Mamdani aims to keep control while Cuomo angles for GOP votes ahead of final NYC mayoral debate

NEW YORK– NEW YORK — New York’s mayoral candidates are set to gather for their final debate Wednesday night, with Democrat Zohran Mamdani seeking to remain in control of a race increasingly seen as his own, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo increases pressure on Republican Curtis Sliwa to drop out.

With days before early voting begins, Cuomo issued a series of urgent appeals to the city’s conservative voters to abandon Sliwa and support him, portraying the Republican candidate as a “spoiler” whose presence in the race will allow Mamdani to victory.

The debate could be the former governor’s last and best opportunity to make his case for leading the nation’s largest city before next month’s election.

But Sliwa, the swaggering creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, forcefully asserted he would not leave the race and in turn stepped up his criticism of the former governor.

Mamdani, meanwhile, spent his final days campaigning on local issues and energizing his own supporters. Even though he is expected to face an aggressive version of Cuomo on stage, as he did in last week’s first debate, he will have to balance his counterattacks with the hopeful vision of the city that gave his campaign the momentum.

Here’s what to watch for during the 90-minute debate Wednesday night, which will air live on Spectrum News NY1 and stream on the station’s website starting at 7 p.m.:

Mamdani will try to stay above the fray and stay focused on voters.

“While my opponents focus on talking about each other and which one of them should give up, I will focus on New Yorkers themselves and the concerns I have heard from them,” he told reporters Tuesday, according to the Daily News.

But as a Democratic candidate, a presumptive front-runner and a rising national star, the state lawmaker is still expected to face criticism Wednesday night.

The 34-year-old democratic socialist’s opponents have focused on his relatively thin political record, accused the city of descending into chaos under his leadership and called attention to President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the city — and even arrest Mamdani — if he wins.

Last week, he managed to deflect much of Cuomo’s verbal attacks while launching his own attacks on the former governor’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and sexual harassment allegations that Cuomo denies but led to his resignation in 2021.

Mamdani also received a little help from Sliwa. The Republican’s sharpest attacks were reserved for Cuomo, forcing the 67-year-old to adopt a defensive posture at a time when he needed to deal significant blows to Mamdani to stifle the Democrat’s momentum.

After losing his first attempt at a comeback in the Democratic primary to Mamdani this summer, Cuomo revived his campaign with a strange request: a call for other candidates to step down.

He made a similar play in the home stretch of the general election race, saying in a radio interview this week that “A vote for Curtis is a vote for Mamdani,” while acknowledging that “it’s mathematically harder” for him to win with Sliwa in the race.

“Republicans believe Mamdani poses an existential threat,” Cuomo said. “Then you do what you need to do to end the existential threat.”

Cuomo, who is now running as an independent, could use the debate to press the issue and play the last chance for conservatives and moderates, presenting himself as a more viable candidate than Sliwa.

Sliwa caused a stir during last week’s debate when viewers got a glimpse of the colorful character who has long been a fixture in the city’s tabloids.

The 71-year-old has launched targeted attacks on Cuomo and Mamdani, while sprinkling anecdotes like the time he was shot in the back of a taxi into what he says was the mob attempt.

On Wednesday, Sliwa will look to mobilize his new audience for real support as he tries to make his case that he is a viable candidate in this heavily Democratic city.

To win, Sliwa will have to retain the nearly 30% of voters he won in the last municipal elections, while convincing centrists who do not want to support Mamdani or Cuomo.

Although pressure has increased on Sliwa to step down, he appears more determined than ever to stay in the race.

“Billionaires will not determine who the next mayor will be. You, the people, will,” he said this week in a campaign video calling on his supporters to vote on the first day of early voting this weekend.