Final New York mayoral debate begins
Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa have taken the stage for a two-hour debate in Queens, New York, before city residents head to the polls to decide who will become their next mayor.
The debate, which is likely to focus on public safety, the rising cost of living, housing and Donald Trump, is the last time candidates will be able to make their pitch to New Yorkers before early voting begins on Saturday, 25 October.
Key events
Asked about dealing with Donald Trump, Curtis Sliwa says, “You can’t beat Trump, he has all the cards,” suggesting that he is the candidate who can deal best with the president.
“I’ve confronted him and I have beaten him,” Cuomo says, and suggests Trump “will take over New York City” if Mamdani wins.
Mamdani is withering in his response, telling viewers they just heard from the Republican candidate and “Donald Trump’s puppet himself, Andrew Cuomo”.
Mamdani argues that Trump has made it clear that he wants Cuomo to win, amid reports that the former governor has consulted the president on strategy in the race.
The first question deals with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on street vendors on Canal Street in Manhattan on Tuesday.
All three candidates criticize the ICE raids, with Cuomo saying he would have pushed the White House to pull back the federal officers.
“ICE is a reckless entity that cares little for the law,” Mamdani says.
Sliwa also says the raids were a bad idea, but calls the reaction of New Yorkers, who pushed back on the officers as the raid was taking place, wrong.
Opening statements
“It’s us versus them,” Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, says in his brief opening statement, in which he claims that he is the true representative of New Yorkers.
Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, begins by urging the Knicks to win, and then pivots to attacking “my main opponent”, Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani, the Democratic candidate – who according to Cuomo in his latest attack ad “has no new ideas” and is merely a rehash of Bill de Blasio, the former mayor – says: “I have plans for our future, my opponents only have fear.”
Final New York mayoral debate begins
Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa have taken the stage for a two-hour debate in Queens, New York, before city residents head to the polls to decide who will become their next mayor.
The debate, which is likely to focus on public safety, the rising cost of living, housing and Donald Trump, is the last time candidates will be able to make their pitch to New Yorkers before early voting begins on Saturday, 25 October.
Why have top Democrats not endorsed Mamdani?
Adam Gabbatt
He’s the hottest politician in the US, one who managed to attract thousands of young and first-time voters to the Democratic party in his unexpected win in the New York City mayoral primary.
With the Democrats suffering from historically low approval ratings, one might have thought the party would rally round Zohran Mamdani, to learn lessons from the media-savvy 33-year-old and bask in his soaring popularity.
That hasn’t happened.
The most influential political figures in New York state politics have instead studiously avoided any public endorsement of Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist who has a 22-point lead over his nearest challenger.
The New York Times is reporting that Zohran Mamdani is planning to ask the New York City police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her role if he wins the election.
As the Times notes, deciding who should lead the 50,000-person department is one of the biggest choices a New York mayor must make. Mamdani, who has been critical of the NYPD and has said he wants to build a community safety agency, might have been swayed by fierce lobbying since winning the Democratic primary.
It is unclear if Tisch would agree to stay in the position.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate and mayoral race frontrunner, was seen preparing for tonight’s debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens.
Sliwa quits radio show in argument with station’s billionaire owner
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa has stepped down from his role hosting a local New York radio show after the station’s owner asked him to drop his mayoral bid, according to reports.
Sliwa, famous for his red beret, hit back at 77 WABC owner John Catsimatidis – himself a Republican – and complained the station was giving preferable treatment to former governor Andrew Cuomo.
The New York Post reports that Sliwa said: “You will never see me at the studios of WABC again, never, no matter how this election turns out.”
Catsimatidis denied he asked Sliwa to quit the race but insisted Cuomo’s chances to win far outstripped those of Sliwa. Speaking to the Post, the billionaire businessman said: “I’ve never asked that he leave the race but recommended that a lot of other people have said he should.”
As it was in last week’s debate, Israel and Gaza may become a point of contention tonight.
Mamdani could again face questions about his past remarks on Israel. In the first debate, Cuomo tried to demand that his opponent denounce Hamas, prompting Mamdani to say: “Of course I believe that [Hamas] should lay down their arms … All parties have to cease fire and put down their weapons.”
Cuomo has repeatedly suggested that Mamdani is a danger to Jewish New Yorkers while Mamdani has previously called out Cuomo for failing to visit mosques.
You can catch up on our key takeaways from that first debate here:
How to watch or listen to the debate
The debate is slated from 7 to 9pm ET (plus pre- and post-debate analysis). Wondering where to catch the debate broadcast or stream it? You have several options:
The candidates will probably spar over several high-profile city issues, including public safety, the cost of living, transit, housing, and a litany of ongoing and looming clashes with the Trump administration.
The debate comes the same week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids related to “selling counterfeit goods” were conducted in New York’s Chinatown neighborhood. The federal agency’s actions drew protesters to city streets – and condemnation from local leaders. The mayoral candidates also weighed in.
Mamdani called the operation an “aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors”, adding: “Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”
Cuomo, the independent candidate and former New York governor, characterized the raid an “abuse of federal power by the Trump administration: more about fear than justice, more about politics than safety”.
“This is not who we are, and it will never be NYC when I am mayor,” Cuomo said. “The Statue of Liberty stands in our harbor, not as a decoration, but as a declaration of our values and the promise of America.”
In a statement to the Gothamist, a spokesperson for Sliwa said the Republican candidate believes “the backs of restaurants and other service industries should not be the focus of immigration enforcement”, and that the federal government should prioritize the deportation of “gang members, sex traffickers and those involved in major crimes”.
All three candidates have stated that Donald Trump should not deploy troops to New York City.
Mamdani, Cuomo and Sliwa to spar again before early voting
Hello and welcome to our New York mayoral debate live blog. Voters in New York City will get one last opportunity to see the three candidates – Democrat Zohran Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa – make their arguments in the public forum about why they are the best person to run the largest US city.
This second and final matchup comes a few days before the start of early voting, which runs from Saturday, 25 October through Sunday, 2 November. Registered voters who don’t opt for those early ballots can cast them on Tuesday, 4 November.
The two-hour debate kicks off at 7pm ET, hosted by Spectrum NY1, WNYC/Gothamist and the City. The mayoral race has received international attention, mainly regarding Mamdani, the state assembly member and democratic socialist whose optimistic, populist messaging has resonated with many New Yorkers.
We’ll bring you all the latest news and reactions from the debate as we get them.
