The New York City mayoral debate went by largely without incident, ending hopes from Zohran Mamdani’s opponents of a major gaffe that could dent his campaign momentum.
The latest major Fox News poll, conducted Oct. 3–7 and released right before the debate, showed Mamdani with the backing of 46% of likely voters, trailed by Andrew Cuomo with 33% of the vote. Political analysts saw the debate as Cuomo’s last chance to make a comeback and cut down Mamdani’s lead. While Cuomo didn’t disappoint with his debate performance, neither did Mamdani, stripping his opponents of their hopes to catch up before voting next month.
“Cuomo needed a major moment this evening to trip up Mamdani in order to evaporate Mamdani’s double-digit polling lead. The former governor simply did not get that this evening,” Politico’s Nick Reisman said.
Analysts speaking with the anti-Mamdani New York Post were united in their assessment.
“All the candidates did well — and that’s the problem for New Yorkers who don’t want a socialist mayor,” Republican strategist Bill O’Reilly told the outlet.
“I did not conclude from this debate any major shift in voter sentiment,” Marist University Institute for Public Opinion director Lee Miringoff said. “There was no ‘aha’ moment.”
New York Times opinion columnist Mara Gay argued that Mamdani’s uneventful debate contrasted with poor performances by Republican Curtis Sliwa and Andrew Cuomo.
“Mamdani’s performance was just OK but he won anyway, because Cuomo and Sliwa looked out of touch and badly dated,” she said. “They were talking about Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton and relitigating the 1991 Crown Heights riots. Mamdani looked and sounded like someone who lives in and understands New York City in 2025. He stayed on the message a majority of New Yorkers care about the most, which is affordability.”
She agreed with another’s assessment that he seemed unprepared to answer questions on the details of his lofty plans, but that it had little effect on the perception of his performance.
Democratic operative Ken Frydman highlighted Mamdani’s ability to stick to his core message throughout the debate, repeatedly drawing the conversation back to his central appeal of plans to boost affordability.
“Whether or not you like what he has to say about Israel, Hamas, cops, gifted-and-talented schoolchildren, private property rights, higher taxes, or legalized prostitution, Mamdani has maintained message discipline and control about the city’s unaffordability,” he told the New York Post. “That’s what wins elections.”
J.C. Polanco, assistant professor at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, both praised and criticized Mamdani’s performance, finding him disingenuous but arguing that he would be seen favorably.
“Mamdani has a better stage presence and is a more effective orator, but appears to have abandoned all of the statements on seizing the means of production, decriminalization work, and not closing jails. Or at least that’s what it appears. It’s tough to debate someone who disowns their own long-standing positions. Uncanny ability to control the camera, rehearsed the zingers, and released them timely,” he told CBS News.
Cuomo continued his strategy of portraying Mamdani as an extremist and holding him responsible for the inflammatory rhetoric of some of his supporters. Mamdani kept his cool through the attacks and distanced himself from controversial socialist streamer and supporter Hasan Piker, denouncing his statement that the U.S. deserved 9/11.
MAMDANI WEATHERS CUOMO AND SLIWA JABS, BEATS AFFORDABILITY DRUM IN FIRST NYC MAYORAL DEBATE
While Israel featured heavily in the debate, Mamdani moderated his rhetoric and avoided falling into traps set by Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The socialist politician remained focused on his less polarizing stances surrounding affordability.
Several analysts noted a strong debate performance from Sliwa, but not strong enough to make up his cavernous polling deficit.
