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Democratic Mayoral Candidates Clash in Heated Debate, Unite in Attacks on Frontrunner Andrew Cuomo

New York City’s Democratic mayoral hopefuls took to a crowded and combative debate stage Wednesday night, sparring over key issues like immigration, housing, and public safety. Yet on one front, the candidates were largely united—delivering a barrage of attacks against frontrunner and former governor Andrew Cuomo.

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, seen as a rising progressive in the race, was among the most vocal critics. “One of my regrets is having trusted leaders like Andrew Cuomo,” Mamdani said.

The debate came just hours before a highly anticipated endorsement from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is expected to formally back Mamdani on Thursday morning. In a statement shared first with The New York Times, Ocasio-Cortez praised Mamdani’s grassroots coalition: “Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack. In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”

Cuomo, seeking a political comeback as a mayoral candidate following his 2021 resignation over sexual harassment allegations, absorbed sustained criticism from nearly every candidate on stage.

“Women, mothers, grandmothers—these are the people who don’t feel safe around Andrew Cuomo,” said former assemblyman Michael Blake. “That’s the greatest threat to public safety in New York City.”

City Comptroller Brad Lander accused Cuomo of betraying grieving families: “He didn’t just lie to Congress, which is perjury—he lied to families whose loved ones died in nursing homes so he could protect a $5 million book deal.”

Former Comptroller Scott Stringer piled on: “Cuomo has the nerve to criticize bail reform when he signed the bill himself without reading it.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams added, “No regrets when it comes to cutting Medicaid, slow-walking PPE to Black and Brown communities during COVID? Really? No regrets?”

Cuomo, often under fire during his tenure as governor, spent much of the two-hour debate parrying criticism from the eight other Democrats on stage. He reserved his own sharpest jab for Mamdani, who is currently the only challenger gaining traction in the polls.

“Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter,” Cuomo said. “He’s been in government for 27 minutes. He passed three bills.”

Mamdani fired back by highlighting the contrast in campaign donors: “The difference between me and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign isn’t funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C.”

As moderators navigated topics ranging from housing policy to how each candidate would respond to a potential second Trump presidency, the candidates were often forced to condense their answers into 30-second responses—many of which centered on Cuomo.

“Sexually harassed 13 women, marked up a state health report to undercount nursing home deaths,” said Lander, summarizing what many critics view as Cuomo’s most serious liabilities.

Cuomo, for his part, again denied wrongdoing. He defended his record on the COVID nursing home crisis: “New York ranked 38th in nursing home death rates—38th. That’s significant, considering we were hit first and hardest.”

While candidates did outline some substantive policy differences, the evening was defined more by political jabs than policy breakthroughs—a reflection of a tense, high-stakes primary in a city still recovering from overlapping crises.

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