Prime Democrats got here face-to-face for what might be the final time earlier than voters have their say, as they competed within the second and last debate earlier than New York Metropolis’s mayoral main.
Seven main candidates — Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander, Whitney Tilson, Scott Stringer, Zellnor Myrie and Adrienne Adams — sparred over key points, and at occasions devolved into private assaults.
Cuomo’s marketing campaign has been all about projecting power and staying on message, however his efforts to dominate Thursday evening’s debate with assaults on his rivals got here at the price of robust pushback. Specifically, Mamdani and Lander landed some punches after their final in-person alternative to take off the gloves.
9 candidates squared off within the first NYC Democratic mayoral main debate, seeking to make their case to voters as to why they need to be the Democratic nominee within the November election. The NYC main is on June 24, with early voting starting on June 14.
Listed here are a few of the greatest takeaways from the ultimate debate forward the first on June 24.
1. Cuomo went on offense, and it got here at a price
The previous New York governor tried to show the tables on Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic socialist who has been nipping at his heels in current polls.
Cuomo stated Mamdani “has never done anything,” criticizing him for having solely handed three payments within the State Meeting — a line he additionally used within the first Democratic main debate. Cuomo stated it will be reckless to elect somebody with such little expertise.
However Mamdani clapped again: “I have never had to resign in disgrace…I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records. And I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo. And furthermore, the name is Mamdani, M-a-m-d-a-n-i, you should learn how to say it, because we’ve got to get it right.”
When Cuomo likened Lander’s tenure because the fiscal watchdog underneath Eric Adams to being the bookkeeper at Tammany Corridor, Lander repeatedly pivoted to a blistering portrayal of Cuomo as a serial sexual harasser: “Leadership is not inviting 25-year-old young women into their office as he admitted he did and then asking them about their intimate life and whether they date older men.”
2. Of all candidates, Brad Lander used the controversy to his benefit essentially the most
Lander is at a essential second within the race, with little time to overhaul Mamdani by carving out a lane as a more-seasoned, less-socialist Democrat. He appeared energized by having scored essentially the most endorsements from the New York Occasions opinion panel on debate day.
Lander ceded few possibilities to focus on Cuomo, on the various intercourse harassment allegations he has confronted, his pandemic nursing dwelling file and mid-debate when Cuomo referred to undocumented folks as “illegal.”
Although Lander did permit Cuomo to deflect largely unchecked, in statements saying “absolutely nothing has come out of” the harassment circumstances and that every one the allegations had been disproven in courtroom. Whereas it’s true that Cuomo by no means confronted prison expenses, there are nonetheless a number of ongoing civil circumstances associated to the allegations and Cuomo’s varied controversies have value New York taxpayers greater than $60 million.
3. A number of Democrats who’ve constantly criticized Cuomo all through the marketing campaign handed on alternatives to assault him
When given the prospect to cross-examine a rival, Scott Stringer and Zellnor Myrie directed comparatively gentle inquiries to NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams that enabled her to tout her housing file within the Metropolis Council.
Among the alliances we have seen not too long ago between the Democratic candidates weren’t apparent Thursday evening. Mamdani helped Adams elevate cash to make sure she’d get matching funds, underneath the speculation serving to your rivals could be mutually useful in ranked selection voting. However, when given an opportunity to ask any candidate a query in the course of the cross-examination part, Adams requested Mamdani why he thinks he’s higher certified to be mayor than she is.
Within the spin room after the controversy, Adams clarified her intentions. “The target is to beat Andrew Cuomo. Let’s maintain that clear. He isn’t match to be mayor. My query to the Assemblymember was principally simply to get my expertise on the market on the desk so all people can hear it,” she stated.
The primary Democratic mayoral main debate is within the books, with 9 candidates coming to 30 Rockefeller Heart to make their case to voters. It marked the primary time former governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been main within the polls, squared off towards the opposite candidates. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reviews.
4. Cuomo ceded no floor
In debate quantity two, Cuomo was apparently nonetheless unwilling to precise any regrets or regret for previous selections or errors that resulted in his resignation as governor.
No new floor was damaged on the controversy stage for the reason that NBC New York debate final week by which Cuomo stated his best remorse was that Democrats misplaced to Trump final yr.
When requested about
The sexual harassment allegations towards him
The “toxic workplace” validated in reviews by the state legal professional normal and the Division of Justice
Proof a Congressional Subcommittee claims to have uncovered, that he helped write a NYDOH report that undercounted nursing dwelling deaths in July 2020
Cuomo caught to the identical obscure and generally unfaithful speaking factors by which he says “it was all political” or “Absolutely nothing has come of it.”
At one level Lander stated to him “You’ve never taken responsibility for one single thing you’ve done in your entire life. You should try it sometime.”
9 candidates squared off within the first NYC Democratic mayoral main debate, seeking to make their case to voters as to why they need to be the Democratic nominee within the November election. The NYC main is on June 24, with early voting starting on June 14.
5. Cuomo and Mamdani traded allegations of divisiveness
Through the debate, Cuomo criticized Mamdani for his positions on BDS (boycott, divest, sanctions) and for “giving forums to antisemites.” The moderators pressed Cuomo on allegations from the Muslim neighborhood that he has by no means visited a mosque, a narrative initially damaged by NBC New York.
Cuomo stated “I believe I have,” however he’d must examine the file to make sure. When requested about whether or not he’d attain out to Muslims in New York to make them really feel protected, Cuomo stated “I love them, I’m not Mr. Mamdani. I’m not antisemitic, I’m not divisive.”
Mamdani accused Cuomo of an Islamophobic smear.
“It is ridiculous to hear Mr. Cuomo talk about himself as a man of unity when just yesterday we found out that his Super PAC was sending mail that artificially darkened and lengthened my beard to stoke the very fears of that division in this city,” stated Mamdani.
The previous governor and present state meeting member had been requested questions on resisting the Trump administration if elected mayor of New York Metropolis.
Spokesman Liz Benjamin for Repair The Metropolis stated that the “mailer was proposed by a vendor” and that “upon review it was immediately rejected for production.”
Former hedge fund supervisor Whitney Tilson appeared as if he was working in tandem with Cuomo. He took repeated photographs at Mamdani for his criticism of Israel.
As a substitute of asking Mamdani a query, Cuomo took the safer route by asking a query to Tilson about Mamdani — realizing it will not include a retaliatory assault. Later within the debate, Tilson stated he’d rank Cuomo his quantity two (Cuomo has by no means talked about rating anybody else on his poll.)
When requested within the spin room afterwards if he was occupied with a job with a Cuomo administration, Tilson stated he has “no aspirations for a full-time job” — however he would take into account a part-time or board place.
