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This is a news round up of the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary. The race seems to be narrowing to a contest between disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislator Zohran Mamdani.<\/p>\n
Early voting has begun as of June 14 and will conclude on June 24.<\/p>\n
Why This Race Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n This is hands-down THE most important political contest currently taking place in the U.S. for five reasons:<\/p>\n The Official Version of the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n The New York Times editorial board summarizes<\/a> the race from their point of view:<\/p>\n Eleven candidates are competing for the Democratic nomination, and many New Yorkers are understandably disappointed by the field. It lacks any candidate who seems likely to be the city\u2019s next great mayor. For that reason, we are not endorsing a candidate. That said, several candidates have substantial strengths. This editorial \u2014 which follows our publication of The Choice, a feature that shared the insights of a diverse mix of New Yorkers \u2014 is meant to offer guidance for New York voters trying to think through their imperfect options.<\/p>\n The polls indicate that two candidates have emerged as the frontrunners: Andrew Cuomo, a former governor and federal housing secretary, and Zohran Mamdani, a state legislator who represents a Queens district. Mr. Mamdani, a charismatic 33-year-old, is running a joyful campaign full of viral videos in which he talks with voters. He offers the kind of fresh political style for which many people are hungry during the angry era of President Trump.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n They make a three paragraph case against Mamdani in the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary:<\/p>\n Unfortunately, Mr. Mamdani is running on an agenda uniquely unsuited to the city\u2019s challenges. He is a democratic socialist who too often ignores the unavoidable trade-offs of governance. He favors rent freezes that could restrict housing supply and make it harder for younger New Yorkers and new arrivals to afford housing. He wants the government to operate grocery stores, as if customer service and retail sales were strengths of the public sector. He minimizes the importance of policing.<\/p>\n Most worrisome, he shows little concern about the disorder of the past decade, even though its costs have fallen hardest on the city\u2019s working-class and poor residents. Mr. Mamdani, who has called Mr. de Blasio the best New York mayor of his lifetime, offers an agenda that remains alluring among elite progressives but has proved damaging to city life.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani would also bring less relevant experience than perhaps any mayor in New York history. He has never run a government department or private organization of any size. As a state legislator, he has struggled to execute his own agenda. A telling example came last year. Given an opportunity to expand a pilot program offering free bus rides, one of his signature issues, he instead engaged in a performative protest that doomed the policy, New York magazine reported. He seems to lack the political savvy and instinct for compromise that has made Senator Bernie Sanders, his fellow democratic socialist, an effective legislator.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And spare one paragraph to condemn Cuomo:<\/p>\n The other front-runner, Mr. Cuomo, has his own significant shortcomings. He resigned as governor in 2021, during his third term, because of allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate touching from at least 11 women. This board called for his resignation at the time because of the disturbing, credible nature of the accusations. We noted that his treatment of women was part of a larger pattern of bullying, self-serving behavior.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Matt Stoller rounds up some of the responses: <\/p>\n I do enjoy the comments on the NYT endorsement of ‘anyone but Mandami.’<\/p>\n “I thought you decided not to endorse political candidates anymore. Glad to see you’re doing a 180 without acknowledging it.” pic.twitter.com\/NkYsZqCnFj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Against the Process In The 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n Annie Lowrey, Ezra \u201cAbundance\u201d Klein\u2019s wife, makes a process argument against ranked choice voting for The Atlantic<\/a>:<\/p>\n Instead of picking one person to lead the city, voters will rank up to five candidates. This process is wonkish and confusing. But it ensures that similar candidates do not split a constituency. This, proponents of ranked-choice voting say, is the most democratic form of democracy.<\/p>\n Cuomo is likely to get more first-choice votes than any other candidate. But he\u2019s not projected to win an outright majority, meaning that the ranked-choice system would kick in. Candidate after candidate would get knocked out, and their supporters\u2019 votes reapportioned. In the end, the political scion with a multimillion-dollar war chest and blanket name recognition could lose to the young Millennial whom few New Yorkers had heard of as of last year. One new survey, by Data for Progress, shows Cuomo ultimately defeating Mamdani by two points, within the margin of error. Another poll shows Mamdani with more support than Cuomo.<\/p>\n Seeing a no-name upstart attempt to upset a brand-name heavyweight is thrilling. But the system has warped the political calculus of the mayoral campaign. Candidates who might have dropped out are staying in. Candidates who might be attacking one another on their platforms or records are instead considering cross-endorsing. Voters used to choosing one contender are plotting out how to rank their choices. Moreover, they are doing so in a closed primary held in the June of an odd year, meaning most city residents will not show up at the polls anyway. If this is democracy, it\u2019s a funny form of it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There is more to the \u201cAbundance\u201d angle on this campaign that I\u2019ll address below.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s Polling Surge in the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong> The survey, conducted by Public Policy Polling for Democrat Justin Brannan\u2019s city comptroller campaign, found Mamdani beating Cuomo 35 percent to 31 percent \u2014 a difference that is narrowly within the 4.1 percent margin of error.<\/p>\n The poll of 573 likely Democratic voters was conducted between June 6 and June 7 \u2014 after nine candidates faced off in the first televised debate. The following day, June 5, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Mamdani, lending political star power to his campaign.<\/p>\n Thirty-nine percent of the poll\u2019s responses came from landlines and 61 percent from text messages \u2014 a methodology that favored Mamdani given his strength with those responding via text, according to the results.\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mamdani\u2019s Debate Performance<\/strong> Zohran Mamdani:<\/strong> To Mr Cuomo: 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 neve hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr Cuomo and furthermore the name is Mamdani. M -A-M-D-A-N-I. You should learn how to say it because we got to get it right.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n AOC Endorses Mamdani in the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n Mamdani supporters were impatiently awaiting an endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY 14th), but it came when he showed sufficient strength:<\/p>\n Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a once-in-a-generation leader who has led the fight for working people in Congress. <\/p>\n In 2018, she shocked the world and transformed our politics. <\/p>\n On June 24, with @AOC<\/a>\u2019s support and this movement behind us, we will do the same. pic.twitter.com\/cRJI1dUTzG<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 5, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n AOC spoke at a Mamdani rally over the weekend<\/a> and made the case against Cuomo:<\/p>\n I think a lot about what has happened leading up to this political moment. Because when I think about our current leadership, this race is not just symbolic about the future of New York City but this race is symbolic about the future of our country.<\/p>\n For so long we have had political leadership including in the Democratic Party that has just wanted to play it safe that has just wanted to be neutral. Where so many people are motivated by their own individual political careers.<\/p>\n I cannot tell you how shocked I have been to see so many of the individuals who called on Andrew Cuomo to resign in disgrace after after so many details of harassment against women, and for those same people who called on him to resign to stand behind him and endorse him for mayor of New York City\u2026 <\/p>\n I will tell you as a survivor of sexual assault I will never unsee that ever again.<\/p>\n We have to have a politics of integrity not a politics of cowardice. We have to stand up for what is right in this country and when I say that this is not just about New York City but that this is about the United States I mean that literally. <\/p>\n Andrew Cuomo has made clear that if he wins this race he wants to run for president of the United States of America. <\/p>\n In a world and a nation that is crying to end the gerontocracy of our leadership, that wants a new day, that wants to see a new generation ascend it is unconscionable to send Andrew Cuomo to Gracie Mansion once again. <\/p>\n New York City we need a new day. We deserve a chance. We deserve a New York City that centers working people.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mamdani\u2019s Grassroots Tactics in the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong> There are many reasons why Mamdani has taken off, including his unflagging focus on affordability in a city amid a crushing cost-of-living crisis. But one of the most important is the campaign\u2019s army of thousands of volunteers.<\/p>\n In the midst of a rising authoritarian federal government in the United States, the Mamdani campaign is feeding a hunger for participation through old-school campaign practices of talking with and persuading neighbors. If part of the remedy for rising authoritarianism is more small-d democratic engagement, Mamdani is delivering it.<\/p>\n One week in late May, from Monday through Sunday, the campaign knocked on 95,321 doors, up from about 40,000 per week throughout April. As of late last week, the campaign had knocked on 644,755 doors and called 261,051 people. A single canvass in Bedford-Stuyvesant this weekend knocked on more than 9,000 doors. A joint canvass with socialist city councilor Alexa Avil\u00e9s on Sunday in Sunset Park knocked on more than 3,800 doors. Canvasses have also been impressive not only in politically active Brooklyn and Mamdani\u2019s home turf of Queens, but in the Bronx and on Staten Island.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Public Financing\u2019s Role in Mamdani\u2019s Surge in the 2025 New York Mayoral Primary<\/strong><\/p>\n NY would not have a competitive primary without a system that publicly finances candidates.<\/p>\n Without that system, Cuomo & his oligarchs woulda faced no strong opposition.<\/p>\n It’s why oligarchs hate these systems & why other cities\/states should adopt them.https:\/\/t.co\/IrGEmeWa2s<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/uNOse2muh8<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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Mamdani earned this passive-aggressive show of establishment opposition by surging in the polls. Mamdani had been gaining on Cuomo in the polls for weeks, but he has now he taken pole position, per Politico<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
Mamdani further impressed with this debate performance on the 12th<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
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Via Jacobin<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n
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