Headline Roundup • October 24th, 2025
How the NYC Mayoral Debates Impacted the Race
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Democrat Zohran Mamdani, Independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, participated on Wednesday in the final debate before the New York City mayoral election on November 4.
The Details: Mamdani beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary race in June, prompting Cuomo to run as an Independent. Mamdani appears to be the frontrunner in polls, though he has split Democratic votes and received backlash from President Donald Trump.
Mamdani Left Sweating: According to the New York Post (Lean Right bias), Mamdani “was left sweating on stage” because of Cuomo’s accusations about Mamdani’s lack of political experience. Mamdani did not take a position on an affordable housing ballot initiative, despite that issue being central to his campaign. The Post called Cuomo the winner and reported that Mamdani “barely made the grade.”
Political Experience: Cuomo “attacked” Mamdani, according to Newsweek (Center), over his lack of experience, claiming that Mamdani “never had a job” or “accomplished anything.” Mamdani brought up Cuomo’s sexual harassment allegations, asking him, “What do you say to the 13 women who you sexually harassed?” Cuomo, who resigned as governor of New York after being accused of harassing his female employees, responded that all the cases against him had been dropped.
ICE in New York: The New York Times (Lean Left) noted that all three candidates “criticized the ICE raids on Canal Street,” though they each gave slightly different answers as to how they would collaborate with Trump.
How Will It Impact the Election? According to Newsweek, polls on Thursday morning still show odds of 1.03–93%–for Mamdani to win the election. New York Post similarly quoted experts who said that while Cuomo and Sliwa “probably each picked up polling points,” it is still “highly unlikely either of them can close the wide gap against Mamdani.”
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Lev Radin/Sipa USA/Angelina Katsanis, Pool/AP Images
Zohran Mamdani's odds of winning the 2025 New York mayoral election received a slight boost from one leading bookmaker but suffered a knock with another, following his heated final debate with independent rival Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist serving in the New York State Assembly, is hoping to win New York City's mayoral election in November after beating Cuomo, a former governor of the state, in a June primary for the Democratic Party nomination.
Cuomo, who is running as an independent following the loss, is polling significantly...
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Andrew Cuomo was the winner of the final New York City mayoral election debate — passing with flying colors as front-runner Zohran Mamdani barely made the grade, a Post panel of political experts said.
Mamdani, the lefty Democratic nominee, was left sweating on stage Wednesday night as he took big hits from independent hopeful Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, making a poor showing with less than two weeks before the election.
“Cuomo won the debate,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist University Institute for Public Opinion, said of the...
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner for mayor of New York City, sought to play it safe in the final debate of the race, avoiding contentious issues and pledging to keep the police commissioner.
Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, repeatedly attacked Mr. Mamdani and accused him of being inexperienced and evasive.
The candidates had tense arguments over how to build housing, combat antisemitism, stand up to President Trump and navigate immigration raids.
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