New York City voters head to polls for closely watched mayoral election

New York City voters are heading to the polls on Tuesday in one of the most closely watched mayoral elections in the city’s history.

Vying for the city’s top office are Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assemblymember from Queens who is the Democratic nominee; Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic governor running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in June’s primary; and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, a non-profit organization dedicated to “unarmed crime prevention”.

Current mayor Eric Adams, who had sought a second term as an independent, dropped out of the race in September.

As of Monday evening, most polls show Mamdani leading by double digits.

In June, Mamdani, whose campaign has focused on affordability, decisively won the Democratic primary, defeating Cuomo – who had been seeking a political comeback after resigning as governor of New York in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment (allegations he denies) – by nearly 13 points, and stunning much of the city’s political establishment.

After his primary loss, Cuomo launched an independent campaign against Mamdani.

Since then, Mamdani and Cuomo have repeatedly sparred over their records, qualifications, ideologies and visions for the city. Mamdani has accused Cuomo of being beholden to wealthy donors and corporate interests, while Cuomo has portrayed Mamdani as too inexperienced to run the city.

As the race enters its final hours, all three campaigns are making a last push across the city to rally supporters and win over undecided voters.

The election, which could have significant implications for the future of the Democratic party and next year’s midterm elections, has drawn national and international attention, with figures across the political spectrum weighing in.

Over the weekend, Donald Trump discussed the race, suggesting in an interview with CBS’s 60 minutes that he would prefer Cuomo to win.

“It’s going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York. Because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” Trump said, falsely labelling Mamdani, who describes himself as a democratic socialist.

“So I don’t know that he’s won, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”

Mamdani’s campaign quickly responded on social media with a post stating: “Trump endorses Cuomo!” and a caption that read: “Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo. I know how hard you worked for this.”

On Monday, Trump further emphasized his stance and said “it is highly unlikely” that he’d contribute “Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required” if Mamdani, whom he called a communist, wins.

“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad. It is my obligation to run the Nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a Complete and Total Economic and Social Disaster should Mamdani win,” Trump wrote, before adding he “would much rather see a Democrat, who has had a Record of Success, WIN, than a Communist with no experience and a Record of COMPLETE AND TOTAL FAILURE.”

Trump continued: “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him, and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not!”

The race has already broken early voting records, with more than 735,000 ballots cast ahead of election day, according to the board of elections. According to the New York Times, this is more than four times the number of ballots cast during early voting in the 2021 mayoral race.

Polls are set to close at 9pm ET on Tuesday.