In New York City’s Democratic primary for mayor, it’s former Gov. Andrew Cuomo against everyone else.
During the mayoral debate on Wednesday night, leading Democrats, such as socialist Zohran Mamdani and Comptroller Brad Lander, will likely reject Cuomo’s defenses of past sexual harassment allegations against him, the COVID-19 nursing home scandal, and even his status as a city resident.
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Cuomo has been the front-runner in the race for months, though Mamdani has begun to creep up on him. Most Democratic primary contenders have advised their supporters to rank other Democrats but not Cuomo, to stall his candidacy and boost others.
The event could become entirely about attacking Cuomo or about arguing who is the best Democrat to lead the city. Six other candidates will also be present, including New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, New York state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, former state Assemblyman Michael Blake, and former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson.
Cuomo’s campaign declined to comment to the Washington Examiner for this article. The former governor and his spokesman, Rich Azzopardi, have remained quiet about the debate as of Wednesday afternoon.
Cuomo’s campaign has lost polling momentum recently as the other contenders, such as Mamdani, have formed their campaigns. In mid-May, the race was viewed as “Cuomo’s to lose.”
Mamdani said he was excited for the debate.
“It’s debate night and I can’t wait to share our vision for a city we can afford,” he captioned a video on X celebrating his liberal priorities.
It’s debate night and I can’t wait to share our vision for a city we can afford. pic.twitter.com/mn9S2zEcOa
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 4, 2025
New York-based Democratic strategist Max Burns told the Washington Examiner that he expects Mamdani to try to get under Cuomo’s skin and that he will succeed if he can “keep him pinned down, litigating the decisions he made as governor.”
“Cuomo tends to get most frazzled when people directly challenge his memory of how he handled events,” Burns said.
When asked in a New York Times interview on Tuesday whether he had changed his mind on congestion pricing, Cuomo said, “No, no, no. Congestion pricing, I did not change my mind on.” However, he initially supported the initiative and backtracked in a New York Post op-ed, saying he wanted the program paused. Now, he supports it again.
For Lander’s pre-debate material, he took a more combative approach, targeting incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Elon Musk, and Cuomo in a video released before the debate.
Hi, I’m Brad Lander. ????
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) June 4, 2025
Tonight, I’m taking the stage at the first Mayoral debate of the 2025 Primary Election. Tune in to @NBCNewYork at 7:00 PM.
And in the meantime, allow me to reintroduce myself:pic.twitter.com/6HyuRIDqkj
“Brad will show New Yorkers he’s the one candidate with the progressive values to make the city more affordable, the real experience and management know-how to keep us safe, and the integrity to end the Adams-Cuomo nightmare of chaos and corruption,” Lander campaign spokesman Nate Jackson told the Washington Examiner.
Strategists noted that Adrienne Adams and Stringer could finally take the “center-left lane” that hasn’t been taken by anyone yet, with a great debate. Both have modest support but not enough to threaten Mamdani or Cuomo.
Others have a small chance of winning the primary but could still stand to benefit. Ramos and Zellnor are two politicians under 40 who are likely still raising their political profiles.
Cuomo could benefit from the debate by reinforcing his messaging that he is an experienced New York leader ready to tackle the city’s crime and public safety problems. He posted an ad on Tuesday emphasizing that New York City’s wages and number of affordable homes “will rise.”
The first debate will be held at 7 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday at 30 Rock, WNBC’s studios in Rockefeller Center. It will be hosted jointly by WNBC, WNJU, and Politico New York, with David Ushery and Melissa Russo of WNBC, Rosarina Breton of WNJU, and Sally Goldenberg of Politico as moderators, with no live audience.
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The second debate will be on Thursday next week and hosted by Spectrum News NY1. Ramos and Blake did not qualify for the debate’s fundraising guidelines, so there will be seven candidates speaking instead of nine.
Early voting in the Democratic primary begins on June 14. Election day is June 24.