The Democratic Primary for the New York Mayoral Race is set for June 24th, two major players have risen above the rest: former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and Zohran Mamdani, a local official from Queens. In recent days, while Cuomo has maintained a noticeable margin over Mamdani, various factors have dwindled that lead. So, who are these candidates, what exactly do they stand for, and how much support does each side have?

Andrew Cuomo:

As the former governor of New York (2021-2021), Cuomo led infrastructure projects, raised the minimum wage, and led the state through the Pandemic, where New York and New York City saw some of the worst impacts of COVID-19 on civilians in the country. However, in 2021, towards the end of his third term as governor, Cuomo resigned under sexual harassment allegations. 

In the 2025 Mayoral Race, Cuomo is running on a platform of affordability. If elected, Cuomo has promised to increase the supply of affordable housing, expand access to healthcare, guarantee universal 3-K and increase childcare options, make transportation affordable and improve incomes while lowering taxes. Relying on his proven leadership, his campaign has said “Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate with the management experience and the record of successfully standing up to Trump and fighting for New Yorkers”. 

Despite big promises, Cuomo has big backers such as former governor David Paterson, former mayor Mike Bloomberg (with a net worth of over 100 billion dollars). Though a democrat, Cuomo is considered to be a fairly moderate candidate compared to other candidates in the race, leading the organization Common Dreams to label the race as a “Democratic Civil War”

Zohran Mamdani: 

As a state assemblyman from Queens, Mamdani was part of the Democratic Socialist Party, and introduced a range of legislation from transportation to voting procedure disclosures. He was a part of many committees involving various topics from aging to Aging to Election Law to Energy. As a progressive, he participated in taxi driver hunger strikes leading to debt relief for those cab drivers. 

In the 2025 Mayoral Race, Mamdani is also running on a platform of affordability, but through a perspective of experience over wealth. On his campaign website he writes “This campaign is for every person who believes in the dignity of their neighbors…” , in his efforts to connect more with voters.

Furthermore, Mamdani’s backers involve huge political figures, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and many congresspeople and Senators as well. In terms of the political spectrum, Mamdani is a far-left candidate and it is yet to be seen how viable that ideology is to voters in New York City. In fact, according to a recent poll by the Manhattan Institute, Mamdani holds 67% percent of voters ages 18-34, compared to only 6% for Cuomo. 

Recent Developments

Over the past few weeks, Cuomo has held a lead over Mamdani in the polls, but in recent days that lead appears to be slipping. During an interview with former mayor Bill de Blasio in June, de Blasio described Cuomo as “Vindictive” and compared him to president Trump - which could alienate voters. Furthermore, according to a Marist Poll, Cuomo held a majority of the vote in May, while other candidates lagged behind by 20 or even 30 percentage points - yet in June, the same Marist Poll found Mamdani only 10 percentage points behind Cuomo, setting up a race to the finish. 

Starting June 14th, voters have started early voting for the primaries, and given New York City has implemented Ranked Choice Voting, candidates need to garner a majority of the votes instead of the most votes. Given Cuomo is not guaranteed to win a majority of the votes, the final round of voting could potentially see a very different race where Mamdani or Cuomo may get more votes from other eliminated candidates, giving either of them a decisive advantage that could decide this election. 

So what?

This race, among other races, reflects a broader shift in ideology for young people. Gen Z is generally known to be more progressive than previous generations, and the future of the democratic party could be Mamdani in the next decade or two. While today socialist ideology is viewed as somewhat extreme, that could become the norm for Americans not just in New York City but for towns across the US as the Democrats may start to adopt increasingly liberal policies. So, recognizing this, we young people must take action to learn about what we want. These shifts can only occur over time, and understanding what we want as young people is a way to mold parties that actually support the people in the long run.