A narrowed field of candidates clashes in final NYC mayoral primary debate

New York City’s leading mayoral candidates clashed over experience, their records, and immigration in the final Democratic primary debate Thursday night. In short? Things got personal fast. 

Tensions have steadily ratcheted up this week as the race increasingly narrows to two very different candidates: Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist who entered the race with scant name recognition, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, one of the most well-known Democrats in the state. While Cuomo has continued to lead in all but one poll, the gap has steadily narrowed between the two men – buoying Mamdani’s supporters while simultaneously bolstering his opponents’ resolve.

These dynamics were on full display Thursday night as the men levied attacks at each other. Other candidates like City Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams fought hard to elevate their standing with little time remaining to do so. Thursday’s debate – which was co-hosted by The City, NY1, WNYC and Gothamist – comes less than two weeks before the June 24 primary election. Early voting is slated to kick off on Saturday.

From the flurry of scathing personal attacks to candidates’ flexing recent endorsements, here’s three of the biggest highlights worth revisiting from the two-hour debate. 

Cuomo, Mamdani and Lander dominate 

With recent polling showing Mamdani closing in on Cuomo’s dominating lead, the crowded primary is increasingly looking like a two-person race – a dynamic that was on full-display Thursday night. (In wake of last week’s debate, both snagged a handful of significant endorsements, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Mamdani and fellow mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos and former mayor Michael Bloomberg for Cuomo.) Lander, fresh off an endorsement from a panel of experts convened by The New York Times, also made a strong case for himself, launching barb after barb against Cuomo. Together, the three men dominated much of the night. 

Experience was a big theme. Asked to respond to concerns over his youth and the fact that he’s only been in office for four years, Mamdani said voters should judge him by his highly successful campaign and promised to hire seasoned government servants with “the track record, the excellence, the fluency.”

Cuomo, who would be the oldest person to serve as mayor, argued that experience matters. “He’s never dealt with the City Council, he’s never dealt with Congress, he’s never dealt with the state Legislature, he’s never negotiated with a union, he’s never built anything,” he said of Mamdani, adding that the looming presence of President Donald Trump in the White House makes this all the more important. “To put a person in this seat at that time with no experience is reckless and dangerous.” 

Mamdani quickly fired back, pointing to Cuomo’s string of scandals. “I have never had to resign in disgrace, I have never cut Medicaid, I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA, I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment … I have never done those things, because I am not you Mr. Cuomo.” He also urged the governor to say his surname correctly after he repeatedly mispronounced it – something that also occurred in the first debate last week. “And furthermore, the name is Mamdani,” he said, spelling it out.

Later, asked in a follow up question about the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation as governor, Cuomo called the accusations baseless. “Look at the facts, and not the political rhetoric,” he said, adding that five district attorneys looked at the allegations, but “nothing has come of them whatsoever.” While it’s true Cuomo was never charged with a crime, one of the district attorneys investigating the accusations made by two women ruled that their allegations were credible but declined to seek criminal charges. 

After he finished responding, moderator Katie Honan of The City asked whether the other candidates wanted to chime in – an opportunity Lander eagerly seized. The comptroller claimed that everybody knows Cuomo sexually harassed women and created a toxic work environment. “We’re here with all these CUNY students, many of them women,” Lander said, referencing the audience. “I went to the City College commencement because the valedictorian is going to come work at the department of homeless services. I don’t want to tell her not to work at City Hall because the mayor is a sexual harasser.”

"It’s obvious this is disqualifying. The man resigned,” state Sen. Zellnor Myrie added. 

Cross-examination questions lead to lots of love for Adrienne Adams

Each candidate was given the opportunity to cross examine an opponent. Some candidates, including Cuomo, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and Myrie, used the opportunity to support someone else. Stringer and Myrie both chose to elevate City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. Stringer highlighted her work on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity zoning changes. “Scott, thank you for the question, and thank you for recognizing that I have ushered in billions of dollars for housing for the people of the city of New York,” Adams responded. Myrie also asked Adams about City of Yes, particularly focusing on the exodus of Black New Yorkers from New York City. Cuomo used the opportunity to elevate Whitney Tilson in a bid to poke holes in Mamdani’s tax proposal. 

Others, including Mamdani, Adams, Lander and Tilson, directed difficult questions at an opponent to put them on the spot. Tilson pressed Mamdani on whether he would disavow policy positions outlined on the website of the Democratic Socialists of America – including government ownership of “major industries,” decriminalization of misdemeanors, abolition of prisons and defunding the police. “Like David Dinkins I am a member of the organization,” Mamdani said. “And the organization’s platform is not the platform of this campaign.” Adams, too, took the opportunity to press Mamdani, who is endorsed alongside her by the Working Families Party and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I’ve raised a family in New York. … I have led the City Council through many, many challenges, taken the city through three successful budgets and billions of dollars in city budgets now working on our fourth, which will also be successful,” Adams said. “In a recent Times article, you said that you were the most qualified person to be mayor of the city of New York, given what I just laid out, do you think you're more qualified than me to lead the city?” 

Lander had the most dramatic approach. He introduced a vocal Cuomo critic in the audience, Peter Arbeeny, and pressed the former governor to apologize to Arbeeny for the death of his father in a nursing home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuomo called the deaths from COVID-19 “horrendous,” and said New York implemented federal guidance on nursing homes. He apologized for Arbeeny’s loss and noted that his case against the state was dismissed.

Defending immigrant New Yorkers 

There’s at least one big area the candidates align on: protecting immigrant New Yorkers – particularly as Trump deploys Marines and National Guard troops to quell protests against his immigration policy in Los Angeles. The very first question of the night was about the president’s efforts to challenge the power of Democratic mayors and how they would respond to such a situation in New York City. Most of the candidates sought to position themselves as strong defenders of immigrants and the city’s sanctuary laws. Cuomo claimed Trump only takes on fights that he can win and that he couldn’t win against him. Mamdani said that the New York City Police Department would not assist ICE and that he would increase funding for legal assistance for migrants who don’t have a lawyer. Saying the city is dealing with “a lawless president enacting lawless behavior across the nation,” Adams pointed to the work she’s already doing in the City Council to protect immigrant New Yorkers such as suing to keep federal authorities from returning to Rikers Island. Lander touted his recent visits to immigration court and said he stands up to bullies.