Oct. 22 (UPI) — The top two candidates to become New York’s next mayor lashed out at one another Wednesday in their second and final general election debate two weeks before the election.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67, is running as an independent after Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, 34, defeated him in the city’s Democratic Party primary.
In 2020, Mamdani, a Muslim, became the first Ugandan and South Asian man to serve in the state chamber. Cuomo was governor from 2011 until 2023, when he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations.
Also on stage was Guardian Angels founder and radio show host Curtis Sliwa, 71, who secured the Republican Party’s nomination and is vowing not to drop out of the race to close Cuomo’s gap.
During the 90-minute debate, they agreed on one issue: a federal crackdown by U.S. Immigration and Law Enforcement. But they disagreed how to best deal with President Donald Trump
Mamdani is polling as the favorite to win New York City’s mayoral election, which is scheduled for Nov. 4, but Cuomo has closed ground in recent polls, though Mamdani has a double-digit lead, according to CBS News. Early voting starts Saturday.
An AARP/Gotham Polling poll released on Monday shows Mamdani with 43.2%, followed by Cuomo at 28.9% and Sliwa at 19.4%. In a head-to-head race, Mamdani prevails 44.6% to 40.7% for Cuomo.
Trump would prefer Cuomo over Mamdani and has asked Sliwa to drop out.
“He has no respect for him,” Cuomo said about Trump, who has called his opponent a Communist. “He thinks he’s a kid and he’s going to knock him on his tuchus.”
Cuomo called Mamdani divisive and lacked experience. Mamdani responded that Cuomo was a “desperate man lashing out.”
Sliwa also noted Mamdani’s lack of experience, saying his resume could “fit on a cocktail napkin.” And he said that Cuomo has enough failures to “fill a library.”
Mandani’s experience was punctuated during an exchange on housing policy.
“The governor doesn’t build housing in New York City,” Cuomo said in response to a question.
“Not if it’s you,” Mamdani responded.
“I did things; you have never had a job,” Cuomo said, pointing toward Mamdani and drawing applause from the crowd. “There is no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8.5 million lives. You don’t know how to run a government.”
In describing his opponent’s limited experience, Cuomo said: “You don’t know how to handle an emergency, and you literally never proposed a bill on anything that you’re not talking about in your campaign.”
Mamdani said Cuomo was “creating his own facts.”
“We just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state,” Mamdani said. “Who was leading the state? It was you, governor.”
Cuomo has referred to his opponent as “de Blasio lite” and “de Blasio 2.0.” Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, was the city’s mayor from 2014 until 2021 and has backed Mamdani.
Mamdani has not been endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both Democrats of New York.
Mamdani’s opponents have accused him of promoting antisemitism.
“You’re the savior of the Jewish people? You won’t denounce ‘Globalize the Intifada,’ which means ‘Kill Jews,'” Cuomo said, noting that hundreds of rabbis had signed a letter criticizing him. “There’s unprecedented fear in New York.”
Mandani said: “I look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls the city home. All 8.5 million New Yorkers, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I’ve shared about Israel and Palestine.”
He described his own Jewish family members, saying that members of the community were “scared.”
The debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College was moderated by Errol Lewis of NY1, Brian Lehrer of WNYC and Katie Honan of The City and aired live on Spectrum News’ NY1 and via streaming.
Cuomo favors city oversight of the New York City Transit’s budget, while Mamdani has advocated for revising how the city’s Department of Education approves contracts, WABC-TV reported.
Sliwa is running as a law-and-order candidate and on Wednesday morning said he is ending his conservative talk show on WABC Radio due to the station hosting Cuomo several times in recent weeks.
WABC Radio owner John Catsimatidis and program host Sid Rosenberg each have advocated for Sliwa to end his campaign in favor of Cuomo, according to WABC-TV.
After the debate, Cuomo went to the New York Knicks game at Madison Square Garden with Mayor Eric Adams, who lost in the Democratic primary and dropped out as an independent.