NEW YORK — It’s Zohran Mamdani’s Democratic Party now, whether Democrats like it or not.
At a fiery debate Thursday, the democratic socialist heavily favored to be the next New York City mayor weathered attacks from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that mirrored broadsides he’s facing from Republicans eager to weaponize his more controversial positions in next year’s midterms.
Cuomo accused Mamdani of wanting to legalize prostitution. He alleged Mamdani is sympathetic to Hamas. And he charged that Mamdani “believes in defunding the police.”
Mamdani pushed back with rebuttals and redirects, refuting Cuomo’s claims while undercutting his experience argument by prosecuting the former governor’s pandemic record and hammering the issue he rode to victory in the Democratic primary: affordability.
“Zohran Mamdani walked in the favorite and leaves the favorite,” said Lis Smith, a Democratic strategist who once worked for Cuomo but is now critical of him. “Andrew Cuomo needed a perfect night and a few clean hits on Mamdani, but he spent more time on defense than offense.”
But Mamdani’s defensive stance on policing — and his efforts to clean up equivocal remarks about Hamas this week — exposed the fault lines Democrats still face heading into the midterms: how to talk about crime and the war in Gaza without alienating swing voters or their base. Beyond the glaring lights of the 30 Rock stage, state and national Republicans pounced on Mamdani’s refusal to issue a return endorsement of Gov. Kathy Hochul while praising fellow democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). They attacked his policies like hiking taxes to fund free buses. And they accused him of being a communist.
“If he wins, this guarantees that he’s going to be the albatross that Fox News and the MAGA universe hangs around the Democratic neck for the foreseeable future,” said Alex Hoffman, a Democratic strategist and donor adviser. “They will loop him with [Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] and Bernie and say the ‘radical left’ runs and owns the party even though they don’t speak for the rest of the party or the country.”
Mamdani has taken steps in recent days to neutralize some of those attack lines. He issued a mea culpa to rank-and-file police officers in a Fox News interview earlier this week for past statements he made about cutting funding for a department he characterized as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” Thursday night, he attempted to clarify his views on Hamas, saying “of course I believe that they should lay down their arms” days after declining to issue such a call during the Fox News sitdown.
But even as some Democratic strategists said Mamdani’s efforts could help allay voters’ concerns in the Big Apple, they warned it was unlikely to stop Republicans from turning his past statements into a campaign cudgel against the party in the midterms.
The faceoff in Manhattan — hosted by POLITICO New York, NBC 4 New York and Telemundo — served as one of the last chances for the candidates to reach undecided or uninspired voters. It also served up an opportunity for fresh fodder for Republicans to use against even those Democrats that have taken pains to distance themselves from Mamdani.
Mamdani is poised to succeed Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the race. He has a massive polling lead over fellow Democrat Cuomo, with Republican Curtis Sliwa — who was a footnote in Thursday’s debate — far behind them. The democratic socialist is hoping to run up his vote count and get elected with a mandate for change.
While Hochul has endorsed Mamdani, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have not. Both congressional leaders have cited Mamdani’s hesitation to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which some hear as a call to violence against Jews, as a point of concern. Swing-district Democrats, including Long Island Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen, have denounced Mamdani and his positions. And from the moment he won the June primary, Republicans have worked to make Mamdani the next Democratic standard-bearer.
In New York, GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik has steadily lambasted Hochul for her connection to and endorsement of Mamdani, labeling him a communist and an antisemite. Stefanik is expected to challenge Hochul in next year’s highly anticipated race for governor.
Rep. Mike Lawler has similarly seized opportunities to strike at Hochul for her ties to Mamdani. He did so during Thursday’s debate, responding to a clip of Mamdani speaking about funding proposals like free and fast buses.
“Insanity,” the battleground Republican posted on X. “@ZohranKMamdani wants to raise taxes on all New Yorkers by $9 BILLION to pay for his policies. @GovKathyHochul should make clear where she stands on this proposal.”
Meanwhile, GOP campaign arms have been eager to seize on anything Mamdani says about policing and the economy to keep yoking their gubernatorial and congressional candidates to his “far-left” policies. The Republican National Committee’s rapid response team blasted out clips of Mamdani’s swerve on police funding, his idea to raise taxes to eliminate bus fares and his attempt to clarify his muddled view of sex work.
“Tonight is further proof that radical socialist Zohran Mamdani is the new face of the Democrat Party,” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement. “They can’t escape the far-left takeover that’s gnawing away at any chance they have of retaking the House, and they’re guaranteeing electoral poison for a party that’s already too far gone.”
Mamdani said his relevant experience is as a New Yorker who has seen how his fellow residents struggle with the rising cost of living, which, he made sure to note, President Donald Trump ran on a pledge to drive down. And the candidate said he has reversed his earlier position that the NYPD should be defunded. He wants to create a Department of Community Safety but keep the NYPD headcount steady.
Mamdani’s hedging in the Fox News interview about Hamas — he said he didn’t have “opinions about the future” of the terrorist organization — has already become a line of attack for Republicans.
“This interview proved that the Democrat Party’s main constituencies are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals — that is who the Democrat Party is catering to,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News.
Gillen, one of the country’s most vulnerable Democratic incumbents, earlier this week wrote on X, “Shame! Pro-Hamas Zohran is unfit to hold any office in the United States.”
On Thursday, Mamdani sought to paint himself as ready and able to lead the heavily Democratic New York City — a top Trump administration target for its “sanctuary” status.
Cuomo castigated Mamdani as too inexperienced: “If the assemblyman is elected mayor, Donald Trump will take over New York City, and it will be ‘Mayor Trump,’” Cuomo said.
But Mamdani returned fire by attempting to link Cuomo to Trump.
“If you think that there’s no difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, then that’s the candidate for you,” Mamdani said of Cuomo. “If you think it’s time to have a Democratic Party that actually stands up to Donald Trump and his billionaire-backed donors, then vote for me.”
All in all, when it came to winners and losers, Mamdani appeared to come out on top, avoiding any major gaffes and defending himself against Cuomo’s broadsides. He also played to the camera with a broad grin and a combination of style and substance as a counterweight to Cuomo’s lengthy resume.
Mamdani’s allies in organized labor, most of whom were with Cuomo in the primary but are now campaigning for the Democratic nominee in the general election, cheered him for speaking to New Yorkers’ top concern: affordability. Mamdani plans Friday to host a “reverse town hall” post-debate, a setting that his campaign said will allow him to ask everyday New Yorkers questions and hear their concerns.
“As Zohran said so well, Trump made false promises to lower our cost of living, but Zohran will actually do it,” 32BJ SEIU president Manny Pastreich said. “If Trump wants to dehumanize New Yorkers and defund our taxpayer-funded essential services, he’ll have a fight on his hands.”
After the debate, as reporters crowded the 30 Rock elevators waiting for the candidates, Cuomo — who ran a tightly guarded primary campaign that limited press access — vanished out a different entrance. Mamdani did, too — but not until after he took a highly public victory lap on MSNBC.
Jason Beeferman contributed to this report.
