Mamdani hopes to make inroads among black voters who supported Andrew Cuomo, Latino voters who have turned to Trump, and Jewish voters who may have differing views on Israel.
New Yorkers vote early in mayoral election
New York City residents are holding early voting to choose their next mayor.
NEW YORK – A historic number of New Yorkers are participating in the mayoral race in America’s largest city.
In New York, a heavily Democratic city, general elections at the end of the year are not typically competitive. But ahead of Election Day on November 4, the race is being fought in a crowded field.
State Rep. Zoran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, has been leading the race since his stunning upset of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary in June. Mr. Cuomo, who is currently running as an independent, is aiming for a political comeback by building a coalition of voters to oppose Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist. But Mr. Cuomo faces an obstacle from Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who has vowed not to resign.
Here are six points to keep an eye on during the race.
Can Mamdani improve black neighborhoods?
In the June primary, Mamdani struggled to gain support from black voters, a key part of the Democratic Party’s base. Mr. Cuomo, whose father Mario was also New York’s Democratic governor, performed well in predominantly black areas in the primary.
Since then, Mamdani has campaigned extensively in the black community, including in churches across the city. Basil Smickle, a Columbia University professor and former state Democratic Party executive director, previously told USA TODAY that Mamdani will need to win over skeptical Black voters about his ambitious campaign promises, which include free busing, universal child care and a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments.
Mayor Eric Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, endorsed Mr. Cuomo after dropping out of the race, but remains on the ballot. The two attacked Mamdani and his supporters who they believe are contributing to the gentrification of communities of color.
Young voters supported Mamdani in the primary. Will they be able to do it again?
This could be a positive sign for the 67-year-old Mr. Cuomo, as early voting numbers show higher turnout among older people, and polls show Mr. Cuomo doing better than Mr. Mamdani among people over 50.
Mamdani, 34, needs to win over the younger voters who gave him a big victory in the primary. There have been moments in his campaign that have gone viral on social media, whether it’s the inflation of the city’s famous halal carts or the celebrity “Hot Girls for Zoran” supporting him, which has benefited from the thousands of enthusiastic young supporters who have rolled around the city.
Do Republicans believe Cuomo?
In the general election, Mr. Cuomo made a clear appeal to the Republican Party to support Mr. Mamdani. He is even trying to exclude Sliwa, founder of anti-crime vigilante group Guardian Angels, from the race.
If Mr. Cuomo can win over enough Sliwa voters, it could pave the way for a diverse anti-Mamdani coalition.
How far have voters, particularly Jewish New Yorkers, turned toward Israel?
Mamdani has long criticized Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. Some critics have labeled Mamdani anti-Semitic for opposing Israel’s siege of Gaza, calling it genocide, an assessment echoed by human rights groups and the United Nations.
In New York City, home to about 1 million Jewish residents, support for Israel has long been the norm among politicians of both parties. Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Sliwa implied that Mr. Mamdani was anti-Semitic over his stance on Israel.
Nevertheless, Mamdani enjoyed considerable support among Jewish voters in the Democratic primary. Public opinion among Jews and New Yorkers also continues to shift toward Israel, largely due to Israel’s acrimonious relationship with Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the October 7, 2023, attack by armed groups on Israeli civilians.
Will Mamdani be able to win back communities of color that have turned to Trump in 2024?
New York City voted a record amount for Donald Trump in 2024. Perhaps nowhere has the shift been more pronounced than in nonwhite-majority communities, especially Latino communities, that supported cost-cutting promises.
Mr. Trump won by a large margin in the Bronx, a predominantly Latino borough, the nonprofit news organization The City reported. Former Vice President Kamala Harris received 73% of the vote, while Trump received 27%. However, in 2016, it was 89% for Hillary Clinton and 10% for Trump.
After Mr. Trump won in 2024, Mr. Mamdani toured areas where Mr. Trump had made record profits and pitched his affordability appeal as a mayoral candidate in social media videos. The election will be a test of whether Mamdani and his policies focused on lowering the cost of living can win back non-white voters who have drifted to the right.
How will the national Democratic Party react to New York City?
The National Democratic Party had distanced itself from Mamdani. The top two Democrats in Congress, both of whom live in Brooklyn, are at odds over Mamdani. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered lukewarm support at the last minute. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has not endorsed Mamdani.
If Mamdani wins again, Democrats could look to his platform, which focuses on affordability, as a winning message. Or, as one Republican medium-term strategy memo puts it, Mamdani could take control of Congress.
