New York City’s mayoral race, already one for the history books, has entered a fever pitch after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams abruptly ended his reelection bid on Sunday, September 28, 2025. His withdrawal leaves a three-way contest between Democratic frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. With the city’s future hanging in the balance, political heavyweights are jockeying for position while party leaders and pundits speculate about what’s next for America’s largest city.
Mamdani, a state assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist, has been the odds-on favorite for months. According to a recent Fox News poll, he leads with 47% support, followed by Cuomo at 29%, Sliwa at 11%, and Adams trailing at just 7%. The numbers tell a clear story: unless something dramatic changes, Mamdani is poised to become the next mayor of New York City.
But this is New York politics—nothing is ever that simple. The race has been roiled by accusations, shifting alliances, and high-profile interventions from national figures. President Donald Trump, never one to shy away from controversy, injected himself into the fray on September 29, 2025, by threatening to withhold federal funds if Mamdani wins. On his social media platform, Trump declared, “Remember, he needs the money from me, as President, in order to fulfill all of his FAKE Communist promises. He won’t be getting any of it, so what’s the point of voting for him?”
Mamdani, appearing on ABC’s "The View" just two days later, brushed off Trump’s threats. “This is just one of the many threats that Donald Trump makes. Every day he wakes up, he makes another threat, a lot of the times about the city that he actually comes from,” Mamdani said, as reported by ABC News. He went further, calling Trump’s remarks an “overreach from a federal administration” and vowing, “We're going to fight him every step of the way, as long as it is something that comes at the expense of this city.”
For Mamdani, the fight isn’t just about federal funding. He’s also faced criticism for his outspoken views on the Israel-Hamas war. He’s described Israel’s conduct as a “genocide” and has declined to support Israel’s existence as a Jewish state, though he maintains he supports Israel’s right to exist as a state. The Israeli government has pushed back against such claims, and Mamdani’s positions have become a flashpoint in the campaign. When pressed by "The View" co-host Sara Haines about whether voters who see this stance as a moral red line should trust his judgment, Mamdani responded that his administration would be focused on New York City. “Millions of New Yorkers, myself included, care deeply about what's happening in Israel and Palestine,” he said. He also condemned the October 7, 2025, Hamas attack on Israel as “a horrific war crime,” adding, “my belief in a universality in international law is also the same set of beliefs that have led me to describe what's happening in Gaza as a genocide.” He concluded, “I can’t stop that as the mayor of the city. I can make clear my own values, my own commitments, and it is a value and a commitment to humanity, to safety, to justice for all people, that extends to everyone, Israelis, Palestinians, and everyone else.”
While Mamdani’s lead appears solid, the withdrawal of Adams has set off a scramble among his rivals. Andrew Cuomo, the former governor who lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, is now trying to consolidate opposition support. Cuomo’s campaign has openly pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out, arguing that only a unified front can stop Mamdani. Former independent candidate Jim Walden took to X (formerly Twitter) on September 30, 2025, urging Sliwa to exit the race: “Curtis Sliwa Can Save New York. Become the true HERO, @CurtisSliwa!!” The New York Daily News editorial board, which endorsed Cuomo, echoed this sentiment, running a headline that read, “Adams was right to drop out of NYC mayoral election. Now it’s Curtis Sliwa’s turn.”
Sliwa, however, remains defiant. The founder of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit focused on unarmed crime prevention, Sliwa has rejected calls to step aside—even claiming he’s been offered large bribes to do so. “I don’t surrender,” Sliwa said at a campaign stop earlier this week, as reported by the Washington Examiner. “I don’t retreat.” He’s even threatened to name names if the alleged offers continue. Sliwa told the New York Times that he doesn’t expect Trump’s backing and isn’t “aligned with all of the MAGA principles.” He acknowledged that Trump and Cuomo have a longstanding relationship, but he didn’t mince words about his Democratic rival: “Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I’d like to strap him up to a lie-detector test.”
Pressure on Sliwa has come from within his own camp as well. John Catsimatidis, a Republican billionaire and longtime friend, suggested on WABC radio that Sliwa should “do the right thing” if his campaign fails to gain momentum. “But if he reaches a point that he feels that he’s not turning it around, then at some point he should do the right thing,” Catsimatidis said. Sliwa, for his part, shot back, “John knows me as well as anybody. I don’t drop out for anybody.”
President Trump, meanwhile, has made his preferences clear—at least for now. He’s said he believes Cuomo is the best candidate to beat Mamdani, whom he’s called a communist, but he’s also acknowledged the possibility of a Mamdani victory, calling it a “gift” to Republicans. Despite Trump’s public statements, Sliwa insists he’s not angling for the former president’s support.
With the polls showing Mamdani well ahead, the numbers paint a daunting picture for Cuomo. Even if Sliwa and Adams’s supporters were to consolidate behind Cuomo, the race would only become a tie, according to the latest Fox News survey. Without Sliwa’s support, Cuomo faces an uphill battle. Democratic strategist Max Burns told the Washington Examiner that he doubts Sliwa will drop out, saying, “Dropping out is an acknowledgement that you never cared that much about what you were supposedly fighting for. I like to think Sliwa believes in his agenda, even if I disagree with most of it.” Burns even took a lighthearted jab at Sliwa’s much-publicized proposal to use cats to control the city’s rat problem, remarking, “Besides cat patrols, that’s f***ing based.”
Endorsements, always a hot topic in New York politics, have played a surprisingly muted role in this campaign. Mamdani has praised support from figures like Governor Kathy Hochul but downplayed the overall importance of endorsements. “I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if it was endorsements that made all the difference. It was the people of the city,” he said on "The View." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have not endorsed him, but Mamdani seems unbothered by their silence.
As the campaign enters its final stretch, New Yorkers are left with a stark choice: a progressive vision under Mamdani, a return to familiar hands with Cuomo, or an outsider’s shakeup from Sliwa. With entrenched interests, national attention, and the city’s identity at stake, the outcome will reverberate far beyond the five boroughs—setting the tone for urban politics across the nation for years to come.
