing issue, evidenced by rises in attacks against Jewish people. Cuomo, who is not Jewish, made antisemitism a top issue, equating it with opposition to Israel. Other candidates who are Jewish have criticized Cuomo for his use of antisemitism as a campaign tactic. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander who has cross-endorsed with Mamdani, each urging their supporters to rank the other candidate second on their ballots, is Jewish.

-Eduardo Cuevas

New York City mayor primary: Where the polls are, when they open and close

The final hours of voting in the New York City mayoral primary elections start the morning of June 24.

Election Day polls opened at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

You can find a list of polling places here.

-James Powel

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:

·         Adrienne E. Adams

·         Dr. Selma Bartholomew

·         Michael A. Blake

·         Andrew M. Cuomo

·         Brad Lander

·         Zohan K. Mamdani

·         Zellnor Myrie

·         Paperboy Love Prince

·         Jessica Ramos

·         Scott M. Stringer

·         Whitney R. Tilson

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 livingThose proposals include:

·         An immediate rent freeze for all rent-stabilized tenants

·         The elimination of fares on city busses

·         Creating a Department of Community Safety and investments in citywide mental health programs and crisis response

·         A 2% tax on residents earning above $1 million annually

·         Raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5%

·         Overhauling the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants so as to toughen code enforcement on landlords

·         Fast tracking affordable housing development 

·         Establishing city-owned grocery stores

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.

 

 

 

 

Lander

Time

A29X51  from TIME

The U.S. Elected Officials Who Have Been Arrested or Approached by Authorities While Protesting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

by Rebecca Schneid and Solcyré Burga

 

Local officials and members of Congress have been handcuffed, slammed to the ground, and detained by law enforcement while objecting to the Trump Administration’s policies in multiple high-profile confrontations as mass deportations are carried out across the country.

New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander became the latest elected official to be detained amid protests over the Administration’s crackdown when he was arrested by Immigrations Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday.

Lander, who said he has been attending immigration court hearings in Manhattan for the past three weeks, was seen in a crowded hallway holding on to a man who was being detained by ICE. “I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant,” Lander can be heard saying in video of the incident. “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens asking for a judicial warrant.”

At least four other officials have been arrested or confronted by authorities after speaking out against the Administration’s immigration policies in recent weeks. Here’s what you should know about each of them.

Sen. Alex Padilla

California Sen. Alex Padilla was slammed to the ground and handcuffed after he disrupted a press conference being held by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on June 12. 

The tense interaction came after Noem said DHS officials would continue their operations in Los Angeles—the site of multi-day protests over ICE raids and the Administration’s broader immigration stance—to “liberate this city from the socialist and burdensome leadership that this governor and this mayor have placed into this city.” Trump sent National Guard members and Marines to the city to quell the demonstrations against California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes, igniting widespread backlash. 

Video of the incident shows Padilla attempting to ask Noem a question before two men push him back. Padilla, who identified himself as a Senator, asked agents to keep their “hands off” as they forcibly removed him from the room.

“If that is what the Administration is willing to do to a United States Senator for having the [audacity] to simply ask a question, imagine what they’ll do to any American who dares to speak up,” Padilla said in a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday. The California Senator, who is the son of Mexican immigrants, called Trump a “tyrant” who continues to “test the boundaries of his power.”   

Many politicians have denounced Padilla’s removal from the press conference. Former Vice President Kamala Harris called the incident a “shameful and stunning abuse of power” in a post on X

Brad Lander

Lander, who has been the New York City Comptroller since 2022 and is currently running for mayor, was arrested on Tuesday while accompanying a man he identified as Edgardo out of immigration court.

When authorities sought to detain Edgardo, Lander repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant. “You don’t have the authority to arrest U.S. citizens,” Lander told ICE agents, before he was  handcuffed and taken into custody himself.

Read more: New York City Mayoral Candidate Brad Lander Arrested at Immigration Courthouse

Lander was released later that afternoon after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the arrest and advocated for his release.

“This is a sorry day for New York and our country,” Hochul said in a press conference following Lander’s release.

Asked about the “trend” of elected officials being detained over immigration issues while speaking with Democracy Now! after his release, the comptroller said the Trump Administration “wreak havoc.”

“They’re trying … to ‘liberate’ Democratic cities from their duly elected officials. This is part of what authoritarians do: strike fear into immigrant families and communities and try to undermine the rule of law and basic democracy by stoking conflict,” Lander said. “Our challenge is to find a way to stand up for the rule of law, for due process, for people’s rights, and to do it in a way that is nonviolent and insistent, demands it, but also doesn’t help them escalate conflict.”

On Wednesday, Lander called out the Trump Administration for what he called immigration escalation “Gestapo tactics” while speaking with MSNBC.

Several other Democrats also came to Lander’s defense on social media and called for his release.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the arrest “political intimidation,” while Sen. Padilla said he was “not shocked” by the action.

Ras Baraka

Ras Baraka, the Mayor of Newark, was arrested after traveling on May 9 to inspect Delaney Hall, a privately run federal immigration detention center that he accused in March of violating safety protocols. 

Baraka, who is running for governor, and three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation—Reps. Robert Menendez, LaMonica McIver, and Bonnie Watson Coleman— tried to enter the facility.

ICE agents arrested Baraka on trespassing charges.

Read More: A New Jersey ICE Facility. A Warning for the Country 

Homeland Security officials accused the lawmakers of “storming the gate” and trespassing into the detention facility, posting a video of the arrest on X and asking viewers to “check the tape.”

Rep. McIver and other members of Congress, though, argued that they were just trying to perform their duties as elected officials.

“The way we were treated at Delaney Hall is almost unbelievable. ICE shoved me, manhandled 

@repbonnie, and arrested @rasjbaraka,” McIver posted on X. “They disrespected us and tried to stop us from conducting the oversight we’re elected to do. But we’ll never back down in our fight for what is right.”

Baraka himself posted the moment that he was escorted into Delaney Hall. “Nobody was kicking or shoving like the coverage suggests. We were invited in.”

The mayor was released hours after being detained.  He sued New Jersey’s top federal prosecutor, interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, earlier this month over his arrest, arguing that the Trump-appointed attorney had pursued the case out of political spite and seeking damages for “false arrest and malicious prosecution.”

LaMonica McIver

In the wake of the same incident, McIver was indicted by the Department of Justice on June 9 for allegedly "impeding and interfering with federal officers” during Baraka’s arrest, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The indictment includes three counts of "assaulting, resisting, impeding and interfering" with federal officers—charges that could include a prison sentence if McIver is convicted.

Read more: What to Know About the Assault Charges Against Rep. LaMonica McIver

In a statement after the indictment was announced, McIver called the proceedings a “a brazen attempt at political intimidation.”

“This indictment is no more justified than the original charges, and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do,” McIver said. “But it won’t work—I will not be intimidated. The facts are on our side, I will be entering a plea of not guilty, I’m grateful for the support of my community, and I look forward to my day in court.”

Hannah Dugan

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan became the first of these elected officials to be detained when she was arrested on April 25 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on charges of concealing a defendant to prevent his arrest by ICE. 

Politico

A30X52 FROM POLITICO

Why the New York Mayor’s Race Matters

Voters are disappointed by the Cuomo-Mamdani race, but the result will resonate far beyond the Big Apple.

New York City mayoral candidate and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo greets union members after speaking during a Get Out the Vote Rally on June 16, 2025, in New York City. | Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

By Jonathan Martin    06/22/2025 07:00 AM EDT

 

NEW YORK — How on earth are voters in America’s largest city choosing between a 33-year-old socialist and a sex pest for mayor?

OK, that’s a bit unfair: Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani would be 34 by the time he’d be sworn in to lead New York City.

But seriously, these are the choices Democrats here have before them when they go to the polls Tuesday in the most revealing primary election since the party’s debacle last year.

There’s Mamdani, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America by way of a noted workers’ paradise, Bowdoin, who’s calling for city-owned grocery stores and offending the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum by trying to rationalize calls to “globalize the intifada.”

Then there’s former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was forced out of office less than four years ago after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment, now says he regrets resigning and has expressed little contrition about his personal conduct or his deadly mishandling of Covid-19.

Cuomo is despised by much of the city, including some of his biggest benefactors, and is the favorite to win.

Oh, and if either Mamdani or Cuomo falls short in New York’s ranked-choice Democratic primary, each already has secured a separate ballot line in the general election; if they win, they’ll get to use it in addition to the Democratic party line, and if they lose, they’ll still get the chance to run as independents. Neither ruled out remaining in the race when I asked them if they’d run on a third-party line this fall.

Mayor Eric Adams, who avoided corruption charges after cozying up to the Trump administration in an apparent arrangement that would have some Philly ward bosses blush, will also be on the ballot on his own line. The Republican standard bearer is Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa, who was wearing a red hat (beret, to be exact) before it was cool and is ageless in that Dick Clark sort of way.

It doesn’t quite portend a replay of John Lindsay jousting with Abe Beame and William F. Buckley Jr. in 1965.

However, the outcome should not be minimized.

Suburban moderate women with national security experience were handily nominated this month to lead the Democratic ticket in state races this year in Virginia and New Jersey, which may itself say something about the appetite of the party’s primary voters. But in New York, there is a real internecine clash — and it carries profound implications.

Can a young leftist appeal to the party’s traditional base of older Black voters? Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is watching. Has the backlash to so-called wokeness that sanitized Trump last year reached into Democratic ranks so voters will reluctantly vote for the S.O.B.-we-know? And would Cuomo take such support as a vote of confidence and quickly begin running for president himself in 2028? He repeatedly refused to rule out such a run when I asked him.

Voters express discontent

This being New York, it’s not exactly difficult to find voters exasperated with their choices or shy about articulating their frustrations. Including in front of the candidates themselves.

Last Sunday afternoon, walking up a closed-to-traffic Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side, I came across city comptroller Brad Lander, who’s polling in third place in the mayor’s race. Lander — an affable, middle-aged official fittingly called “Dad Lander” by his 20-something daughter — was passing out his brochures to shoppers strolling through the streetside market.

It was one of those great moments of municipal politics serendipity — running into a candidate in the wild — and I used the opportunity to ask Lander why New Yorkers were left with two options so many found wanting.

“What I’m doing is presenting an option which is neither of those,” Lander began before a voice beside us interjected.

“I wish you or Scott Stringer had actually run as a moderate Democrat instead of trying to be all things to all people,” said the voice, carrying an unmistakable New York accent and citing another lagging candidate. “Because the last thing this country needs is the left wing of the party dragging us down again and electing people like Trump.”

The voter’s name was Robert, he wouldn’t offer his last name, and he wasn’t finished.

“If you’d actually run as a moderate, you’d be the top of my ticket,” he told Lander, explaining: “I’d rather have an asshole than a progressive.”

In what may have been one of the most dutiful and unnecessary follow-ups in my career, I confirmed that, yes, Robert did have Cuomo in mind when he cited “an asshole.”

Lander was patient, arguing that he doesn’t think it’s wishy-washy “to want government to run better and to be ambitious about what it can deliver.”

Robert became friendlier and presented a peace offering by way of vowing to still rank Lander.

Then I asked Lander directly, well, are you a progressive or a moderate?

“See, he won’t answer the question!” Robert butted in before Lander could even respond. The candidate called himself “a pragmatic progressive,” which prompted Robert to walk away.

The Upper West Sider said he was a committed Democrat and retired lawyer who also worked in IT and finance, but he was more interested in venting his frustrations than discussing himself. In short: He’s “really pissed off” at MAGA and progressives, the latter, he said, for paving Trump’s return.

Which gets to the heart of the frustration so many New Yorkers have, not just over this race but from the long shadow of 2024. Moderates believe the party’s drift to the left on culture and identity doomed them last year, and progressives can’t believe Democrats haven’t learned from ceding populism to the right.

Leaders stay on the sidelines

Yet just as the party sleepwalked into Armageddon by not speaking up about Joe Biden sooner, New York Democrats find themselves with a stark choice today as much as through omission as commission.

Most major institutions have either remained silent or enabled Cuomo’s comeback.

That starts with elected officials who disdain him, most significantly Gov. Kathy Hochul and Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. The silence of Schumer, his party’s Senate leader and a New York senator for more than a quarter-century, is particularly deafening. Imagine Harry Reid or Nancy Pelosi letting an old home-state rival waltz back to office.

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Organized labor, the closest thing that exists to New York’s old Democratic machines, has also for the most part stayed out of the race or backed Cuomo.

And then there’s The New York Times editorial page, which has a proven record of influencing local elections. The dominant local daily initially declined to offer an endorsement. Instead, they empaneled a group of local citizens to offer their preferences — Lander was the most popular — and eventually ran an unsigned editorial denouncing Mamdani and urging New Yorkers not to rank him.

To be fair, it has been difficult for any candidate to get much attention when so much of traditional and social media is drenched in national coverage and namely the return of another rampaging son of Queens.

Perhaps the most important non-event took place before the campaign even got fully underway. That was when Trump won last year and Attorney General Letitia James decided not to run for mayor.

James may never have ultimately entered the race, but multiple New York Democrats told me there was a backstage campaign to nudge her into the race. A Black woman from Brooklyn who ran the inquiry into Cuomo’s sexual harassment, James would’ve been the obvious Stop Andrew candidate.

“If Tish James had run, it would have been no race — she would have won hands down,” the Rev. Al Sharpton told me. “And I think that is why we ended up where we are.”

Sharpton, speaking in the back of his National Action Network’s Harlem headquarters just minutes after hosting Cuomo there, said: “I would have wanted to see Tish James run.”

With James out and Adams cutting his deal with Trump, Cuomo was emboldened. Some Democrats, including Hochul and most crucially James, cast about for an alternative and landed on City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, also a Black woman. However, Adams got in late, had little name ID and wasn’t able to raise much money. And by then, many New York Democrats knew, and feared, Cuomo well enough to jump on board with him or at least stay out of his way.

“The only people with ‘rizz’ are the anti-establishment socialists who can’t win citywide,” complained Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist and still-deciding New York voter.

It may be the largest city in the country, but the talent is either average, blocked by aging incumbents or simply happy to wait for a future gubernatorial or Senate run and avoid a job that not only may be the country’s second-hardest but also ends rather than launches careers.

Look no further than the last three former mayors — Rudy Giuliani, Michael Bloomberg and Bill de Blasio — and the current incumbent. The former mayors all ran for president and found about as much success as the Jets have in reaching the playoffs. And Adams called himself “the future” and “the face” of the Democratic Party upon winning in 2021, only to face federal charges three years later.

Three candidates and a funeral

The city’s current mayor and the leading hopefuls to replace him converged earlier this month at the funeral for longtime Rep. Charlie Rangel, a homegoing that amounted to a state funeral in New York.

The service was held in St. Patrick’s, the city’s grandest cathedral. Cardinal Timothy Dolan, New York’s Archbishop, presided. Dignitaries filled the pews and took to the pulpit to remember the long-serving House member and “Lion of Lenox Avenue,” who “thought the ‘H’ in Heaven stood for Harlem,” as one of his eulogists said.

It was a grand mix of the Black church and the Catholic church, and it was exquisitely timed in the political calendar in a way I think Rangel would have loved.

“What a scene!” he may have said in that gravelly, ‘New Yawk’ voice, eyes twinkling and bow tie knotted smartly.

The mayoral candidates played to type.

“Adams arrived at the front of the church, with most people already seated, at 9:54 for a 9:45 service. He’s only the second Black mayor in the city’s history, but he didn’t speak and was scarcely mentioned, fitting for someone who’s become a non-person in the minds of political New York.

Mamdani zipped around the pews before the service, offering a hand to people he recognized, being greeted by some he didn’t and generally playing the role of both outsider and young man in a hurry. He sat behind a massive marble pillar that had a wheelchair stuffed between it and the pew, 11 rows back from the front of the sanctuary.

Cuomo sat in the fourth row and acted as though he were still in high office. He chatted with Nancy Pelosi, an old family friend, before the service and visited with other current and former officials, but notably avoided his former nemesis, de Blasio, who was inches away.

When Mamdani finally mustered the courage to walk to the front rows and greet the VIPs before the service, none stood except for de Blasio.

It was great theater, an allegory for the campaign, but the politicking in such an august setting was also something else: a reminder that there’s always been a thin line separating the hacks and the statesmen of New York.

The Roosevelts didn’t have clean hands when it came to Tammany Hall, and their highbrow heirs also did what it took to win. One of my favorite New York artifacts is the letter an on-the-make professor named Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote to Tammany boss Carmine De Sapio in 1971.

Addressing his note to De Sapio in the “United States Prison Facility” of Allendale, Pennsylvania, Moynihan recalls his 11th Avenue upbringing (“George Washington Plunkitt’s old district”), laments that De Sapio was denied parole and offers regret that he “never got to know you fellows very well” before assuring the boss that he has “a friend on the Harvard faculty.”

It’s redolent of reformers and regulars, the 20th century New York of the “Three Is” — when Democrats would strive to nominate a ticket that could reflect Ireland, Italy and Israel.

But for Cuomo, the past is never dead — it’s not even past.

Cuomo talks to dad

Speaking to closely huddled reporters avoiding a summer drizzle outside of Sharpton’s Harlem headquarters, Cuomo reminded a young journalist that he had worked on his father’s losing mayoral race, a formative campaign in the life of both Cuomos.

He had been asked about the biggest surprise in this contest. “Nothing,” he said with a shrug. “My father ran for mayor before you were born, 1977,” Cuomo recalled, boasting: “I know this city like the back of my hand.”

Cuomo has long lived in the suburbs and, as governor, in Albany, and he’s sensitive about criticisms over his residency. Which may be part of the reason he insists on driving himself around the city in a black Dodge Charger.

Yet I didn’t think about it again until the following day, which happened to be both Father’s Day and what would have been Mario Cuomo’s 93rd birthday. Andrew was at his second Black church of the day, and this one was in Jamaica, Queens, his father’s hometown. Speaking during the service, and at another one in Brooklyn earlier in the morning, Cuomo said matter-of-factly that he still talks to his deceased father, and in fact his father talks back, and at times they argue.

So when I caught up with Cuomo in Queens, I asked what his father would think of his candidacy today.

“Oh, he would think it’s exactly right,” said the younger Cuomo.

Then he was off to the races in ways that made clear he, too, was still consumed by 2024 and was interested in leading his party’s recovery.

“Donald Trump, we lost to Donald Trump, 500,000 fewer Democrats turned out” in New York, he said by way of explaining why his dad would approve of his bid.

The party, Cuomo said, had lost too much of its working-class base. “‘What are you going to do for me?’ It has to be real, it has to be tangible,” he said, articulating what those voters expect and arguing he fits the bill because of his record of results.

A record, he argued, which includes his performance on Covid-19. Cuomo said the idea that his effort on the pandemic is a blemish is “100 percent wrong” and called the coverage of deaths in nursing homes “all created for New York Post readers.”

He was full of swagger, even insisting on going off the record a couple of times as though he was still in Albany telephoning the tabloids to steer their coverage.

The previous night, at a rally in Manhattan, Ocasio-Cortez had said Cuomo was only running for mayor to run for president in 2028.

What say you, I asked. “I’m doing this for this,” he said of the mayor’s race.

He then talked about the importance of focusing on the here and now, but in the process unfurled his resume, recalling his service as HUD secretary and even claiming, without mentioning the election, that he had been “on the short list for vice-president.”

Sounding like a Queens Sun Tzu, Cuomo said: “If you are watching the step ahead, you’ll trip on this step, I believe that.”

It was all a non-answer that pointed at his obvious ambition, quest for redemption and, perhaps, the chance to succeed at what his father never dared to try.

“You think you’re going to get a different answer?” when I tried once more. “You think this is my first rodeo?”

I was reminded that it’s very much not a bit later, after Cuomo was reunited with all three of his daughters that Father’s Day Sunday. They stood behind him outside the church in Queens, and their dad’s mood brightened with their presence as he addressed a handful of reporters and photographers.

Were they happy he was back in the political fray, I asked?

Each of them took their turn speaking with pride about their father, and Cuomo beamed. He also recognized something else: This was a moment that should be captured. He gestured to an aide, but the staffer didn’t initially get the message. So the aide walked over to the former governor as the girls spoke. The staffer leaned in and Cuomo whispered: “Film it.”

Forty-eight years later, he still thought like the operative he had been on his dad’s mayoral campaign.

A city on the brink

I should talk a bit about the state of the city. This is one of those moments when perception is at odds with the statistics.

As with so many American cities, New York has entered what I call the post-post-Covid moment. While it didn’t suffer the spike in carjackings as other parts of the country did — the city’s geographic and population density is a natural prophylactic — New York had its troubles during and immediately after the pandemic. There were abhorrent crimes on the subway and there are still nuisance matters, such as the toothpaste and shampoo being behind a locked window at the drugstore.

Still, Adams is going to preside over a historic plunge in violent crime. The first five months of this year brought the lowest number of shootings and homicides in recorded New York City history.

There’s a noticeably increased police presence, particularly on the subways, where Hochul has state authority and intervened.

Coming out of the Washington Square station one afternoon this month, I counted six uniformed city cops underground.

Much of Manhattan feels like a summer playground, downtown for those under 40 (or under 40 at heart) and the Upper East and West sides for those middle-aged (or still so at heart).

“As for people who are like, ‘the city is crumbling,’ try getting into a restaurant,” de Blasio told me over a pesto bagel near his Brooklyn home.

And yet the most recent Marist survey of the city’s voters found that 77 percent believed New York is headed in the wrong direction.

Part of that can be attributed to embarrassment over Adams’ saga in addition to lingering quality-of-life concerns, less fear of being shot and more unease with the mentally ill homeless person muttering to you.

Recalling what police commissioner Bill Bratton once told him, de Blasio said: “We have to separate crime and order, but the public doesn’t.”

However, the city’s discontents also center on something else, which has been the heartbeat of Mamdani’s campaign — affordability.

Enter Mamdani

For all his nifty videos and quick-on-the-draw wit, Mamdani wouldn’t be giving Cuomo such a race had the assemblymember not harnessed such a galvanizing issue. His calls for a rent freeze and broader lament about the costs of living in New York are what vaulted him into contention and have made him a progressive phenomenon, particularly with young voters.

“Mamdani understood that he was never going to own the crime issue. He was for defund, but he could own affordability, and that’s where he planted his flag early,” said Howard Wolfson, a longtime Bloomberg adviser and shrewd student of the city’s politics. “And as crime has come down, the issue of affordability has risen and it turns out it was the smart play.”

Odd as it may sound, affordability was a luxury issue that became more resonant once people feared less for their personal safety.

In the weeks leading up to the mayoral primary, one could be forgiven for thinking that Mamdani was the only candidate in the race, at least away from a TV set where Cuomo and his allies are carpet-bombing their young rival.

To walk around the city is to see mostly Mamdani signs, pamphlets and canvassers. Strolling from Sharpton’s 145th St. office 35 blocks down to Central Park North, I ran into three sets of Mamdani volunteers, all of them clearly under 50.

Along the way, I popped into the Frederick E. Samuel Community Democratic Club, one of Harlem’s old Black clubhouses, and the conversation quickly turned to Mamdani’s appeal with young voters.

Maurice Cummings, who’s an aide to a Democratic assemblymember, recalled a recent gathering Mamdani had in Harlem.

“The thing that I find interesting is that he’s crossing racial lines, the place was filled with Black, white, Indian, Puerto Rican,” said Cummings, who’s 52. “I would probably have been one of the oldest folks there.”

I caught a glimpse of this dynamic on the corner of 155th and Broadway in Washington Heights, where Mamdani held a press conference on Father’s Day afternoon. While he addressed the cameras, a small group of New Yorkers reflecting his base gathered to greet him and offer their support.

There was the post-collegiate white guy, still wearing his backpack with a Notre Dame logo, a trans person thanking him for supporting trans rights, a fellow graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and a young Jewish voter lamenting the line of questioning Mamdani, who’s Muslim, had received on Jewish-related issues.

What there wasn’t was any older Black people (except for the one who drove by, leaned out the window and told Mamdani to take his campaign “to the projects”).

It was a similar demographic the previous night, when Mamdani held a packed rally at an event space in one of Manhattan’s old piers. One of the loudest cheers of the night was when a city councilor called to “Free Palestine,” electrifying an audience more bougie than Bronx. The only Black people there over 40 I could find were working security.

Walking with Mamdani down Broadway after his press conference the next day, I asked how he could avoid the fate of other progressive candidates in Democratic primaries who couldn’t expand their coalition beyond young and non-Black voters.

He said he was heartened by how far he had come — he had been in two Black churches himself that morning — but it was easy to pick up traces of wishing he had more time.

“One of the greatest challenges has been having to introduce myself, because when we started this race, one percent of New Yorkers knew who I was,” Mamdani told me, adding that he believes his affordability message “resonates” but “the question is whether we can  it with as many people as possible.”

As with Cuomo, though for far less time, Mamdani worked in politics a bit before taking the plunge himself as a candidate. So for all his progressive proposals, there’s also a hunger to win and an inevitable tension between principle and politics.

Some of Mamdani’s own advisers are eager for him to assure more moderate New Yorkers that he won’t revert to his defund-the-police calls from the Black Lives Matter era. The easiest way to do that would be to signal he’d retain Jessica Tisch, the popular police commissioner, heiress and good news story of the otherwise cringey Adams administration.

“I would consider doing so,” he said, praising Tisch’s efforts to root out corruption. Mamdani wouldn’t go any further, though, saying “these conversations are ones that I will engage in after the primary.”

Of course, that may be too late.

He had said at his rally the night before that “the days of moral victories are over,” but Mamdani is self-aware enough to know how far he’s come in his first citywide race — and that this won’t be his last campaign.

“As a Muslim democratic socialist, I am no stranger to bad PR,” he joked.

And after I asked him about the three rings he wears and wondered where he was hiding his Bowdoin class ring, he shot back: “That’s for the re-elect.”

 

Jonathan Martin is POLITICO’s senior political columnist and politics bureau chief. He’s covered elections in every corner of America and co-authored a best-selling book about Donald Trump and Joe Biden. His reported column chronicles the inside conversations and major trends shaping U.S. politics.

 

 

Times

A31X53 FROM TIMES of ISRAEL

Gnawing at the problem

Jewish New York City mayor candidate vows to tackle rats

City comptroller Brad Lander takes aim at rat-hating mayor Eric Adams with new anti-rodent campaign plank

By Luke Tress    14 April 2025, 6:45 pm

 

NEW YORK — Jewish New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a candidate for city mayor, has sparred with his rivals about antisemitism, public safety and city transportation.

But last week, he took a break from his Passover preparations to open a new front in the race: rats.

“New York City’s trash collection policy has turned our city into an all-night rat buffet,” Lander said in a campaign video set to ominous music. “I’m in this rat race for mayor because it doesn’t have to be that way.”

 “Cleaner streets, fewer rats, happier New Yorkers,” Lander vowed.

Lander took specific aim at New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who holds a famous hatred of the rodents. Adams has repeatedly voiced his loathing for rats, pledged to kill them, hosted a “National Urban Rat Summit,” appointed the city’s first “Rat Czar,” and declared, “Rats don’t run our city.”

“The rats may be listening and we want to surprise them,” Adams warned in a 2022 speech on “rat mitigation.”

“I hate rats and we want to get rid of rats. That is what we need to do. We’re going to kill rats,” he said.

There are up to 3 million rats in New York City, according to a 2023 estimate by a pest control company that reported a steep population increase in recent years.

Lander challenged the rat-hating mayor with his “comprehensive plan to combat rats once and for all.”

“Unlike Eric Adams’ ‘Rat Czar’ gimmicks and trash bin chaos, Brad’s plan is smart, scalable and actually works,” Lander’s campaign said.

Lander’s 4-page “Trash the Rats” plan calls for improved containerization, data-driven rat tracking, cameras to catch illegal dumping, and a “Rat out the Rat” campaign encouraging New Yorkers to report rodent sightings.

“We can make New York #1 in keeping rats out,” Lander’s campaign said.

Lander is a progressive with long ties to leftist New York City Jewish groups. As comptroller, he is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the city government.

The comptroller is the city’s chief financial officer and provides fiscal oversight to the mayor’s office. Lander has had a contentious relationship with Adams; the mayor once mocked Lander as “the loudest person in the city.”

Lander is running in a crowded field for the Democratic party primary, in June. Adams is running as an independent.

Lander appeared to be the first candidate in the race to roll out a rat policy.

Not all of New York’s Jews are on board with the city’s anti-rat measures, though.

Brooklyn Jewish lawmakers have opposed a Department of Sanitation rat-mitigation rule that required constituents to put garbage on the curb on Friday nights or risk fines. Legislators said the measure conflicted with prohibitions against carrying or lifting on Shabbat.

Late Nighter

A32X54 FROM LATE NIGHTER

NYC Mayoral Hopefuls Mamdani and Lander to Guest on Colbert’s Late Show Election Eve

By Jed Rosenzweig   June 20, 2025 3:38 PM

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani are running for the same job. They’re also campaigning together. And on Monday night—just one day before the Democratic primary—they’ll make a joint appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, turning their progressive tag team into a late-night double act.

 

The timing is no accident. With former governor Andrew Cuomo polling ahead in his bid to become New York City’s next mayor, Lander and Mamdani have spent the last stretch of the race boosting each other rather than battling it out. 

The two candidates  a politically progressive ideology, but the city’s ranked voting system makes their team up mutually beneficial, as well. Since voters can rank multiple candidates in order of preference, Lander and Mamdani aren’t cannibalizing each other’s support—they’re amplifying it. If one gets eliminated, their supporters’ next-choice votes can go to the other, keeping at least one progressive contender in the mix as the field narrows.

Marist poll released Wednesday puts Cuomo in a commanding lead with 43 percent of first-choice votes, followed by Mamdani with 31 percent, and Lander at 8 percent. 

Whether the move helps either of them close the gap is still up to the voters. But in a field crowded with candidates and short on oxygen, Lander and Mamdani appearing on Colbert together on Election Eve is sure to make news. 

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Colbert has extended an invitation to Cuomo leading up to the primary. LateNighter has reached out to CBS and we’ll update this article when/if we hear back. As Governor, Cuomo made two appearances on Colbert’s Late Show, both in 2020.

 

Usa today

A32X55 FROM USA TODAY  use A

Some Democrats are finally standing up to Trump – even if it gets them arrested | Opinion

Not all Democrats are afraid to push back against Donald Trump's immigration policy. Some are willing to be detained.

Sara Pequeño

USA TODAY

AI-assisted summary

·         NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by ICE while protesting their actions.

·         Lander joins a growing number of Democrats facing legal trouble for opposing Trump's immigration policies.

·         Lander's arrest has brought him more attention in the mayoral race, where he trails Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.

In safely blue areas of the country, constituents are asking themselves who has the audacity to stand up to President Donald Trump’s extreme immigration agenda. Earlier this week, New York City constituents got their answer.

On June 17, New York City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while escorting a man out of immigration court in Manhattan. Lander, who repeatedly asked to see a judicial warrant for the man ICE was attempting to detain, was held in custody for four hours. The federal government is still trying to decide whether it will charge him with a crime.

“We’re not just showing up for just a few families, or for the strength of our democracy,” Lander told the supporters waiting for him outside the federal courthouse. “We are showing up for the future of New York City.”

While it’s unclear that Lander’s arrest will make any difference in his chances to be New York City’s next mayor, one thing is now certain: He is the kind of person the city and Democrats need in the Trump era.

Democrats should be fighting Trump's systematic hate

Lander is now a member of an exclusive group of Democratic politicians who have gotten into legal trouble for combating the Trump administration’s extreme deportation agenda. These politicians are not doing anything wrong – they are simply trying to stand up for the immigrants who make this country great.

Trump lied about the LA protests so you wouldn't see what he's really doing

The first to face legal repercussions was Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested in April and later indicted for allegedly assisting an undocumented immigrant in escaping arrest.

Then in May, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested at an ICE detention center when three members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation arrived for an unannounced inspection. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-New Jersey, who was also arrested that day, was indicted on June 10 for allegedly interfering with immigration officers.

Less than a week before Lander’s arrest, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, was handcuffed and thrown out of a Department of Homeland Security news conference.

This defiance is encouraging to see. People who have the privilege of a public platform are putting their careers on the line to stand up for those who are being terrorized by the federal government.

These actions, so long as they are peaceful, are how Democrats should be reacting to the Trump administration.

We need a mayoral candidate who suits New York

Until this moment, Lander had flown under the radar for the duration of the city’s mayoral race. Despite his position as the city’s top financial officer and an endorsement from a panel of experts with The New York Times, Lander has been polling behind front-runner Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, and Zohran Mamdani, a member of the New York State Assembly.

Who is Zohran Mamdani? A Democratic socialist is running for NYC mayor. I hope he can rally voters. | Opinion

It’s not that Lander is a bad candidate – he’s experienced and policy-driven, and he has a progressive view of what the city can be. He and Mamdani have cross-endorsed each other in the hopes of besting Cuomo in the ranked-choice voting system.

Lander just doesn’t have Cuomo’s name recognition or Mamdani’s charisma.

By getting arrested, Lander has shown New Yorkers that someone is willing to stand up for their values of protecting immigrants.

We don’t have to elect Cuomo, who had to resign in disgrace in 2021 after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment.

Nor do we have to elect incumbent Eric Adams, who has welcomed ICE into our city against the wishes of the voters.

Lander is showing us that we could have someone who is willing to fight the Trump administration while leading the nation’s most populous city. And he's one of several showing Democrats the way forward.

City and state

A33X56 FROM CITY AND STATE

Brad Lander’s moment

For the first time, for one full day, the wonkish comptroller absolutely dominated mayoral race discourse.

Struggling to break through as a front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, Comptroller Brad Lander on Tuesday finally captured the attention of his competitors and the hotly contested attention of Democratic voters in the city.

The thing that did it? Being detained by ICE agents in immigration court.

Lander wasn’t the first New York City mayoral candidate to get arrested in a highly publicized way. Bill de Blasio was arrested in July 2013 advocating to save a Brooklyn hospital. In the summer of 2021, longshot candidate Shaun Donovan was arrested at a Black Lives Matter protest. Eric Adams’ top adviser Frank Carone implied Lander was seeking attention disingenuously, tweeting “Academy award goes to…”

But Lander’s detainment – which lasted several hours but resulted in no charges – was not a political stunt, he said. “I did not come today expecting to get arrested,” Lander told reporters after his release. It was Lander’s third time in recent weeks observing immigration court proceedings and, alongside other advocates, trying to help escort immigrants out of their hearings to avoid being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who have begun positioning themselves in the hallways of immigration court in plainclothes and sometimes face masks to make arrests. In recent months, routine court visits have become terrifying ordeals for many immigrants trying to comply with court dates.

Brad Lander released after hourslong detention by ICE

Here’s who’s running for New York City mayor in 2025

Though Lander was released without injury or criminal trouble, he said he felt like he failed because the man who he was trying to help when he was detained by ICE agents remains in federal custody and doesn’t have the same resources to fight for his release or defend himself.

Lander’s detainment nonetheless had the political effect of upstaging other candidates in the waning days of the Democratic primary, including a large rally held by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Manhattan. It also sent several of his competitors – and many other elected officials – flocking to 26 Federal Plaza throughout the afternoon to denounce his detainment – with the exception of Cuomo.

While several thousand union workers attended Cuomo’s rally at Union Square park – many cheering loudly as the former governor touted his commitment to “building the best New York has ever been” – Lander’s arrest loomed large over proceedings with much of the city’s press corps occupied further downtown. Stories about Lander’s arrest ate up much of the day’s news cycle. 

Speaking to reporters after the rally concluded, Cuomo condemned Lander’s arrest and – signaling that he’s also focused on the general election in November – blamed New York City Mayor Eric Adams for “handing over the keys to Donald Trump.”

After his own smaller campaign stop in Astoria earlier in the morning, Mamdani was one of the first mayoral candidates to appear at 26 Federal Plaza to call for Lander’s release. “This is an example of how we can stand up for immigrant New Yorkers,” Mamdani told reporters of Lander’s work.

There’s roughly a week to go until the June 24 primary and tensions are high. As recent polling shows the crowded Democratic primary increasingly narrowing to a two-man contest between Cuomo and Mamdani, the other candidates are fighting to increase their standing. It’s likely Lander’s arrest will benefit him in the race – Trump and his immigration agenda are highly unpopular in the city – but it’s perhaps too late to have a consequential effect on who wins. 

Lander was eventually released shortly after 4pm on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Gov. Kathy Hochul, who arrived at the federal immigration court to push for his release.

A highly-anticipated Marist poll is also expected to drop Wednesday morning, giving candidates and their supporters greater insight into where the race currently stands. The poll, which comes about a month and a half after their first look at the race was released, is widely seen as the gold-standard for political polling.

 

OTHERS

CBS

A34X61  FROM CBS

Who's on the ballot in the NYC mayoral election? Meet the candidates in the Democratic primary

 

The New York City mayoral race is heating up in the June 2025 primary election. The Democratic candidates faced off in their final debate last week, and early voting wraps up this weekend.

Eleven Democratic candidates are running to replace incumbent New York City Mayor Eric Adams in a crowded primary. Adams is running for reelection as an independent, so he bypasses the primary and will face the winner of the Democratic field, along with Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and fellow independent candidate Jim Walden, in the November general election. 

If former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo loses the Democratic primary, he will still appear on the November ballot as an independent. If state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani loses, he will likely still appear for the Working Families Party. 

Early voting for the primary lasts for nine days ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, June 24. 

Get to know the Democratic candidates and where they stand on the issues with these in-depth interviews from CBS News New York's Political Reporter Marcia Kramer on "The Point."

NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams

New York City mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams appears on "The Point" with Marcia Kramer. CBS News New York

New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams hopes to break the glass ceiling and become the first woman to live in Gracie Mansion -- and the first woman of color

In our April interview, Adams spoke about suing to keep ICE off Rikers Island and the deadline to close the jail complex, her plan to provide guaranteed income for homeless families, threats of federal tariffs and funding cuts, Mayor Eric Adams' (no relation) decision to run as an independent and his relationship with the White House, navigating the city's budget negotiations, how to handle quality of life concerns, and NYPD staffing and overtime strains

Her message to New Yorkers: "I am the leader that will do that work -- the leader that's already been doing that work. And all I have to say, wife, mother, grandmother, give it to the woman, and we're going to get things done, just move me over into that side of City Hall."

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from her campaign. 

Former state Assemblyman Michael Blake

New York City mayoral candidate Michael Blake appears on "The Point" with Marcia Kramer. CBS News New York

Michael Blake worked for former President Barack Obama and represented the Bronx in the New York State Assembly. Now, he wants to be mayor. 

"I'm the only person who has federal, state and local experience," he said in our February interview. "When you think about who has to be a mayor, a mayor is a manager. We're talking about a $100 billion dollar enterprise of a city where we can transform what's possible."

He went on to speak about Mayor Adams' relationship with President Trump, which he called "unacceptable," and how to make the city more affordable under his plan for "guaranteed income" and "local median income," along with affordable housing, universal child care, and bringing back businesses to drive commercial revenue. He also d his thoughts on some cost-saving policies from other candidates, and the impact of Canadian tariffs on local utilities. 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made a big splash when he entered the race in March and has been polling as the frontrunner ever since. 

"I know what needs to be done and I know how to do it. Experience matters. Leading New York City in the midst of a crisis is not the time or the place for on-the-job training," he said in his campaign announcement. 

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has largely stayed out of mayoral politics since leaving office, came forward to endorse Cuomo, pointing to his experience and leadership as governor. 

"In sizing up the field in the race for mayor, there is one candidate whose management experience and government know-how stand above the others: Andrew Cuomo," Bloomberg said in a statement. 

Cuomo announced would run on both the Democratic and independent tickets, so he can be on the ballot in November whether he wins the primary or not. He was a favorite punching bag in the first debate, as the other candidates repeatedly brought up his sexual harassment scandal

Cuomo was forced to resign as governor in 2021 after the state attorney general's office found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and created a hostile work environment. He denied the allegations but ultimately stepped down in the face of an impeachment investigation.  “Handy Andy!”  what would dad say about his landlord $

His administration was also accused of lying about the number of nursing home residents who died during the COVID pandemic, and he is currently under investigation by the Department of Justice.

Cuomo did not appear for an interview on "The Point." CLICK HERE for more from his campaign.

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander thinks it's time for new leadership at City Hall. 

A panel of New York Times opinion experts has ranked him the best overall choice for the job. Lander and Mamdani also cross-endorsed one another in the race, in part to unite against Cuomo. 

Lander was later arrested by ICE agents while observing immigration court in Lower Manhattan, where many of his fellow candidates were quick to come to his defense

In our February interview, he addressed Mr. Trump's threats to kill congestion pricing, Mayor Adams' since-dropped corruption case, Cuomo's decision to join the race, and his plan for ethics reform at City Hall. 

Lander went on to speak about the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration and the economic impact, how to address homelessness and mental illness with supportive housing, a plan to use the city pension fund to help municipal employees buy homes, and how to increase voter participation and spread his message. 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign.   

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (born in Uganda to scholar Mahmood… of Islamic/Indian) represents part of Queens and recently earned the endorsements of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the race. The democratic socialist has built a campaign based on lowering the cost of living, including a rent freeze on stabilized units.

new Marist poll of Democratic candidates placed him second with 27% behind Cuomo at 38%, and he previously told Kramer he believes a significant get-out-the-vote effort could be consequential. If there's a candidate who appears most likely to potentially defeat Cuomo in the primary, Mamdani may be it. 

In addition to cross-endorsing Lander, the assemblyman has also cross-endorsed Blake

In our March interview, Kramer asked him about Mayor Adams' corruption scandal and turnover in his administration, what he thinks about Cuomo and Speaker Adams joining the race, and how he would fund his plans for free buses and universal free child care. He also spoke about fighting federal funding cuts, his push to get younger voters to the polls, raising the corporate tax rate, bipartisan politics and what brings him hope. 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign.  CLICK HERE for a New York post expose linking him to terrorists)

 

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie took over Eric Adams' state Senate seat in 2019, and now he wants to do it again. 

"I'm a New Yorker through and through," he said in our January interview. 

Myrie, who represents part of Brooklyn, said he would focus on making the city safer and more affordable, including a lofty plan to build a million apartments and a law enforcement strategy that includes more police officers. He went on to discuss how to address mental illness on the streets and subways, Mayor Adams' progress on public safety and the mayor's relationship with Mr. Trump, saying the city needs fresh leadership with "integrity" and is "serious about the job."

He also spoke about how to address the MTA's budget gap in AlbanyGov. Kathy Hochul's inflation refund checks, threats to the state's sanctuary laws, and the deadline to close Rikers Island.

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign. 

 

State Sen. Jessica Ramos

State Sen. Jessica Ramos also thinks the clock has run out on Mayor Adams' administration. While she is still in the race, she made a stunning announcement to endorse Cuomo, telling her supporters to rank him No. 1 on the ballot due to her low polling numbers and inability to raise money. It was a surprising turnaround for someone who was once one of Cuomo's harshest critics. 

She said she now believes Cuomo is the best person to take on Mr. Trump. 

"We need serious governing. We need delivery over dogma. Knowing how to govern matters, and that's why I'm endorsing Andrew Cuomo for mayor today," Ramos said. "This wasn't an easy decision."

In our January interview, Ramos said her record is what sets her apart, pointing to legislation to raise the minimum wage and expand child care affordability. She answered questions about housing and "City of Yes," her plan for property tax reform, addressing safety and mental illness on the subway. She went on to speak about taxing billionaires, as well as helping small businesses, funding the MTA's capital plan in the state budget, and some more personal questions, like why she doesn't have a drivers license. 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from her campaign.

 

Former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer

Former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer ran for mayor once before, now he thinks the second time is the charm.

In our interview from last December, he said he would lead with "competence," referencing former Mayor Ed Koch's 1997 campaign slogan.

Stringer answered questions about Mr. Trump's mass deportation threats, his plan to align policing and mental health services, building affordable housing and supporting congestion pricing. He said he would be "the streets mayor" and look to expand the bus network and fair fares program. 

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign.

 

Businessman Whitney Tilson

Whitney Tilson spent his childhood in Tanzania and Nicaragua, climbs mountains for sport and participated in the Stanford marshmallow challenge -- making him a mayoral candidate like no other. 

In our January interview, the former hedge fund manager spoke about his "disappointment" in Mayor Adams, taking a hyper localized approach to public safety, growing the city's economy by making it more business friendly (calling the loss of the potential Amazon headquarters in Long Island City, Queens "crazy"), and how to address the cost of living and housing affordability. 

He also d his thoughts on improving schools and called for lifting the cap on charter schools. He went on to speak about spending on asylum seekers, and said he supports deporting serious criminals under the current sanctuary laws.

CLICK HERE to watch the full interview, and CLICK HERE for more from his campaign. 

 

Additional Democratic candidates Dr. Selma Bartholomew and Paperboy Love Prince did not appear on "The Point."

 

A35X62 From staten island live

ARTIST, REPEAT CANDIDATE TO APPEAR ON BALLOT FOR DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL PRIMARY

By Paul Liotta |Published: Jun. 09, 2025, 11:17 a.m.

 

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Brooklyn mayoral forum in April saw an early disruption from a man in clown makeup and clown shoes.

Held at Medgar Evers College, the event was focused on the “Black agenda,” and the disruption was led by Paperboy Prince, a perennial candidate (in a “Joker” as opposed to “Penguin” mask) who will be appearing on this year’s ballot for the Democratic mayoral primary.

 

Paywall

 

 

POLLS

A36 FROM the MANHATTAN INSTITUTE

A39X71 FROM

X71 FROM MANHATTAN INSTITUTE

2025 NYC Mayoral Poll Cuomo Holds His Lead One Week Before Primary Day, as Voters Express Unease with City’s Direction

Between June 11th and June 16th, 2025, the Manhattan Institute conducted a survey of 1,000 likely voters in New York City’s upcoming mayoral election, including an oversample of 644 Democratic primary voters to provide granular insights into primary dynamics. The sample was drawn from a national voter file and weighted to reflect the likely 2025 electorate on age, gender, race, county, education, party registration, and 2024 presidential vote. Responses were collected using a mixed-mode approach: online (400), SMS-to-web (420), live calls to cell phones (153), and landlines (27). The margin of error is ±3.1% for the likely voters sample and ±3.9% for the primary voters sample.

Despite the Big Apple’s progressive image, the mayoral electorate takes a markedly more skeptical view on crime, homelessness, and immigration than national narratives suggest. Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has energized a vocal progressive flank, but their views on policing and public order are far afield from those of most New Yorkers. Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, by contrast, leads the Democratic primary and commands the broadest general election coalition—not because voters are nostalgic, but because they’re uneasy. The picture that emerges is not of a city in revolt, but of one seeking a course correction.

 

Full Results Available: Toplines (General Election Likely Voters), Toplines (Democratic Primary Likely Voters), Crosstabs (General Election Likely Voters), Crosstabs (Democratic Primary Likely Voters)

 

Tuesday’s Democratic Primary

Our ranked-choice simulation (Figure 1) shows Cuomo defeating Mamdani 56% to 44% in the final round. The former governor opens with a 13-point lead in the first round (43% to 30%), with the remaining vote scattered across City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, current Comptroller Brad Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, and others. Cuomo maintains his lead through every round and comes within striking distance of a majority in round 9 before sealing the win in round 10. The race remains fluid, but with one week to go and despite the media narrative of a Mamdani surge, Cuomo remains what he has been from the start: the frontrunner.

Five dynamics shape the race:

Black voters are Cuomo’s firewall. He is the clear first choice among black Democratic primary voters (39%), with Zohran Mamdani a distant second (16%). Cuomo’s path to victory depends on strong black turnout (Figure 2).

Figure 2: More than half of Cuomo’s first-preference votes are from Hispanic and black voters

Mamdani’s base is young, college-educated, and overwhelmingly progressive. Among 18–34-year-old college grads, 67% rank Mamdani first, compared to just 6% for Cuomo (Figure 3).

Figure 3: One in four of Mamdani’s support base comes from 18–34 year olds

Issue priorities map cleanly onto candidate support. Among Cuomo first-choicers, 36% list crime/public safety as a top concern; among Mamdani supporters, just 5% say the same. Meanwhile, 59% of Mamdani voters cite housing costs as a top issue, compared to 20% of Cuomo’s. Voters who prioritize crime overwhelmingly break Cuomo’s way.

Final-round consolidation could be the tipping point. Cuomo only clinches a majority after picking up Stringer and Lander voters in the final rounds, suggesting that endorsements from ideologically adjacent candidates may matter in the last days of the race (Figure 4).

Youth turnout is the major wildcard. Mamdani wins 60% of first-choice votes from 18–34-year-olds citywide, compared to just 10% for Cuomo. If young voters turn out at significantly higher rates than in past primaries, the race could tighten. For example, if 18–34-year-olds make up 24% of the electorate—double their  in 2017 or 2021—the race becomes a statistical tie. If their  rises to 30%, Mamdani would likely edge out a narrow win over Cuomo.

Figure 4: Cuomo is the second-choice favorite for most candidates’ supporters—including a large  of Adrienne Adams voters—while Mamdani relies more heavily on support from progressive rivals like Lander

 

November’s General Election

We tested multiple general election matchups with various candidate configurations. Party labels were omitted due to lingering uncertainty around how each candidate will appear on the November ballot.

 

The results show that Cuomo remains the most electable option for Democrats. In a contest with Curtis Sliwa and current Mayor Eric Adams (who intends to run in November as an independent candidate), Cuomo captures 45% of the vote, compared to 13% for Sliwa and 11% for Adams (Figure 5). But if Mamdani were to replace Cuomo as the Democratic nominee, the numbers would shift dramatically. Mamdani’s vote  drops to 33%, while Adams jumps to 19% and Sliwa to 16%—a significantly reduced margin of support for Democratic nominee (Figure 6).

 

Cuomo wins 45% of the vote in a Cuomo-Silwa-Eric Adams-Walden matchup

 

Mamdani wins 33% of the vote in a Mamdani-Silwa-Eric Adams-Walden matchup

 

The difference is especially stark among black voters. In the Cuomo scenario, 54% of black voters back him, compared to 14% for Adams and 2% for Sliwa. But with Mamdani as the candidate, black voters are nearly evenly split: 30% for Mamdani, 29% for Adams, and 4% for Sliwa.

 

We also tested a five-way race featuring Cuomo, Mamdani, Sliwa, Adams, and Walden (Figure 7). Here, Cuomo leads with 39%, followed by 25% for Mamdani, 12% for Sliwa, and 10% for Adams. Walden receives only 3%. Notably, Cuomo performs better with Mamdani in the race than Mamdani does without Cuomo, suggesting broader crossover appeal.

 

A Cuomo and Mamdani race ends in a Cuomo victory

In a separate scenario where Comptroller Brad Lander is the leading Democratic candidate, he earns just 30%, with Sliwa at 18% and Adams close behind at 17%—once again pointing to a fractured field and a modest ceiling for progressive candidates.

 

Across most tested general election matchups, about 27% of voters remain undecided. But when Cuomo and Mamdani go head-to-head, uncertainty drops to just 11%—a sign that the electorate is polarized and locked in. Notably, 73% of Mamdani voters say they’re unsure how they’d vote in a Cuomo-led general, and 44% of Cuomo voters say the same about a Mamdani-led race—evidence of a base-versus-base primary dynamic that could shift by November.

 

Public sector union endorsements could also move the needle. Public sector union members and members of union households comprise 27% of the electorate, with 53% of union members and members of union households saying that they are somewhat or very likely to vote for the candidate that their union endorses—14% of the overall general election electorate.

 

Favorability

Among all voters, Speaker Adams and Comptroller Lander hold the highest net favorability (Figure 8), with 44% viewing them favorably and 28% unfavorably (net +15 with rounding). Cuomo, by contrast, is the most well-known: 50% view him favorably, and 47% unfavorably (net +3). Mamdani sits at 42% favorable, 36% unfavorable (net +5 with rounding).

 

The starkest divide emerges among independents. Cuomo posts a narrow +5 margin with this group (48% favorable, 43% unfavorable), while Mamdani falls deeply underwater—just 24% favorable to 47% unfavorable (net –23).

 

Figure 8: Adrienne Adams and Brad Lander top the favorability stakes, Elon Musk at the bottom

 

Click for larger view

As for other political figures, Governor Kathy Hochul is only narrowly favored by city voters—47% favorable to 46% unfavorable—with particularly weak numbers among independents (35% favorable, 55% unfavorable). Even among Democrats, her standing is relatively weak: 54% favorable, 42% unfavorable.

 

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk post nearly identical numbers in the city: Trump is viewed favorably by 26% and unfavorably by 71%; Musk by 24% and 70%, respectively. Trump’s strongest support comes from men (33%), voters aged 35–64 (29%), Queens residents (30%), and Staten Islanders (45%).

 

City Direction and Mayoral Approval

New Yorkers remain pessimistic about the city’s direction. Some 62% say the city is on the wrong track, with only 20% believing it’s headed in the right direction. That mood is broadly d across party lines: 68% of Republicans, 62% of independents, and 61% of Democrats agree the city is on the wrong track.

 

Accordingly, Mayor Adams’s approval rating sits at just 27%, with 7% strongly approving and 20% somewhat approving. A full 70% disapprove—including 48% who say they strongly disapprove. Despite being elected as a Democrat, Adams receives slightly higher marks from Republicans (36%) and independents (34%) than from Democrats themselves (24%). No major group in the city views his tenure positively.

 

Top Issue

The two most important issues to New York City voters are crime and public safety (26%) and housing costs (25%). This is followed by jobs, taxes and the economy (18%). No other issue cracks 10%, with migrants and immigration a top concern for only 7% and public transportation a top priority for 3% (Figure 9).

 

Figure 9: Crime and housing costs top the issue agenda

 

Click for larger view

There is a sharp age gradient on the top issue, with older New Yorkers rating crime most highly, while 18–34-year-olds overwhelmingly pick housing as their top issue (45%). Brooklynites are more likely to be concerned about housing, while people in Queens and Staten Island rate crime as a bigger concern. Independents are more concerned by crime (31%) than they are housing (17%) and rate the economy more highly than housing (21%).

 

Policing

A majority (54%) of New York City voters say they want to see more police officers across New York (Figure 10). Only 17% say they want to see fewer, while 21% say they want to keep the current number as it is.

 

Figure 10: A NYC majority for more policing

 

Click for larger view

A plurality of every demographic in NYC wants to see more police officers, including Republicans (85%), independents (64%) and Democrats (47%). Voters in Staten Island are some of the most likely to want more police officers, with 91% saying so. Black voters also back more police, with 47% saying so and only 19% of black voters wanting to see fewer.

 

Education

In recent years, chronic absenteeism has risen sharply in NYC schools. After putting this to voters, 79% said they were very or somewhat concerned by this, with only 16% saying they were not very concerned or not concerned at all. Concern levels are high across every group, including 86% of Democrats.

 

Migration

Concerns about the city’s migrant influx cut across party and demographic lines. Some 63% of voters say they are either very (37%) or somewhat (26%) concerned about the number of migrants arriving in New York over the past four years. Just 14% say they’re not concerned at all. The concern is broad: 59% of Democrats, 67% of first-generation immigrants, and 66% of second-generation immigrants  it. The one outlier is voters under 35—only 44% of 18–34-year-olds express concern.

 

Mamdani voters stand out sharply from the rest of the electorate. Just 26% are concerned about the migrant surge; 74% say they are not—almost a mirror image of citywide opinion.

 

When it comes to solutions, New Yorkers are split three ways:

 

32% support deporting all or most illegal immigrants;

27% support granting work authorization without a path to citizenship;

32% support a pathway to citizenship.

Even among Democrats, only 37% back a full citizenship pathway. Among first-generation immigrants, support drops to 23% (with 35% favoring deportation and 32% opting for work authorization only).

 

Once again, Mamdani voters diverge: 68% support a pathway to citizenship, and just 2% back deportation.

 

Voters are also divided on how the city is handling the issue overall: 35% say officials have been too soft, 28% say the approach has been about right, and 20% say it’s been too harsh. Just 25% of Democrats think enforcement has gone too far. Among Mamdani voters, however, 49% say the city has been too harsh—yet another reminder that their views are out of step with the broader electorate.

 

Housing

Voters see a dual remedy for affordability: 46% say the city should both streamline approvals for new homes and expand subsidies for renters and buyers. Among those who picked just one approach, 21% favor deregulation, while 15% prefer subsidies.

 

Asked directly, the electorate marginally favors streamlined regulations and making it easier to build new housing (46%) over prioritizing community input when building new housing that may slow the process (44%). These results are shown in Figure 11. There are clear sub-patterns:

 

Men favor streamlining by +11 points; women favor community input by +6;

Younger voters (18–34) lean toward faster approvals (52%);

Manhattanites are the most YIMBY, 50%–41% for streamlining.

New Yorkers are divided on solutions to the housing crisis, but a plurality support streamlining regulations and making it easier to build over prioritizing community input

 

Mandatory Composting

Voters are split on the city’s mandatory composting policy: 45% call it a smart environmental move, while 46% say it’s a waste of time and taxpayer money. But beneath the topline, the policy is clearly polarizing:

 

Independents oppose it by a near 30-point margin (59% waste vs. 31% smart policy);

Republicans oppose it 64%–29%, while Democrats support it 51%–40%;

Support is stronger among college graduates (51%–43%); voters without a college degree lean negative (41%–48%).

In short: composting is a culture-war marker. Democrats and college grads are onboard, but swing voters and working-class New Yorkers are not.

 

Homelessness and Mental Health

Voters support compassionate interventions—up to a point. Some 60% back converting vacant retail spaces in subway stations into 24/7 drop-in centers for homeless individuals experiencing mental health crises; 29% oppose. Support is especially high among 18–34-year-olds (82%) and Democrats (65%), while Republicans are split (44% support, 44% oppose). And when asked to choose between focusing on outreach and psychiatric services or prioritizing system safety, 63% opt for outreach, while 30% favor a safety-first approach. Republicans are the only group split evenly (45% to 44%).

 

But this is not a rejection of enforcement. Voters express a strong desire for both compassion and control, with 76% supporting expanding NYPD authority to remove individuals who are sleeping, using drugs, or behaving dangerously in the subway system (Figure 12). That includes 86% of Republicans, 84% of independents, and 72% of Democrats; indeed only one group registers net opposition: Mamdani primary voters (63% oppose).

 

Strong support for basic enforcement on public transportation

Support for basic enforcement remains broad. Some 59% of voters agree that cracking down on minor offenses—like vandalism, public drug use, and fare evasion—is a practical way to keep neighborhoods safe. Only 33% say this kind of enforcement is overly aggressive. Even a majority of Democrats (53%) agree. Once again, Mamdani voters break sharply from the rest of the electorate: 75% oppose enforcement of minor offenses, with just 18% in support.

 

A37 X72 FROM MARIST

. Santiago/Getty Images News via Getty Images

June 18, 2025

NYC Mayoralty, June 2025

Cuomo Breaks 50% in 7th Round of Ranked Choice Voting

Andrew Cuomo leads the Democratic primary race for New York City Mayor, but the contest has tightened. Cuomo is the first-choice candidate of nearly four in ten likely Democratic primary voters, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a candidate. Zohran Mamdani places second with more than a quarter of the vote. The remaining field receives support in single digits. Last month, Cuomo outpaced Mamdani as voters’ first choice by 19 points, down now to 11. When calculating ranked choice voting round-by-round estimates, Cuomo’s support rounds up to 50% in the sixth round. He crosses the 50% threshold in Round 7 with 55%. However, there are still votes on the table that could be critical in determining the eventual winner of the primary. 11% of likely Democratic primary voters are undecided on their first choice, and another 11% do not choose Cuomo or Mamdani as one of their candidate selections at any point.

Cuomo Crosses Threshold   Round Seven of Ranked Choice Voting

Marist Poll NYC Likely Democratic Primary Voters June 2025

·         In the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor, Cuomo is the first-choice candidate of 38% of likely Democratic primary voters. Mamdani comes in second with 27%, up from 18% last month. Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams follow. Each receives 7% of the vote. Scott Stringer garners 4% while Zellnor Myrie and Michael Blake receive 2% each. Whitney Tilson has 1% of the likely Democratic primary vote while Jessica Ramos, Selma Bartholomew, and Paperboy Love Prince receive less than one percent each. 11% are undecided, a decrease from 17% in May.

·         Cuomo continues to do best in the Bronx where he receives 49%, similar to his support in May. Cuomo also leads in Queens/Staten Island where he receives 44%. Cuomo's support in Manhattan has increased (41% from 32% in May), while Mamdani's backing is little changed in the borough. Mamdani's best borough is Brooklyn where he has 36%, an 11-point increase from last month. Cuomo garners 26% in Kings County, comparable to the 25% he received last month.

·         Mamdani has made inroads among likely Democratic primary voters who are Latino. Mamdani's support has more than doubled among this voting group (41% from 20%), and he now leads the field among Latinos. Cuomo's support among Latino voters has declined (36% from 41% in May).

·         44% of likely Democratic primary voters say they plan to vote in-person on primary day. Cuomo (40%) bests Mamdani (25%) as the first-choice candidate among those who plan to vote on primary day. 43% of likely Democratic primary voters say they plan to vote early at a voting location. The contest tightens among these voters. Cuomo (37%) edges Mamdani (32%) by five points. 11% of likely Democratic primary voters report they will vote by mail or by absentee ballot. Cuomo (40%) has a double-digit lead against Mamdani (22%) among these voters.

·         When calculating ranked choice voting round-by-round estimates, Cuomo receives 43% to 31% for Mamdani in the first round among likely Democratic primary voters (excluding undecided voters). Lander follows with 8%. Adams has 7%, while Stringer receives 4%. Myrie (2%), Blake (2%), and Tilson (1%) each receives support in the low single digits. Less than 1% support Ramos, Bartholomew, or Prince.

·         In the 7th round of voting, Cuomo crosses the 50% threshold and receives 55% of likely Democratic primary voters (excluding undecideds). Mamdani places second with 45%, Of note, Cuomo's support in the sixth round rounds up to 50%, but he does not receive majority support until Round 7. In May, Cuomo received majority support in the fifth round.

·          

 

Many Primary Voters Following Campaign

Are voters following the campaign? Three in four likely Democratic primary voters say they are following the mayoralty campaign closely (43%) or very closely (32%), up from about two-thirds last month. About one in four are not following the contest closely (20%) or are not following it at all (4%).

Take on Trump, Say More than Seven in Ten NYC Dem Voters

72% of likely Democratic primary voters want the Democratic candidate for mayor to oppose President Donald Trump. 26% want the Democrat on the ballot to compromise with the President to find solutions.

Dem Primary Voters Say NYC is Off Course

77% of likely Democratic primary voters think the city is moving in the wrong direction. 21% say it is moving in the right one.

 

·          

New York Times

A38X73  FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

New York City Mayoral Primary 2025: Latest Polls

Updated June 21, 2025

Democratic primary polls

These are the latest polls of the New York City mayoral primary including simulated ranked-choice results for the first and final rounds of voting. Polls from “select pollsters” meet certain criteria for reliability and are shown with a diamond.

All pollsters

Select pollsters

Ranked choice: 1st roundFinal round*

 

 

 

Pollster

Sponsor

Margin

Andrew Cuomo

Zohran Mamdani

Brad Lander

Adrienne Adams

 

 

poll from

Manhattan Institute

conducted June 11 to 16

June 11-16

 

Cuomo +13

43%

30%

6%

7%

 

 

poll from

Center for Strategic Politics

conducted June 13 to 16

June 13-16

Don’t Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor (DREAM)

Cuomo +8

38%

30%

9%

9%

 

 

poll from

Marist College

conducted June 9 to 12

June 9-12

 

Cuomo +12

43%

31%

8%

7%

 

 

poll from

Honan Strategy Group

conducted June 5 to 9

June 5-9

Destination Tomorrow

Cuomo +17

42%

25%

14%

11%

 

 

poll from

Expedition Strategies

conducted June 3 to 7

June 3-7

Fix the City

,Democratic sponsor

Cuomo +12

42%

30%

7%

6%

 

 

poll from

Public Policy Polling

conducted June 6 to 7

June 6-7

Justin Brannan

,Democratic sponsor

Mamdani +5

30%

35%

9%

4%

 

 

poll from

Data for Progress

conducted May 30 to June 4

May 30 - June 4

New Yorkers for Lower Costs

,Democratic sponsor

Cuomo +7

40%

33%

8%

6%

 

 

poll from

Emerson College

conducted May 23 to 26

May 23-26

Nexstar

Cuomo +12

35%

23%

11%

8%

 

 

poll from

Workbench Strategies

conducted May 14 to 18

May 14-18

Zohran Mamdani

,Democratic sponsor

Cuomo +13

40%

27%

8%

7%

 

 

poll from

Honan Strategy Group

conducted May 15 to 18

May 15-18

Jewish Voters Action Network

Cuomo +21

47%

26%

12%

8%

 

 

poll from

SurveyUSA

conducted May 14 to 17

May 14-17

 

Cuomo +32

43%

11%

8%

6%

 

 

poll from

Marist College

conducted May 1 to 8

May 1-8

 

Cuomo +22

44%

22%

10%

11%

 

 

poll from

Honan Strategy Group

conducted April 16 to 17

April 16-17

 

Cuomo +28

53%

25%

9%

4%

 

 

poll from

Siena College

conducted April 7 to 10

April 7-10

AARP

Cuomo +18

34%

16%

6%

6%

 

 

poll from

Data for Progress

conducted March 17 to 24

March 17-24

 

Cuomo +30

47%

17%

10%

6%

‹ Previous

1 to 15 of 29 polls

Next ›

*The pollster’s simulation of ranked choice results are shown when available.

Ruth IgielnikStaff editor, polling

Polls of the New York City Democratic primary for mayor show Andrew Cuomo with a lead over his opponents in the hypothetical first round of voting. But few polls have him immediately clearing the 50 percent threshold needed to win without the race going to ranked choice voting. Zohran Mamdani has been gaining, particularly when taking voters’ second preferences into account, but in surveys that simulate the ranked choice balloting process, Cuomo clears the 50 percent threshold in the final rounds of voting.

About the data

Source: Polls collected by The New York Times.

Pollsters that meet at least two of the three criteria below are considered “select pollsters” by The Times, as long as they are conducting polls for nonpartisan sponsors.  Has a track record of accuracy in recent elections  Is a member of a professional polling organization  Conducts probability-based sampling

Polls that were conducted by or for partisan organizations are labeled, as they often release results that are favorable only to their causes. Margins are calculated using unrounded vote s when available.

Credits

By Irineo Cabreros, Annie Daniel, Jon Huang, Ruth Igielnik, Jasmine C. Lee, Alex Lemonides, Ilana Marcus, Dan Simmons-Ritchie, Jonah Smith, Albert Sun and Rumsey Taylor. Additional work by Andrew Chavez and Isaac White.

See more on: Andrew CuomoScott StringerBrad LanderEric Adams

·          full article

·          

·          


More on the N.Y.C. Mayor’s Race


Candidates Interviewed by The Times

·   Zellnor Myrie: The progressive state senator from Brooklyn has received some attention for his proposal to create one million homes and for his sincere, thoughtful demeanor.

·   Scott Stringer: The former New York City comptroller has tried to win over voters by centering his campaign on improving life for families and opposing President Trump.

·   Brad Lander: The city comptroller, who has run as an earnest technocrat with a stack of progressive plans, spoke about being targeted by Mayor Eric Adams, universal prekindergarten and how he seriously considered becoming a rabbi.

·   Zohran Mamdani: The state lawmaker from Queens, who is also a democratic socialist, has emerged as one of the front-runners in the race by focusing on affordability, pledging to make buses free and to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized apartments.

·   Michael Blake: He emerged from the debate as a scene-stealer for his attacks on Cuomo. He spoke about his push to eliminate credit scores on rent and homeownership applications and whether it’s OK to put ketchup on a cinnamon raisin bagel.

·   Whitney Tilson: The former hedge fund executive, who has portrayed himself as an alternative to the left-leaning candidates in the race, touched on his love for cycling and his escalating criticism of Mamdani.

·    Adrienne Adams: The speaker of the New York City Council is running on a message of “no drama, no scandal — just competence and integrity.” She spoke about her experience and her middle-class upbringing in her interview.

·   Andrew Cuomo: In his interview, the former governor and front-runner in the race said he regretted his decision to resign as governor of the state in 2021 while he was facing sexual harassment allegations.


News and Analysis

·   Mamdani Faces New Attacks: After a poll showed that Cuomo maintained a modest but diminished lead over Mumdani, Cuomo criticized the state lawmaker over comments he made on a podcast about the phrase “globalize the intifada.”

·   Lander Arrested: The city comptroller and mayoral candidate was detained at an immigration courthouse as he tried to escort a migrant whom ICE agents sought to arrest. He received widespread support following the incident, but it was unclear how it would affect his third-place campaign.

·   Mayor Eric Adams: The mayor has appeared regularly on Fox News and with other conservative outlets. He participated in an interview with Sneako, a conservative online content creator who has faced bans from YouTube and Twitch for spreading misinformation and comments deemed as antisemitic.

·   Cross-Endorsements: Mamdani and Lander, the two leading progressive candidates in the race, have cross-endorsed each other. Mamdani also announced a second cross-endorsement for Blake.

·   Cuomo Endorsements: Housing for All, a super PAC representing landlords’ interests, announced plans to spend $2.5 million on campaign ads to promote CuomoJessica Ramos, the state senator from Queens, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who donated $5 million to a pro-Cuomo super PAC, and former Gov. David Paterson have also endorsed him.

·   Mamdani Endorsements: Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont backed Mamdani, joining Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in endorsing the front-runner of progressives.

·   The Sprint for City Hall: Here’s our limited-run series on the critical Democratic primary race for mayor.

Related Content

More in NYT Polls

 

A39 FROM CBS

Mamdani, Lander using buddy system against Cuomo

By cross-endorsing each other, Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander are attempting to use ranked choice voting as a tool against Andrew Cuomo. On Tuesday, Mamdani and Lander campaigned together and asked voters to leave Cuomo off the ballot.

"Goal number one, add our votes together to block Andrew Cuomo," Lander said.

Lander also started using robocalls by Attorney General Letitia James and Jewish activist Ruth Messinger to urge voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots.

"So when you vote today, please rank five candidates for mayor. But do not make Andrew Cuomo one of them," one call says.

On the other side, many voters reportedly ranked Cuomo first and left the rest of their ballots blank.  

By Marcia Kramer

 

Cross-endorsements could be pivotal

In a strategy to use ranked choice voting to their advantage, Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other by urging their biggest supporters to rank the other second. 

Mamdani and Lander believe it can prevent Cuomo from winning and would have blocked Mayor Adams from winning the primary four years ago. Cuomo has consistently led in polling since entering the mayor's race. 

"Andrew Cuomo's campaign is a house of cards. The two strongest progressive campaigns can topple him, and that's exactly what we're going to do," Mamdani said. 

"I'm proud to cross-endorse Zohran, because of his strong commitment to a more affordable New York, and to stop the corrupt, morally bankrupt, unacceptable Andrew Cuomo from becoming mayor of a city he doesn't even like," Lander said. 

Mamdani and Blake also have a cross-endorsement.

By Mark Prussin

 

 

 

A40X76 FROM

Truthout

X76 FROM TRUTHOUT

Poll Finds Mamdani Winning NYC Mayoral Primary by 4 Points Over Cuomo

A poll released the day before the primary election shows Mamdani ahead in the final round of voting, 52 to 48.

By  Sharon Zhang , Truthout   Published  June 23, 2025

The final independent poll released before Tuesday’s primary election in New York City has shown democratic socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani triumphing over disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by nearly four points in the last round of ranked-choice voting.

According to an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll released Monday, Mamdani receives 51.8 percent of the vote in the eighth round of a simulated ranked choice ballot, to Cuomo’s 48.2 percent. This is a 3.6-point margin, which is just within the margin of error of 3 percent for this round of the poll.

The simulation shows that Mamdani’s support rises substantially with subsequent rounds of voting, as he splits much of the vote with city Comptroller Brad Lander and other candidates in earlier rounds. In the first round, Mamdani trails behind Cuomo, with 34 percent of the vote to Cuomo’s 36 percent.

Bottom of Form

However, as other candidates fall off, Mamdani gets more of their split than Cuomo. In the second-to-last round, for instance, Mamdani gets only 39 percent of the vote, while Cuomo gets 41 percent and Lander gets 20 percent. But more of Lander’s  breaks off for Mamdani in the last round, granting the progressive a win.

The poll was released the day before the primary election on Tuesday, June 24. A Mamdani victory could have reverberating effects across the country and potentially the world; even if he loses the primary race, Mamdani’s landmark, upstart grassroots campaign has already had impacts on the way the left thinks about the possibilities of campaigning.

 

Also (from various):

A new poll with a margin of error of 3 points has Zohran Mamdani trailing the former governor by just 2 percent.

By Sharon Zhang , June 10, 2025

As many commentators have noted, the race between the two leading candidates is serving as a referendum on the moneyed, old school style of the Democratic Party versus the progressive wing that rejects many of the party’s entrenched standards pushing it further to the right.

For instance, Cuomo’s campaign is backed by numerous billionaires, including conservatives, with his PACs and super PACs spending over $24 million on the race so far on top of the roughly $8 million that candidates are allowed to spend directly on their races. Outside spending for Cuomo has represented nearly half of all outside spending across all New York City primary races this year, City & State New York reports, with Cuomo PAC Fix the City representing the largest PAC in the history of New York City.

Cuomo has the backing of powerful corporations like DoorDash, one of the top donors to Fix the City. The super PAC landed itself in hot water earlier this month when a reporter posted a mailer by the group that edited a picture of Mamdani to make his beard look darker and larger.

“This is blatant Islamophobia — the kind of racism that explains why MAGA billionaires support his campaign,” Mamdani said at the time.

Other wealthy and powerful people have lined up behind Cuomo, who resigned from his position as governor in 2021 after nearly a dozen women accused him of sexual harassment. Former President Bill Clinton, who has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by numerous women, endorsed Cuomo on Sunday.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, Mamdani was sharing clips of a walk he took from the top to the bottom of Manhattan on Friday. The progressive has repeatedly criticized Cuomo for not even living in the city and only recently changing his residency to his daughter’s apartment from his previous home address in Westchester County, north of the city.

“On Friday night, we walked the length of Manhattan, from Inwood Hill to Battery Park,” Mamdani said on social media on Monday. “New Yorkers deserve a Mayor they can see, hear, even yell at. The city is in the streets.”

 

A41X74  from THE HILL

Cuomo, Mamdani neck and neck in final NYC mayoral poll

by Brandon Conradis - 06/23/25 6:00 AM ET

 

New York Assembly member Zohran Mamdani has effectively drawn even with former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor and surpasses him in the final round of a ranked-choice simulation, according to a new poll released Monday.

In a final survey of the race from Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill, Cuomo led Mamdani 35 percent to 32 percent overall, within the poll’s margin of error. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander came in at 13 percent, followed by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at 8 percent and former Comptroller Scott Stringer at 3 percent. Four percent of voters were undecided.

But the survey also allowed respondents to rank their top choices, as the primary uses ranked choice voting. In the first round, Cuomo led Mamdani 36 percent to 34 percent. In the eighth round of voting, once all the other candidates were eliminated, Mamdani came out on top, beating Cuomo 52 percent to 48 percent.

The ranked choice system for New York City’s mayoral primary allows voters to select their top five candidates in order of preference. If no candidate surpasses 50 percent in the first round of voting, the candidate in last place is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to the other candidates according to how they ranked their other choices.

The latest findings point to continued momentum for Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has emerged as the leading progressive choice in the Democratic race to succeed embattled Mayor Eric Adams (D), who is running as an independent. In the previous Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, taken in May, Cuomo led Mamdani 35 percent to 23 percent.

“Over five months, Mamdani’s support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began,” said Spencer Kimball, Emerson College Polling’s executive director. “In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo’s 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll.”

The survey is the latest to suggest a close race as voters head to the polls Tuesday. A Marist poll released last week found Cuomo leading Mamdani in the seventh round of voting, 55 percent to 45 percent.

Cuomo has been the clear favorite as Democrats look to oust Adams, who was the subject of a federal corruption case that was eventually dropped by the Justice Department, drawing accusations that the mayor had sought to curry favor with President Trump.

A win by Cuomo this week would represent a stunning resurgence for the former governor, who resigned from his job as the Empire State’s top executive in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations and a brewing scandal involving accusations that his administration concealed nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuomo has earned the backing of notable figures in the Democratic Party, most recently Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the influential Black Congressional Caucus member. And while Mamdani has emerged as the clear progressive favorite, scoring the endorsements of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), he has also drawn criticism from the establishment. Last week, The New York Times editorial board urged voters not to support Mamdani, despite its previous pledge not to endorse in local elections.

The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey was conducted June 18-20 with a sample size of 833 likely voters and a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. The first round of ranked choice voting was conducted with a sample size of 800 likely voters and a margin of error of 3.4 percent. The final round was conducted with 729 voters and had a margin of error of 3.6 percent.

 

NY Post

A42X75 FROM THE NEW YORK POST

Shocking poll shows Zohran Mamdani overtaking Andrew Cuomo in NYC’s ranked choice primary

By Carl Campanile  Updated June 23, 2025, 10:28 a.m. ET

Lefty upstart Zohran Mamdani has leapfrogged over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city’s ranked choice Democratic primary for mayor, according to a stunning new poll released Monday.

In its hypothetical initial round of voting, Cuomo’s lead shrinks to 3 percentage points, with 35% of likely Democratic voters supporting him compared to 32% for Mamdani and 13% for city Comptroller Brad Lander, the Emerson College Polling/Pix 11/The Hill survey found.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams follows with 8%, Scott Stringer 3% and 5% split between candidates Zellnor Myrie, Whitney Tilson, Jessica Ramos and Michael Blake, with another 4% undecided.

But since no one garners the more than 50% of the vote needed to win outright, the ranked choice system kicks in. That means that even if a voter’s first choice is eliminated in successive rounds of calculations, their other picks could still be in the mix and emerge as the eventual overall winner.

Mamdani finally surpasses Cuomo in the eighth round of the simulated ranked choice voting — 51.8% to 48.2% — in the latest poll conducted June 18-20.

Jewish leaders urge Stephen Colbert to grill Zohran Mamdani over refusal to condemn ‘Globalize the Intifada’

Young New Yorkers flock to polls for early voting — a potential good sign for Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral bid

Zohran Mamdani wants to spend $65M on trans medical treatment — including for minors — if elected NYC mayor

“Over five months, Mamdani’s support has surged from 1% to 32%, while Cuomo finishes near where he began,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling.

Mamdani finally surpasses Cuomo in the eight round of the simulated ranked choice voting — 51.8% to 48.2% — in the latest poll conducted.Paul Martinka

“In the ranked-choice simulation, Mamdani gains 18 points compared to Cuomo’s 12, putting him ahead in the final round for the first time in an Emerson poll.”

Cuomo had led Mamdani by 12 points in the initial ballot in the Emerson poll last month and still finished up 8 points ahead of Mamdani in the 10th round of ranked choice voting at the time — 54% to 46%.

Mamdani has Lander’s voters to thank for his surge in the new poll.

Cuomo has a 1 percentage-point lead — 40.5% to 39.4% in the seventh round — when Lander is eliminated with 20% of the vote.

Most of Lander’s voters then switch to Mamdani instead of Cuomo in round eight — putting the Democratic socialist Queens assemblyman up by 3.6 percentage points.

Lander cross-endorsed Mamdani as his preferred candidate if he himself does not prevail. The left-wing Working Families Party also urged voters not to rank Cuomo.

Other polls, including a Marist College Institute for Public Opinion survey released last week, show Cuomo winning but Mamdani closing ground.

Cuomo has a 1 percentage-point lead — 40.5% to 39.4% in the seventh round — when Lander is eliminated with 20% of the vote.Paul Martinka

The Emerson College poll asked voters if they have already cast their ballots during early voting or are waiting to vote on primary day, Tuesday.

Voters who have already cast their ballots during the early voting period have broken for Mamdani,
who holds a 10-point lead over Cuomo, 41% to 31%.

·         Early voters in NYC’s Democratic primary question why Zohran Mamdani listed first on mayoral ballot

·         What is NYC’s ranked-choice voting system and how does it work?

·         Bernie Sanders makes unprecedented endorsement in NYC mayoral primary

·         Who are the candidates running for NYC mayor against Eric Adams?

 

Cuomo leads Mamdani 36% to 31% among voters who plan to vote Tuesday.

There are big differences between the men by age and race.

Voters under 50 back Mamdani by a 2-to-1 margin, while Cuomo leads among Dems ages 50 to 59 by 63% to 37% and those over age 60 by 56% to 44%.

Black voters favor Cuomo 62% to 38% over Mamdani.

Hispanic voters also support Cuomo 60% to 40%.

But Mamdani leads among white voters 61% to 39% and among Asian voters 79% to 21%. The Uganda-born Mamdani is Indian-American or of South Asian descent.

Cuomo leads Mamdani among voters without a four-year college degree 61% to 39%, while
Mamdani leads Cuomo among college-educated voters 62% to 38%.

Men support Mamdani 56% to 44%, while women lean toward Cuomo 52% to 48%.

The new ranked choice poll of 729 likely Dem voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points, which means the race is up for grabs.

Emerson College conducted the survey by contacting voters by text on their mobile phones and by landline robocalls along with an online panel of voters.

In the last poll before the 2021 Democratic primary for mayor, the Emerson College poll had Eric Adams leading Kathryn Garcia 52% to 48%. Adams won by less than 1 percentage point.

1.2K

What do you think? Post a comment.

The Cuomo camp dismissed the Emerson College survey as off the mark.

“This is an outlier: Every other credible poll in this election — including two released last week — has shown Governor Cuomo with a double digit lead, which is exactly where this election will end tomorrow,” said Cuomo campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi.

“Between now and then we will continue to fight for every vote like he will fight for every New Yorker as Mayor.”

Meanwhile, the group Fix The City, a pro-Cuomo Super PAC, released its own poll claiming the ex-governor easily wins the ranked choice primary, capturing 52% of the vote in the 7th round to 28% for Mamdani and 20% for Adrienne Adams.

 

NYT

A43X77 FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

Times Insider

A Bustling New York Mayoral Race Reaches a Pivotal Moment

The New York Times’s City Hall bureau chief preps us for the Democratic primary.

By Terence McGinley  June 23, 2025 Updated 4:23 p.m. ET

Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary is a pivotal marker in the race to lead New York City.

One candidate who is polling well, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, 67, would be the oldest elected mayor in the city’s modern history. Another front-runner, Zohran Mamdani, 33, a state lawmaker, would be the youngest in a century. Mr. Cuomo has a long track record laid with a style of governance that rubs many the wrong way. Mr. Mamdani was unknown to most people before his media-savvy campaign.

There are other prominent candidates who are trailing in the polls but who may still affect the outcome as voters use a ranked-choice ballot system for the second time.

In an interview with Times Insider, Emma G. Fitzsimmons, the city hall bureau chief for the Metro desk at The New York Times, explained the contours of the race. This conversation has been edited.

One of your colleagues described the final weeks of the race as “chaotic.” How so?

First, the race is close. Different polls say different things, but Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, has been leading for months. Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist lawmaker from Queens, has been rising in the polls. The current mayor, Eric Adams, decided not to run in the Democratic primary and is running as an independent in the November general election.

The race has gotten pretty nasty in the final weeks. Cuomo is attacking Mamdani; a super PAC that is supporting Cuomo is running millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements calling Mamdani radical, and some people believe those advertisements are Islamophobic because Mamdani is Muslim. Mamdani is hitting Cuomo pretty hard, saying he’s the candidate of the billionaire class and that he’s a disgraced former politician who doesn’t deserve a second chance.

A year ago, for different reasons, it seemed unlikely that Mamdani and Cuomo would be in the positions they are in today. How did they get here?

Cuomo has made a coalition that includes a lot of elected officials and union leaders who had called on him to resign after he was accused of sexual harassment.

He’s made the case that he has experience, that he’s the sensible alternative to Mayor Eric Adams, whose first term has been turbulent, and that he’s the alternative to the left-leaning candidates in the race.

A lot of voters say they have positive memories of Cuomo’s daily news briefing during the coronavirus pandemic. New York City was the epicenter, and those briefings comforted them. And the #MeToo movement does not appear to be as central of an issue for voters as it was in 2021, when Cuomo resigned.

Cuomo has said, I did all of these things as governor: I opened the Second Avenue subway line; I rebuilt LaGuardia Airport; I raised the minimum wage; and I’m going to get things done as mayor. A lot of voters are buying that argument and view him as someone who might stand up to President Trump.

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Mamdani has focused on affordability. He has populist ideas that have taken off. He wants to make buses free; freeze the rent on rent-stabilized apartments; make universal child care a reality; and create subsidized city-owned grocery stores.

This is the second mayoral election using ranked-choice voting. What have you heard from voters and candidates preparing to use this system for a second time?

I was out with one of Mamdani’s canvassing teams while they were door-knocking. Voters still don’t entirely understand the system. The campaigns are educating voters about the process. I think it really comes from the lesson of the 2021 race. Mayor Eric Adams ended up beating the second-place candidate, Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, by less than 8,000 votes. The takeaway from the campaigns was that if she and Maya Wiley, the third-place candidate, had cross-endorsed each other, one of them would have beaten Adams.

Mamdani and Brad Lander, the city comptroller, did the city’s first ever cross-endorsement under this system. They’re trying to combine their voters.

In recent elections, whoever emerged from the Democratic primary was likely to be the city’s next mayor. This year, that is less certain. Why?

In the November general election, we could have five major candidates on the ballot. There is no ranked-choice voting in the general election, so the vote could be split five different ways, and you could win the race with 30 percent of support.

Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent. You’d have the winner of the Democratic primary. Curtis Sliwa is running again as a Republican. Jim Walden, a prominent lawyer who has raised a lot of money, is running as an independent. If Cuomo wins the primary and is on the ballot as a Democrat, there is a chance that the Working Families Party will list Mamdani or another candidate on their ballot line. If Mamdani wins the Democratic primary, Cuomo could run as an independent on his own ballot line.

Talk to me about the Democratic electorate in this city and the voting groups that will decide the primary.

It’s helpful to look at the 2021 race. There were different coalitions. Eric Adams that year got a lot of support from Black, Latino and Asian voters. He won a lot of the neighborhoods outside of Manhattan. Maya Wiley, a civil rights attorney, won many progressive voters. Then you had Kathryn Garcia, who won voters who were looking for a candidate who could do the nuts and bolts of governance.\

There are different voting blocs, and the candidates are vying for them in different ways. Mamdani has risen recently with Latino voters, which is important. He’s trying to expand his coalition beyond just progressive voters. He is a Muslim; he’s an immigrant; his parents are from India, so he’s been reaching out to South Asian voters. Cuomo has been securing support among Orthodox Jewish leaders, an important voting bloc in New York City. Black voters are up for grabs. Cuomo is quite popular among women voters and older voters, so there’s also an age divide.

 

RESULTS

 

A44X81 from SPECTRUM NEWS (NY)

Mayoral hopefuls weigh in on Iran strikes as early voting wraps

BY Courtney Gross New York City

PUBLISHED 8:25 AM ET Jun. 23, 2025

Candidates for mayor crisscrossed the city Sunday, making last-minute pitches to voters on the final day of early voting, a day that also saw foreign policy take center stage on the campaign trail following U.S. military strikes in Iran.

The attack, reportedly targeting Iranian nuclear sites, prompted swift reaction from the Democratic mayoral hopefuls, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“I think the world is a safer place without Iran having nuclear weapons, yes,” Cuomo said.

 

What You Need To Know

·         U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites made its way onto the campaign trail on Sunday

·         The developing international situation may have overshadowed the final hours of early voting

·         With high turnout during the nine-day early voting period, questions also remain about how an ongoing heat wave could affect voter participation on Tuesday

Still, he criticized the decision-making process behind the attack.

“I do believe [President Donald Trump] should’ve consulted Congress. I believe this is more of the same. This is Trump saying, ‘I don’t have to follow the rules,’” he said.

Cuomo appeared to walk a careful line, questioning the constitutionality of the strike while supporting its broader objective.

Other candidates took a firmer stance.

“Unconstitutional. It’s going to escalate the risks of war and violence and death for Iranians, for Israelis and for Americans,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander while campaigning on the Upper East Side. “The way to protect Israelis and Americans and Iranians is to reach a diplomatic solution, to make sure that Iran doesn’t acquire nuclear weapons.”

In a statement, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani also condemned the military action.

“Today’s unconstitutional military action represents a new, dark chapter in his endless series of betrayals that now threaten to plunge the world deeper into chaos,” Mamdani said. “In a city as global as ours, the impacts of war are felt deeply here at home. I am thinking of the New Yorkers with loved ones in harm’s way.”

The developing international situation may have overshadowed the final hours of early voting, when candidates were making their last appeals before Tuesday’s primary.

“The weather is not so great, but we can get through that. Please get out and vote,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

With high turnout during the nine-day early voting period, questions remain about how an ongoing heat wave could affect voter participation on Tuesday.

“I don’t know the extent that the Adams administration has done the obvious and necessary things that should be done — cooling centers, precautions, etc. — that any competent administration would do,” Cuomo said.

Analysts note that Cuomo’s voter base, which skews older, could be particularly impacted by the extreme heat. Cuomo himself is planning to vote on Tuesday, encouraging others to do the same.

Meanwhile, the former governor received another endorsement over the weekend from former President Bill Clinton.

 

 

 

 

A45X90 from usa today (ranked choice

 

NYC won't know mayoral primary results until at least July 1, but they may have a clue

In primaries, the city uses ranked choice voting, but first-place results will offer a hint of who is ahead.

Anna Kaufman AND Ben Adler

USA TODAY

New Yorkers eager to know whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani will win the June 24 New York City mayoral Democratic primary are going to be waiting a while.

Unofficial results likely won't be announced by the city Board of Elections until July 1, and the results won't be officially certified until July 14. 

Since 2021, in primaries the city uses ranked choice voting, a system that allows residents to vote for up to five candidates in order from their most preferred to least. If no candidate gets more than 50% of first-place votes, which seems very likely based on polls of the crowded mayoral field, then the least-popular candidate is eliminated and their supporters' votes redistributed to other candidates based on their lower-ranked preferences.

This process takes time, meaning voters are very unlikely know the results on election night. In 2021, when current mayor Eric Adams (who is running for re-election this year as an Independent) secured victory, it took several days to determine just how close Kathryn Garcia, the runner-up, came to beating him after all the ranked-choice tabulations.

But voters may have a clue based on the first-place results: While Cuomo has consistently led among first-place votes in polls, supporters of the candidates polling in third through sixth place − City Comptroller Brad Lander, his precedessor Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and state Sen. Zelnor Myrie − appear less likely to rank Cuomo on their ballots than Mamdani. As a result, the most recent poll, a June 23 Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey, showed Mamdani beating Cuomo 52% to 48% in the eighth and final round of the instant runoff, even though Cuomo had 35% of first-place votes, followed by Mamdani at 32%.

 

Pundits such as Ross Barkan and City & State's Tom Allon, say that means Mamdani is very likely to win if he's ahead in first-place votes and he has a good shot of winning the election if he's losing by fewer than 5 percentage points for first place. On the other hand, Cuomo is safe if he's winning first-place votes by about 10 percentage points or more.

 

 

A46 FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

(see HERE for charts and graphs)

New York City Mayoral Primary Election Results

Eleven candidates are vying to win the Democratic primary for mayor in New York City, the second time that ranked-choice voting will be used in the mayor’s race. Polls have shown former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as the two front-runners. The incumbent, Eric Adams, will run as an independent in November.

Democratic Primary

Latest results from 15m ago

93% of votes in

AP

Candidate

First round votesVotes

First round vote sharePct.First round

Final round votesVotes

Final round vote sharePct.Final round

Zohran Mamdani

432,305

+43.5%43.5%

Ranked-choice tallies expected next Tuesday.

Andrew M. Cuomo

361,840

+36.4%36.4

Brad Lander

112,349

+11.3%11.3

Adrienne Adams

40,953

+4.1%4.1

Total reported

993,546

+ Show all candidates

Democratic Primary. Initial results. Ranked-choice tallies expected next Tuesday.

Results by borough

Borough

Margin

Votes

Percent of votes in% In

Brooklyn

Mamdani +17

358,011

94%

Manhattan

Mamdani +5

292,361

91%

Queens

Mamdani +7

210,669

93%

Bronx

Cuomo +18

104,601

92%

Staten Island

Cuomo +9

27,904

>95%

ManhattanBronxStaten IslandBrooklynQueensManhattanBronxStaten IslandBrooklynQueens

The Most Detailed Map of the N.Y.C. Mayoral Primary ›

See precinct-level election results from the first round of the mayoral race.

 

Results by neighborhood

See how each candidate fared in the first round of voting based on the latest data from the city’s Board of Elections.

Neighborhood

Margin

Mamdani

Cuomo

Total votes

Upper West Side

Cuomo +5

30%

34%

54,820

Upper East Side

Cuomo +16

29

45

46,911

Bedford-Stuyvesant

Mamdani +43

64

21

31,931

Crown Heights

Mamdani +26

55

29

28,056

Astoria

Mamdani +52

68

17

26,101

Williamsburg

Mamdani +27

56

28

24,109

Park Slope

Mamdani +11

45

13

21,228

Washington Heights

Mamdani +17

49

32

21,174

Harlem

Mamdani +18

48

30

20,050

Flatbush

Mamdani +16

50

35

18,291

 

Republican Primary

Latest results from 9:00 PM ET

Republican Primary race called

Curtis Sliwa Uncontested

Sources: Election results and race calls are from The Associated Press; mayoral precinct results are from the New York City Board of Elections; neighborhood shapes by The New York Times.

The Most Detailed Map of the N.Y.C. Mayoral Primary ›

See precinct-level election results from the first round of the mayoral race.

 

Results by neighborhood

See how each candidate fared in the first round of voting based on the latest data from the city’s Board of Elections.

 

 

A47 FROM CBS

In NYC primary, Zohran Mamdani says "I will be your Democratic nominee." Here are the election results so far.

What to know about the 2025 NYC mayor's race and Democratic primary

·         Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani to congratulate him in the New York City Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday. 

·         Cuomo told his supporters that Mamdani won and that his campaign was "going to take a look and make some decisions."

·         Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist, was ahead with an estimated 92% of the vote in. He told his supporters, "I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City."

·         The race will be officially decided by ranked choice voting after no candidate received 50% in the first round of counting.   

 

 54m ago

Adams, Sliwa and other stakeholders react

Mamdani's apparent upset, similar to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's shocking win over longtime Congressman Joe Crowley in 2018, has left many in the political establishment scrambling to figure out what exactly happened. 

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is expected to announce his run for reelection Thursday, wasted little time getting after the assemblyman

"He will say and do anything to get elected. Think about this for a moment: He wants to raise taxes on 1% of New Yorkers, high-income earners. As the mayor, you don't have the authority to do that. You know who has the authority to that? An assemblyman, which he is," Adams said Wednesday.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor, also weighed in.

"Nobody wants to go backwards to Adams or Cuomo. They want to move forward. And if you don't get millennials on board, who are going through exactly what baby boomers are going through, you will lose this election," Sliwa said.

Meanwhile, the results were championed by transit riders eager for Mamdani's promise of free bus service.

"Bus riders make New York possible. In Zohran, we finally have a mayoral nominee who sees us, values our time, and is ready to govern as our rider-in-chief," said Betsy Plum, director of the Riders Alliance.

On the other hand, some Jewish groups say they're worried about Mamdani's positions on Israel, Gaza and intifada.

"It is time for Mr. Mamdani to move from disturbance to responsibility and to unambiguously reject and reign (sic) in these actors with whom he has been strongly associated," said Rabbi Moshe Hauer, of the Orthodox Union.

By Marcia Kramer

 

 2:03 PM

Cuomo weighing his options for Nov. general election

Sources tell CBS News New York's political reporter Marcia Kramer that donors have been calling the former governor, urging him to stay in the race.

Cuomo previously announced that he would run on both the Democratic and independent tickets so he could be on the ballot for the November general election, whether he won the Democratic primary or not. 

In an exclusive interview Wednesday, Cuomo said the primary is "not, necessarily, representative of the city at large."  

"That's why I qualified for an independent line in November, I did that several months ago, because in the general election, more people come out to vote. It's a broader pool, if you will, of New Yorkers, more representative pool of New Yorkers," he said. 

Cuomo said his team is taking it "one step at a time."

"I can tell you, there are a lot of people who have a lot of concerns. They're concerned about the way the city is running, in general," he told Kramer. 

When asked who he would vote for, if not himself, in November, he replied, "Let's see who runs." 

"That is not an enticing field of candidates to choose from, for me," he added.

By Renee Anderson

 

 12:37 AM

Mamdani claims victory

Mamdani claimed victory in the NYC Democratic primary for mayor in a speech early Wednesday morning at his campaign headquarters in Queens. 

"Tonight, we made history. In the words of Nelson Mandela, 'It always seems impossible until it is done.' My friends, we have done it. I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City," Mamdani said. Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters at his campaign headquarters after taking a commanding lead in the NYC Democratic primary for mayor. June 25, 2025. CBS News New York

He spoke after getting a congratulatory call from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, his main rival in the primary, and pulling ahead in the first round of ranked choice voting.

"Together, we have shown the power of the politics of the future, one of partnership and of sincerity," he added. 

By Mark Prussin

 

12:08 AM

Mamdani addresses supporters

Zohran Mamdani addressed supporters at his campaign watch party in Long Island City, Queens.

His remarks were livestreamed on CBS News New York.

By Mark Prussin   Updated 11:47 PM

 

Who is Zohran Mamdani?

Zohran Mamdani, a State Assemblyman from Queens, has a commanding lead in the NYC Democratic primary.

His mayoral campaign is based on lowering the cost of living. His signature promises are a rent freeze on stabilized units, free city buses and child care, creating city-owned grocery stores and building 200,000 affordable units of housing. 

Mamdani is endorsed in the race by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He and Lander also cross-endorsed each other in a bid to prevent Cuomo from winning. 

His state assembly district includes Astoria and Long Island City.

CLICK HERE to watch Mamdani's interview with CBS News New York in March.

 

 11:22 PM

Statement from Cuomo

The Cuomo campaign released the following statement from the former governor: 

"I called Assemblyman Mamdani to congratulate him on tonight's victory. I also thank my team, which did a great job during this campaign. I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November." 

By Mark Prussin

 

Updated 11:20 PM

Mamdani camp "exhilarated" after Cuomo's call

Shortly after Cuomo called Mamdani to congratulate him, a Mamdani staffer said to CBS News New York, "The vibes are good" at the campaign's watch party in Long Island City. 

Mamdani was nowhere to be found because he was off crafting the speech of his lifetime, one of his staffers said. He is expected to address the crowd at some point. 

The campaign said as soon as the results started coming in there was a sense that Mamdani was overperforming, especially in parts of Queens, like Flushing and Corona, where the assemblyman did a lot of outreach to South Asian and Muslim communities.  

By Ali Bauman

 

Updated 10:41 PM

Cuomo calls Mamdani to congratulate him

Andrew Cuomo said he called Zohran Mamdani and congratulated him in the Democratic primary for mayor. 

"Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night, and he put together a great campaign," Cuomo said to his supporters about 90 minutes after polls closed. "He touched young people and he inspired them and moved them, and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him. I congratulated him. I applaud him sincerely for his effort."

"I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and this ranked choice voting and what the numbers actually say and do," Cuomo continued. "There's no doubt there are important issues that are facing this city."

No candidate received 50% of the votes in the first round of counting and the race will be decided by ranked choice voting.

By Mark Prussin

 

Updated 5:50 PM / June 24, 2025

How does ranked choice voting work?

Ranked choice voting, also called instant runoff voting, allows voters to rank candidates from their first choice to their fifth. Advocates of ranked choice voting say it gives more diverse candidates a chance in competitive races. 

Voters can rank up to five candidates, but they're not required to. Ranking just one, two, three or four candidates is fine.

When votes are tabulated, all first-choice votes are counted initially. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, they win. If no candidate receives more than 50%, the counting continues in rounds until there is a winner. 

At the end of each round without a winner, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Anyone who voted for that candidate will have their next choice counted in the following round. That means your second choice is only counted if your first is eliminated. If your first and second choices get eliminated, your third choice is counted, and so on. 

This process can continue until only two candidates are left. At that point, the one with the most votes wins. 

This is the city's second mayoral primary election with ranked choice voting. Mayor Adams won the 2021 Democratic primary after several rounds.

Ranked choice will not be used in the November general election, where a simple majority is needed to win. 

By Mark Prussin

 

 10:15 PM

NYC mayoral primary heading to ranked choice voting

With the first round of vote counting mostly complete, CBS News projects no candidate is on track to hit 50% in the Democratic primary for mayor and the race will turn to ranked choice voting.

By Mark Prussin

 

10:01 PM

Adrienne Adams: "I'm not out. I'm exhilarated"

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams addressed her supporters on Tuesday night. She was joined by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who endorsed her in the mayor's race. 

"You all know why I got into this race. For you, for us. For everyday New Yorkers who see exactly what we see and knew there had to be a change," Adams said. "We had to get in this race."

She thanked James, her supporters and her family.

"We are strong and we are history-makers," Adams continued . "We stand on that strength tonight."

"We've got a race to run. Some people are ready for us to hang it up, but these are the same folks that voted for ranked choice voting. This is why we're still in this, and we're going to keep on going and see what the end is going to be ... I'm not down. I'm not out. I'm exhilarated," she said.

By Jesse Zanger

 

 9:56 PM

Bragg wins primary in Manhattan DA race

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who prosecuted President Trump's hush-money case, has won the Democratic primary in his bid for reelection, The Associated Press reports. 

In 2024, a jury found Mr. Trump guilty of 34 felonies accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. 

Bragg was first elected Manhattan DA in 2021. 

CLICK HERE to see more key race results.

By Mark Prussin

 

 

9:35 PM

Results indicate high voter turnout

The first Democratic primary results to come in are from early voting, which was available from June 14-22.

Polling suggested early voting would favor Mamdani, and the results back that up, CBS News Executive Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto reported.

About 20 minutes after polls closed, Mamdani was leading with 43.1% of the vote, Cuomo was in second with 34.5% and Lander was in third with 12.9%. Ranked choice voting is used if no candidate earns 50% of the vote. 

CBS News estimates the total voter turnout will approach 1.1 million, mostly in person on Election Day. That is more than one third of the city's registered Democrats and noticeably more than turnout for 2021's mayoral primary.   

By Mark Prussin   Updated 9:19 PM

 

What else is on the ballot?

In addition to the mayoral race, the New York City public advocate and comptroller offices are on the ballot. 

Incumbent Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is running for reelection against Democratic challengers Marty Dolan and Jenifer Rajkumar. 

The Democratic primary for comptroller includes Justin Brannan, Mark Levine, Kevin Parker and Ismael Perez. The Republican primary includes Peter Kefalas and Danniel Maio. 

These elections also use ranked choice voting. 

CLICK HERE to see more key race results.

By Mark Prussin

 

Polls close in NYC primary

Polls closed in the New York City primary at 9 p.m.

As of the NYC Board of Elections' 7:30 p.m. update, voter turnout was 930,721. Here's the breakdown by borough:

·         Manhattan: 272,884

·         Bronx: 97,632

·         Brooklyn: 336,387

·         Queens: 193,881

·         Staten Island: 29,721

By Mark Prussin

 Updated 8:43 PM

Lander energized, optimistic despite polls

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is among 11 candidates vying to win the Democratic mayoral primary. He's holding his watch party Tuesday night in Brooklyn. 

Lander gained national attention earlier this month when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested him while he was escorting immigrations leaving hearings at federal immigration court. 

Lander voted early last week at John Jay High School and has been campaigning across the five boroughs. On Election Day, he didn't seem to be worried about the latest polls placing him a distant third.

Lander said one reason why he and Mamdani endorsed each other is because they don't want to let Cuomo near City Hall.

"I mean, I'm doing great. It is hot out here but the energy and the hope people have for a better city is really palpable. You could feel it," Lander said. "There is something about the nature of the cross endorsement and people seeing politics as a team sport for making the city better."

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams' camp told CBS News New York he would join Lander on Tuesday night.

By Jennifer Bisram

 

 Updated 8:22 PM

Mamdani's momentum spearheaded by young voters

Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was spending Tuesday night at a roof-top bar in Long Island City, a fitting venue for the millennial progressive candidate who has energized younger Democrats. 

Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist, was once considered a dark horse in this race. He has since been climbing the polls, with at least one showing him neck and neck with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

His campaign promise is to lower the cost of living by freezing rent for stabilized tenants, making city buses and child care free, building 200,000 affordable housing units, and creating city-owned grocery stores.

Mamdani says he plans to pay for it by raising the corporate tax and taxing top earners a flat 2%.

"What we offer is a vision to keep New Yorkers in the place that they call home, and an antidote to the Trump administration and the hatred and the division that it spews," Mamdani said. "We are showing people that hope is not something that is naive. It is, in fact, righteous when it is built upon a plan and a vision. We are showing New York City that a better day is possible, and today is the first of many of them."

Mamdani is endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezSen. Bernie Sanders, and the Working Families Party. Democrats around the country are watching this race and this candidate in particular, because if Mamdani succeeds in one of the first elections since Donald Trump returned to office, it could signal to the party what type of candidate Democratic voters are hungry for.

By Ali Bauman

 

 

Updated 8:04 PM

Cuomo closely monitoring Bronx voter turnout

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been the frontrunner in New York City's mayoral primary since announcing his run back on March 1. But what looked like a relatively easy path to the nomination has hit some road bumps, thanks to a surge by Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani and a feisty challenge from progressive Brad Lander.

On Tuesday night, Cuomo was closely monitoring turnout with his supporters in the West Village, keeping a particular eye on the Bronx. A good night for his campaign would mean at least 50% of the primary vote cast in the borough. 

Cuomo needs to run up big margins in the Bronx. The borough is so important, the campaign sent his long-time top aide Melissa DeRosa to Co-Op city to engage voters.  

Volunteer Sarah Danzig said she was happy to hear more than 200,000 voters went to polling places citywide before noon.

"People are going to work today. People don't stay home because it's hot. A lot of people voted early this morning. There were lines everywhere that we saw this morning. I do think that people will vote after 4 p.m., but voters like to vote, and Cuomo voters, in particular, like to vote, so we're feeling pretty good about it," Danzig said.

Cuomo and his team would love to finish Tuesday night with close to 40% of the overall vote, which would set him up nicely for the next phase of ranked choice voting.

The software company AdImpact says this primary saw $37 million in ad spending, with Cuomo spending $20 million, or more than all the other candidates combined.

By Tony Aiello

 

Mamdani, Lander using buddy system against Cuomo

By cross-endorsing each other, Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander are attempting to use ranked choice voting as a tool against Andrew Cuomo. On Tuesday, Mamdani and Lander campaigned together and asked voters to leave Cuomo off the ballot.

"Goal number one, add our votes together to block Andrew Cuomo," Lander said.

Lander also started using robocalls by Attorney General Letitia James and Jewish activist Ruth Messinger to urge voters to leave Cuomo off their ballots.

"So when you vote today, please rank five candidates for mayor. But do not make Andrew Cuomo one of them," one call says.

On the other side, many voters reportedly ranked Cuomo first and left the rest of their ballots blank.  

By Marcia Kramer

 

Cross-endorsements could be pivotal

In a strategy to use ranked choice voting to their advantage, Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other by urging their biggest supporters to rank the other second. 

Mamdani and Lander believe it can prevent Cuomo from winning and would have blocked Mayor Adams from winning the primary four years ago. Cuomo has consistently led in polling since entering the mayor's race. 

"Andrew Cuomo's campaign is a house of cards. The two strongest progressive campaigns can topple him, and that's exactly what we're going to do," Mamdani said. 

"I'm proud to cross-endorse Zohran, because of his strong commitment to a more affordable New York, and to stop the corrupt, morally bankrupt, unacceptable Andrew Cuomo from becoming mayor of a city he doesn't even like," Lander said. 

Mamdani and Blake also have a cross-endorsement.

By Mark Prussin

 

 

A48 FROM FOX (SAN ANTONIO)

NYC Mayor Adams calls general election foe Mamdani 'snake oil salesman'

by RAY LEWIS | The National News Desk  Wed, June 25th 2025 at 1:01 PM  Updated Wed, June 25th 2025 at 1:24 PM

 

NEW YORK CITY (TNND) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams called Democratic Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani of District 36, who is the party’s candidate in the city’s mayoral election, a snake oil salesman Wednesday.

Fox News host Lawrence Jones, who was co-interviewing Adams on Fox and Friends, asked Adams how anybody could vote for Assm. Mamdani in the November election. The assemblymember promises to freeze rents, create a $30 minimum wage, eliminate bus fares and operate city-owned grocery stores, Jones noted.

“He’s a snake oil salesman. He will say and do anything to get elected,” Adams replied.

The mayor pointed to some of Assm. Mamdani’s pledges, like eliminating bus fares and taxing residents earning at least $1 million annually, as examples of promises the assemblymember won’t be able to fulfill. State representatives, rather than the mayor, have the ability to fulfill those goals, according to Adams. The National News Desk could not verify the mayor’s claims, though.

“He doesn’t understand the power of government and how you must making sure you improve your economy, raise the standard of living,” Adams explained.

Assm. Mamdani has at times described the primary election as a race between “establishment” politicians and fresher candidates. He said during an appearance on Monday’s edition of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that the election represents a question of how the Democratic Party progresses.

“Do we move forward with the same politicians of the past, the same policies of the past that delivered us this present, or do we move forward with a new generation of leadership, one that is actually looking to serve the people?” Assm. Mamdani said.

Adams, who is running as an independent candidate for the general election, claimed during the Fox and Friends interview that Mamdani doesn’t have any “record.” The mayor pointed to his accomplishments since assuming office in 2022 in contrast.

“I delivered for this city, and we’re not going backwards. We’re not going into a place where we wanna defund the police, don’t invest in jobs, where we believe we can make broken promises that we can’t deliver,” Adams said. “I delivered on every promise I gave to this city.”

Assm. Mamdani has promised to create a “Department of Community Safety” to prevent violence and prioritize “solutions” “shown to improve safety.” He has also pledged to raise the corporate tax rate to pay for cost-of-living initiatives, an action he said would earn the city $5 billion.

 

A49  FROM AXIOS

Why the NYC mayoral election may be a five-way race in November

By Jason Lalljee

 

Zohran Mamdani's stunning mayoral primary win in New York City on Tuesday night is a major step for the state assemblyman, but the race isn't over yet.

Why it matters: In the general election, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, will face off Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. There's also still a chance that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the Democratic nomination, runs as an independent as well.

State of play: For the past three mayoral cycles, a Democratic primary win has fast-tracked a win in the November general election, due to the party's majority of registered voters and limited competition from Republican and independent candidates. This year, however, could be shaping up to be a five-way race.

Here's the rest of the timeline for the mayoral election:

The Democratic primary still has to dot its i's and cross its t's.

        This is New York City's second election cycle with ranked-choice voting, meaning that if no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, the election transitions into elimination rounds.

        Mamdani came close with 43.5% of round one votes, but didn't quite clear the bar.

        The city's Board of Elections will complete the ranked-choice tally on Tuesday, July 1, until a candidate notches more than 50%.

How it works: With ranked choice, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated first.

        Voters who ranked the eliminated candidate first have their second choice counted. If a voter's first and second choices are eliminated, their vote is counted for their next choice, and so on.

        That process continues until a candidate secures 50% of votes.

Yes But: Despite his concession, Cuomo may be back for the general election.

        Cuomo left the door open to running as an independent, saying in his concession speech that he will be giving "some thought" to what comes next.

        He has registered to run on the "Fight and Deliver" ballot line.

Adams is running for reelection as well.

        Following a fraud and bribery scandal – with a federal judge dismissing the charges against him – Adams aligned himself politically with the Trump White House and pledged to aid its immigration crackdown.

        Adams has said that he'll run on one of two ballot lines: "EndAntiSemitism" or "Safe&Affordable."

The other side Cuomo, Adams, and Mamdani will also face competition from two lesser-known candidates on November 4.

        The Republican nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa is running on the GOP ballot line. Sliwa has previously run against Adams in the 2021 election.

        Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden, a defense attorney, is running a centrist platform on another independent line.

 

A50 FROM THE ECONOMIST

The meaning of Zohran Mamdani’s win in New York

America’s biggest city takes a strange turn

Jun 25th 2025

 

LOOKING a bit shell-shocked, Andrew Cuomo, New York’s former governor, conceded to Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on June 24th.  Until recently, even the most enthusiastic Mamdani supporter could not have imagined that the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist, who until a few months ago was little known outside the neighbourhood in Queens that he represents as a legislator in Albany, would topple one of the biggest names in New York politics. Confirmation of the result will come once all ranked-choices votes have been counted, which will take until mid-July. The debate over what the result means, for the city and the Democratic Party, won’t wait.

One way of interpreting this result is as a battle between left and centre, in which the centre could not hold. Mr Cuomo is a business-friendly centrist. The people and the money behind him reflect this. He won endorsements from ageing Democratic heavyweights such as Jim Clyburn, a congressman, and Bill Clinton. His donors included Bill Ackman, a hedge-funder who also supported Donald Trump, and Mike Bloomberg, a former mayor (who donated $8.3m to Mr Cuomo’s Super PAC).

On the other side is Mr Mamdani, a fan of “solidarity” and free buses. He wishes to put city-run supermarkets in areas without them. He wants to tax the rich. He is a vocal critic of Israel’s war in Gaza, which endears him to some New Yorkers and alienates others, but which says little of his ability to oversee the city’s 10,000 sanitation workers, 36,000 cops or battle its innumerable rats. He has been ambivalent about whether the intifada should be globalised. Support from the Working Families Party, a small progressive party, was useful too.

A second way to interpret the result is less about ideology than campaigning. Mr Mamdani is good at it, both online and off. Mr Cuomo ran like someone who first campaigned in 1982, which in fact he did. Days before the election Mr Mamdani walked the length of Manhattan: 21km (13 miles), from the top of Inwood, down to Washington Heights, a largely Dominican immigrant enclave, through the Upper West Side, with its dutiful progressive voters, across Times Square, and finally to Battery Park, grabbing slices of pizza as he strolled. Mr Mamdani said he had 46,000 volunteers who blanketed the city.

Mr Cuomo rarely campaigned outside orchestrated rallies in union halls or black churches. He coasted on his name recognition (that 1982 campaign was for his father’s gubernatorial race). This may possibly have reflected some complacency. He led polls even before entering the race, despite having resigned as governor because of allegations of sexual harassment (which he denies) and of undercounting the number of elderly New Yorkers who died in care-homes during the covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps this race was not about campaigning or ideology, though. Mr Clinton and Mr Clyburn were both born in the 1940s. Mr Cuomo is twice his opponent’s age, but by the standards of many centrist Democrats is a sprightly 67. Democratic primary voters are to the left of the electorate as a whole, even in New York. But they are also fed up with the generation of leaders that has lost to Donald Trump twice and yet clings on. This election was about that too. Precinct-level results show Mr Mamdani did best in areas with the highest share of millennials.

The contest is not over yet. Having fallen for Mr Mamdani, the Democratic Party could find that the prize of running America’s biggest city slips out of its hands. In November’s election he could face Mr Cuomo, running as an independent, and the incumbent, Eric Adams, who won as a Democrat but is one no longer. Mr Mamdani would start that race with an advantage. But the rest of New York City might not agree with Democratic primary voters about the wisdom of handing an annual budget of $116bn to someone who is great on TikTok. At least one prominent New York Republican will be delighted, though. “President Donald Trump might not mind having a pro-intifada, socialist, 33-year-old radical governing New York City as his foil for the next three years,” says Jesse Arm of the Manhattan Institute, a think-tank.

 

(See NYC Board of Elections; NYC Open Data or The Economist for charts, maps and graphs)

 

 

A51 FROM GUK

Will the Democrats learn from Zohran Mamdani’s victory?

By Bernie Sanders  25 Jun 2025 19.30 EDT

 

Too many Democratic party leaders would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic than change course

 

The Democratic party is at a crossroads.

It can continue to push policies that maintain a broken and rigged economic and political system and ignore the pain of the 60% of Americans who live paycheck to paycheck. It can turn its back on the dreams of a younger generation which, if we don’t change that system, will likely be worse off than their parents.

It can continue to depend upon billionaire donors and out-of-touch campaign consultants and spend huge amounts of money on dumb 30-second ads that fewer and fewer people respond to.

It can ignore the tragic reality that tens of millions of Americans are giving up on democracy because they don’t see their government understanding their struggles and the realities of their lives or doing anything about it.

Why establishment Democrats still can’t stomach progressive candidates like Zohran Mamdani

Or it can learn the lesson that the Zohran Mamdani campaign taught us on Tuesday.

And that is:

Have the courage to address the real economic and moral issues that face the majority of our people, take on the greed and power of the oligarchy and fight for an agenda that can improve life for working families.

Some may claim that Mamdani’s victory was just about style and the fact that he is a charismatic candidate. Yes. He is. But you don’t get a Mamdani victory without the extraordinary grassroots movement that rallied around him. And you don’t get that movement and thousands of enthusiastic people knocking on doors without an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working people. The people of New York and all Americans understand that, in the richest country on earth, they should not have to struggle every day just to put food on the table, pay their rent or pay their medical bills. These are the people the Democratic consultants don’t know exist.

Mamdani has been criticized for his “radical” and “unrealistic” economic policies:

Demanding that, at a time of unprecedented income and wealth inequality, the rich and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes.

Demanding that, when many New Yorkers are no longer able to find affordable housing, there should be a freeze on rent hikes.

Demanding that, when commuting to a job takes a big toll out of a worker’s paycheck, public transportation should be free.

Demanding that, when many low-income and working people are unable to access good-quality food for themselves and their kids, publicly owned neighborhood grocery stores should be created.

These ideas, and more, are not radical. They may not be what billionaires, wealthy campaign contributors and real estate speculators want, but they are what working people want. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time to listen to them.

Mamdani’s victory was not about “star power”. It was very much about people power, about revitalizing democracy and opening the door for ordinary people to gain control over the decisions that impact their lives.

Importantly, he did not run away from the moral issue that is troubling millions in New York and around the country: the need to end US military support for a rightwing extremist Benjamin Netanyahu government in Israel that is obliterating the people of Gaza and starving their children. Mamdani understands that antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous ideology, but that it is not antisemitic to be critical of the inhumane policies of the Netanyahu government.

The lesson of Mamdani’s campaign is that it is not good enough just to be critical of Trump and his destructive policies. We have to bring forth a positive vision and an analysis of why things are the way they are. It is not good enough to maintain a status quo that is failing most Americans. At a time when hope is in increasingly short supply, people must have the sense that if we work together, if we have the courage to take on powerful special interests, we can create a better world – a world of economic, social, racial and environmental justice.

Will the current Democratic party leadership learn the lessons of the Mamdani campaign? Probably not. Too many of them would rather be the captains on a sinking Titanic, rather than change course.

Then again, it doesn’t matter what they think. The establishment threw everything they had against Mamdani – millions in Super Pac money, endorsements from “important people”, a hostile media – and they still lost.

The future of the Democratic party will not be determined by its current leadership. It will be decided by the working class of this country. Increasingly, people understand that our political system is corrupt and that billionaires should not be able to buy elections. They understand that we should not have an unprecedented level of income and wealth inequality; that we should not be the only wealthy country not to guarantee healthcare for all; that we should not deny young people the right to a higher education because of their income; that we should not have a major crisis in affordable housing; that we should not have a minimum wage that is a starvation wage; that we should not allow corporations to illegally prevent union organization – and much, much more.

The American people are beginning to stand up and fight back. We have seen that in the many Fighting Oligarchy events that we’ve done around the country that have drawn huge turnouts. We have seen that in the millions of people who came out for the No Kings rallies that took place this month in almost every state. And yesterday, we saw that in the Democratic primary in New York City.

We’re going forward. And no one is going to stop us.