By Gloria Pazmino
CNN: Labor Day marks the traditional start of the sprint to Election Day. This fall’s marquee event: the contest to become New York City’s next mayor.
Zohran Mamdani is vying to finish the job after his shocking victory in June’s Democratic primary. Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are running as independents, trying to rescue their political careers from a torrent of scandals. And Republican Curtis Sliwa adds an unpredictable element to the mix.
The winner on Nov. 4 will lead America’s largest city, but the results will resonate across politics. A victory by Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist, would signal a sharp break within the Democratic Party from leaders who have refused to endorse him even after his primary win.
Casting a shadow over the race is President Donald Trump, a Queens native and owner of several namesake properties in Manhattan. Trump has referred to Mamdani as a “communist” and said he would need to “take over” the city if Mamdani wins. Cuomo has used the threat to boost his campaign, saying only he knows how to battle with Trump, who has suggested the former governor should stay in the race despite his loss in June.
Here’s what to know about the race heading into the fall:
Democrats, democratic socialists and Mamdani
Despite having the backing of much of the city’s Democratic establishment, Mamdani has yet to secure the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The pair recently met for a second time in Jeffries’ Brooklyn district, this time alongside clergy leaders and Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus who also represents parts of Brooklyn.
As Jeffries holds out, Mamdani is facing added scrutiny over his connection to the Democratic Socialists of America. Cuomo is trying to tie Mamdani to the DSA’s most controversial proposals – including abolishing misdemeanors, disarming police officers, abolishing prisons and decriminalizing sex work.
It’s a tricky balance: The New York City chapter of the party has endorsed him and Mamdani has made it clear he is proud to identify as a member of DSA. But he also ran as a Democrat focused on affordability and has disavowed his previous calls to defund the police. He is putting some space between his campaign and the national arm of the DSA.
“If you cannot find a policy on my website, that is not a policy that I am running on,” Mamdani told reporters last week.
The national organization is helping him with distance too.
“While we are proud that Zohran works closely with NYC-DSA, we also understand his platform for mayor is not identical to the DSA National platform,” DSA co-chair, Ashik Siddique, said in a statement.
Cuomo tries to keep the focus on crime
Cuomo, who is trying to revive his campaign through a mix of rebranded social media videos, pithy posts and frequent press conferences, is leaning into the public-safety focus of his primary campaign.
Mamdani and Cuomo’s public safety proposals are vastly different. Cuomo is proposing to hire an additional 5,000 police officers while Mamdani has said he wants to change the way in which officers respond to certain emergency calls, particularly calls involving the homeless or mentally ill.
Despite a decline in shootings and murders, Cuomo has remained focused on the city’s crime rate and the NYPD’s officer shortage. Standing near a memorial where a 69-year-old woman was killed by a stray bullet, he renewed his call to bring the NYPD’s headcount – which is already the largest in the nation – to the same levels as the administration of former Mayor David Dinkins.
Adams holds on
Or at least that’s what it looks like for now.
The incumbent is staying in the race despite a constant stream of corruption allegations surrounding his inner circle, a lack of public funds to help his campaign and abysmal polling showing that a majority of New Yorkers disapprove of his performance.
Adams, who has been endorsed by a handful of law enforcement unions got another boost of support after Teamsters Local 831 – which represents the city’s sanitation workers – endorsed his campaign.
Explaining the cash inside a bag of chips
One of the more bizarre episodes in the campaign so far unfolded after one of Adams’ former senior staff members handed a bag of potato chips stuffed with cash to a reporter following a campaign event in Harlem.
Winnie Greco, who previously worked as Adams’ liaison to the Chinese community and has been under investigation by federal authorities for months, handed the sour cream and onion potato chips bag to Katie Honan of THE CITY, a digital news outlet that has extensively covered Adams’ corruption scandals.
After realizing the chips were not just an awkward snack offer, Honan tried to return the money to Greco, who insisted that she keep it. Honan declined, explaining she could not receive gifts. The incident was referred to the city’s Department of Investigation.
“We don’t give money to reporters. I don’t know anything about what took place there,” Adams said after the incident.
Greco, who has since been suspended from her volunteer position in the campaign, denied the cash was a bribe to the reporter. Greco’s lawyer told CNN it was meant to be a kind gesture.
Hours later, Adams’ former senior adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin was indicted on state charges of corruption and bribery, accused in a wide-ranging scheme involving cash, television shows and moneyed donors opposed to a street redesign project in Brooklyn.
Manhattan prosecutors allege Lewis-Martin who Adams has referred to as “his sister” traded influence and favors from her powerful perch at City Hall in exchange for thousands of dollars in cash bribes and even a cameo on the small screen.
Lewis-Martin pleaded not guilty along with eight co-defendants charged in the scheme.
While Adams was not accused of any wrongdoing, the ongoing corruption scandals affecting his inner circle persist, reinforcing the perception that Adams cannot get away from the accusations that have hobbled his administration.
It also gave his opponents fodder. Mamdani, whose viral videos helped him catapult to national notoriety, posted a clip of himself eating from a bag of chips.
