With just over a week to go before New Yorkers cast their ballots, the city’s high-stakes mayoral race has tightened dramatically. A new Quinnipiac University poll shows Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani’s once-commanding lead over former Governor Andrew Cuomo has shrunk by half — signaling a volatile final stretch in one of the most closely watched elections in the country.
According to the survey, Mamdani now stands at 44% support among likely voters, compared to 34% for Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa trails with 11%, while 7% of voters remain undecided. The results mark a steep decline from Mamdani’s 20-point advantage in September, suggesting that Cuomo’s late-stage resurgence and recent endorsements are making an impact.
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Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid a wave of scandals, has staged an unexpected political comeback. Once written off as a relic of New York’s Democratic machine, he’s rebranded himself as an independent voice for stability — a message resonating with moderate Democrats and older voters frustrated by what they view as the city’s leftward lurch.
His campaign gained a major boost after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams endorsed him earlier this month. Adams, who dropped out of the race but remains on the ballot, framed Cuomo as the only candidate capable of restoring order to a city facing concerns over crime, housing costs, and quality of life. The endorsement appears to have given Cuomo fresh momentum, especially among working-class voters in the outer boroughs who feel alienated by Mamdani’s progressive agenda.
Former Governor and Independent Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo participates in 43rd Annual Dominican Day Parade on 6th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, NY on August 10, 2025.
Cuomo has also capitalized on unease about Mamdani’s platform, which calls for aggressive rent control expansion, higher taxes on luxury property owners, and cuts to police funding in favor of social programs. In campaign appearances, Cuomo has blasted what he calls “utopian socialism” and warned that Mamdani’s proposals would drive jobs and families out of New York.
Mamdani, the 34-year-old state assemblyman from Queens, rose to prominence as a voice of New York’s progressive wing. His surprise victory in June’s Democratic primary — which he won through ranked-choice voting — sent waves through the political establishment and energized the city’s activist left. His campaign emphasizes housing affordability, tenant protections, and economic justice.
But the final stretch of the race has been rough for the rising star. In recent weeks, Mamdani’s campaign has struggled to fend off attacks painting him as radical and inexperienced. Cuomo allies have seized on Mamdani’s support for defunding the NYPD and his calls to “reimagine policing,” framing him as out of touch with voters concerned about crime. Even some Democrats who backed him in the primary have expressed doubts about his ability to manage the city’s sprawling bureaucracy.
The backlash intensified after a series of heated debates in which Cuomo labeled Mamdani “a Twitter activist pretending to be a mayor.” Mamdani shot back that Cuomo represented everything broken about New York politics, reminding voters of the former governor’s corruption scandals and resignation in disgrace.
Beyond policy, the race has taken on symbolic significance for New York’s identity. If elected, Mamdani would become the city’s first Muslim mayor and one of the youngest in modern history — milestones celebrated by his supporters but weaponized by critics. Cuomo’s tightening numbers suggest that identity politics may be taking a back seat to pragmatism among swing voters. With public safety, housing, and taxes dominating the conversation, many New Yorkers appear to be weighing experience over ideology.
As New York heads into the final days of the campaign, both candidates are ramping up their ground games in what could be a defining moment for the city’s political future — and a bellwether for the Democratic Party’s ideological direction nationwide.
