Andrew Cuomo was the winner of the ultimate New York Metropolis mayoral election debate — passing with flying colours as front-runner Zohran Mamdani barely made the grade, a Publish panel of political consultants mentioned.
Mamdani, the lefty Democratic nominee, was left sweating on stage Wednesday evening as he took massive hits from impartial hopeful Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, making a poor displaying with lower than two weeks earlier than the election.
“Cuomo gained the controversy,” Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, mentioned of the 90 minute slugfest hosted by Spectrum NY1.
“He had an excellent evening. He landed extra punches and uncovered weaknesses in Mamdani’s presentation. He introduced doubts about Mamdani.”
Right here’s how The Publish’s group of bipartisan consultants graded the candidates:
Andrew Cuomo: A to A+ efficiency
The longtime politician and three-term governor stole the stage, firing off a lot sharper and extra pointed assaults after a poor displaying within the first normal election debate final week.
This time, he was efficient at making his case that Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, was too inexperienced to steer Metropolis Corridor, repeatedly placing him on his heels, the panelists mentioned.
“He was tonight’s massive winner. An A+,” Republican strategist Rob Ryan mentioned of the lifelong Democrat.
“Cuomo was the one candidate who appeared prepared to steer on day one. His assault on Mamdani’s lack of expertise was robust, heading in the right direction, and appeared to rattle Mamdani.”
Veteran communication specialist Andrew Kirtzman additionally gave Cuomo excessive marks — and famous that “if he had carried out this properly all yr, he may not be within the state of affairs he’s in now.”
“Cuomo had his finest evening of his marketing campaign – he was sharp, fast and brutal in his assaults on Mamdani,” Kirtzman mentioned.
“It was a reminder of the formidable, feared determine he was as governor. He has appeared diminished for a lot of this marketing campaign. Not tonight.”
For seemingly the primary time, Cuomo was notably efficient in confronting the Israel-bashing Mamdani on the difficulty of antisemitism, and in addition left the lefty pol rattled when he introduced up his smiling picture with a gay-hating politician from Uganda, the consultants mentioned.
“When Cuomo attacked him over the gay-hating Ugandan official, Mamdani turned visibly nervous. Throughout his response, his eyelids had been flapping quicker than a Monarch butterfly on its method to Mexico,” quipped Ryan.
Zohran Mamdani: B- to D efficiency
The normally smooth-talking front-runner had a surprisingly poor efficiency, showing shocked throughout a few of the assaults from his rivals.
“He appeared rattled by Cuomo’s pounding assaults on his lack of expertise. It wiped away his traditional smirk and he had no actual response,” mentioned Ryan, who gave Mamdani a D.
One of many worst moments of the controversy for Mamdani was self-inflicted, the panelists mentioned.
He refused to take a place on a poll initiative geared toward making it simpler to construct extra inexpensive housing — a problem he claims to champion.
“His lack of specifics on key points like poll initiatives gave Cuomo and Sliwa a gap to go on the assault,” mentioned Democratic operative and lobbyist Yvette Buckner.
Miringoff mentioned “oxygen went out of the room ” when Mamdani ducked as a substitute of taking a place on the housing initiative.
“That was the closest you will get to an ‘aha’ second. He seemed lots like a politician for the primary time. He was hemming and hawing. He was inconsistent. He was dodging,” the pollster mentioned.
Listed here are some highlights from the ultimate 2025 NYC Mayoral Debate
Kirtzman famous that Cuomo and Sliwa had been “actually laughing at him from each side.”
“Mamdani is a particularly gifted debater however he appeared besieged,” he mentioned, including the Dem nominee nonetheless walked away with a B-.
Curtis Sliwa: A efficiency
Sliwa notched some breakout moments, distinguishing himself from each Mamdani and Cuomo, the panelists mentioned.
“Sliwa had a terrific evening. He has grown as a candidate this yr – it’s spectacular,” Kirtzman mentioned.
Sliwa regularly delivered zingers in opposition to Cuomo, as he did in opposition to Mamdani.
“The allegations of sexual harassment continued to hang-out Cuomo. They reinforce individuals’s negatives about him,” Miringoff mentioned of the assaults, launched in opposition to the ex-governor by each of the candidates.
Sliwa additionally shined when slamming a legislation that Cuomo signed as governor which raised the age of prison accountability from 16 to 18, the consultants famous.
Cuomo defended signing the controversial Elevate the Age invoice, which has mandated that some teenagers who commit violent crimes get handled as juveniles as a substitute of adults, and Mamdani additionally backed the edict.
However Sliwa railed in opposition to the legislation, noting that his son Anthony was attacked by juveniles who obtained a slap on the wrist as a substitute of extreme punishment.
“Nobody wished to combine with Sliwa on that one,” Miringoff mentioned.
Closing ideas forward of the Nov. 4 election
Democratic operative Ken Frydman mentioned Cuomo and Sliwa “in all probability every picked up polling factors” as a result of debate.
“Nevertheless it’s extremely unlikely both of them can shut the huge hole in opposition to Mamdani” earlier than the Nov. 4 election, he mentioned.
The Democratic Socialists of America candidate has benefitted from divided opposition throughout the marketing campaign, with Cuomo and Sliwa splitting the anti-Mamdani vote.
“The issue for Cuomo, although, is that he wanted each of them [Mamdani and Sliwa] to have a nasty evening,” Kirtzman mentioned.
“If Sliwa’s numbers don’t fall there is no such thing as a method Cuomo can win.”
And Mamdani nonetheless had some tremendous moments, together with leaking his intention to maintain Jessica Tisch as police commissioner to the media previous to debate — after which confirming it when requested about it on stage, the panelists mentioned.
The transfer was geared toward easing issues that Mamdani, who beforehand advocated defunding the police, gained’t be powerful on crime.
He additionally had a intelligent second.
“A key second is when Mamdani mentioned he would record Sliwa second on his ranked selection poll [if there was one for the general election],” mentioned John Mollenkopf, director of CUNY’s Heart for City Analysis.
“It was two in opposition to one and Cuomo got here out the more severe for it.”
Nonetheless, the consensus was that the performances from Sliwa and Cuomo outperformed Mamdani’s lackluster show.
“Mamdani had the weakest efficiency on this debate. The race may tighten up just a little bit. It could be too little, too late. We’ll discover out,” Miringoff mentioned.
