New York City mayor’s race pits a Cuomo comeback against rising young socialist

New York City voters are about to launch either the improbable comeback of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or a socialist committed to raising taxes and defending the chant of “Globalize the intifada,” which calls for violence against Israel.

How did the city’s mayoral race — and the Democratic primary that ends Tuesday — get so crazy?

Strategists say the rapid rise of Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist from Queens who is closing in on Mr. Cuomo, is a symptom of the Democratic Party’s struggle to attract younger voters.

“The Democratic Party is not paying attention to younger people,” said political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. “And the end result is that the Democratic Party is now being replaced and commandeered by someone who’s not even a Democrat.”

An intergenerational struggle has paralyzed the Democrats since they were relegated to the sidelines of government in the November elections.

Earlier this month, the Democratic National Committee tossed its youngest rising star, David Hogg, out of the party leadership by nullifying his election to vice chairman. The 25-year-old gun control activist had been planning to use his political action committee to oust “asleep at the wheel” Democratic incumbents in upcoming primaries.

Mr. Mamdani, 33, is now on the rise in New York City, and he is within striking distance of Mr. Cuomo, 67, whose family has been among the most powerful in New York Democratic politics for more than half a century.

Two recent polls show Mr. Mamdani, whose socialist platform calls for free public transit and child care funded by higher taxes on the wealthy and businesses, is winning the majority of younger voters over Mr. Cuomo.

The former governor, who led the state from 2011 to 2021, is hoping to make a political comeback after a forced resignation in disgrace amid sexual harassment charges. He is campaigning on a largely traditional Democratic agenda centered on making the city safer and more affordable. Mr. Cuomo is touting his decades in government, which, in addition to serving as governor, include stints as housing and urban development secretary under President Clinton and attorney general of New York.

“I know how to make government work,” Mr. Cuomo said during the Democratic mayoral debate. “I can turn this city around.”

Young Democratic voters, however, threaten to thwart Mr. Cuomo’s rise from the political dustbin as they increasingly reject the party’s old guard.

Early voting was high among young voters, a likely positive sign for Mr. Mamdani and his socialist agenda, analysts said.

A shock poll released Monday showed him narrowly surpassing Mr. Cuomo in the city’s ranked-choice voting system, which will determine the winner Tuesday.

An Emerson College/Hill survey found Mr. Cuomo leading Mr. Mamdani by 3 percentage points in the first round of polling, but neither candidate got the required majority until an additional eight polling rounds. Mimicking the ranked-choice system of eliminating candidates with the lowest number of votes, the poll found Mr. Mamdani defeating Mr. Cuomo 52% to 48%.

In ranked-choice voting, voters pick their favorite candidate on the ballot and rank their preferences out of the other listed candidates. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, election officials tabulate the results by first eliminating the candidate with the fewest votes.

The Cuomo campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

In recent weeks, Mr. Mamdani has risen to political superstardom through grassroots support, which was partly built through his command of social media platforms, text messaging and endorsements from prominent far-left leaders.

He is supported by Sen. Bernard Sanders, a democratic socialist from Vermont and former presidential candidate, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a member of Congress’ ultraliberal “Squad” who is viewed as a future Democratic presidential candidate.

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez made the case against Mr. Cuomo at a recent Mamdani rally.

“In a world and a nation that is crying to end the gerontocracy of our leadership, that wants to see a new day, that wants to see a new generation ascend, it is unconscionable to send Andrew Cuomo to Gracie Mansion,” she told the rally crowd.

Mr. Mamdani is promising big giveaways for city residents.

In addition to free bus rides and universal child care, he pledged to freeze rent, set up a network of government-run grocery stores to provide cheap food for residents and fast-track 200,000 newly built, rent-controlled apartments.

He promised to add a billion-dollar department of public safety to take over law enforcement responses to mental health calls and to perform other safety services, such as gun prevention.

The freebies and social safety net expansion come with a big price tag that Mr. Mamdani said would be funded by increasing corporate tax rates, now capped at 7.5%, to 11.5%, matching New Jersey’s rate.

He wants to add a 2% tax on individual incomes greater than $1 million.

Mr. Cuomo has positioned himself as the more experienced and qualified candidate. In the final week of the campaign, he attacked his opponent over his stance on Israel and, most recently, his refusal to condemn the antisemitic messages “Globalize the intifada” and “From the river to the sea,” which call for violence against Jews and the elimination of Israel, respectively.

Mr. Mamdani, who would become New York’s first Muslim mayor, said on “The Bulwark Podcast”: “I know people for whom those things mean very different things, and what I hear from so many is a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian rights.”

Mr. Mamdani has been critical of Israel’s policies and called strikes on the Gaza Strip “genocide.” He refuses to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Mr. Cuomo called Mr. Mamdani’s stance “reprehensible” and said he was flabbergasted by the support of prominent Democrats.

“I don’t know how they can support those positions and represent Jews,” Mr. Cuomo said.

One of Mr. Cuomo’s top campaign pledges is fighting antisemitism, which he said is rising across the country and must be crushed with “legal and moral force.”

The primary will play a significant role in determining who wins the mayoral race but won’t eliminate either candidate from the November ballot.

Mr. Cuomo plans to run as an independent if he loses the Democratic primary. Mr. Mamdani would appear on the November ballot as the Working Families Party candidate if he doesn’t defeat Mr. Cuomo.

Mayor Eric Adams, recently indicted by the federal government, is missing from the primary ballot. He is trying to salvage his political career by running for reelection as an independent.

Ranked choice won’t be used in the November election. The candidate who receives the most votes will be the winner.

Mr. Sheinkopf said the lineup of an incumbent mayor, a former governor and a rising socialist star makes the November results unpredictable but could ultimately help the embattled incumbent.

“Anything can happen,” Mr. Sheinkopf said, but “if Cuomo doesn’t win the primary, Adams will win the general election.”