NYC mayoral candidates make final push ahead of Election Day

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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo decried socialism as he shook hands in Manhattan and the Bronx, Democrat Zohran Mamdani walked over the Brooklyn Bridge with supporters at sunrise and Republican Curtis Sliwa campaigned on Coney Island as New York City’s mayoral candidates sprinted through their last full day of campaigning before Tuesday’s election.

The campaign hurtled toward its end after a final stretch that included the conclusion of early voting, President Donald Trump weighing in on the race during a prime-time interview and Cuomo releasing AI-driven attack ads.

More than 735,000 votes were cast during the city’s nine days of early, in-person voting — more than four times the number of ballots cast during the only other mayor's race to allow early voting, in 2021.

The tally was well short of the nearly 1.1 million early, in-person votes cast during last year's presidential election, but some voting locations saw large crowds Sunday, the last day of early voting. The line at one polling place in downtown Brooklyn snaked around the building and, at one point, took an hour to cast a ballot.

Cuomo has a packed schedule Monday, setting out to hit each of the boroughs for a get-out-the-vote effort. He wasted little time in attacking Mamdani.

At one early stop, the former governor likened a potential Mamdani administration to left-wing governments in Latin America.

“Socialism didn’t work in Venezuela. Socialism didn’t work in Cuba. Socialism is not going to work in New York City,” he said.

Cuomo, 67, is trying to make his return to political office after resigning as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment accusations that he denies. A Democrat running as an independent, he's shifted to wooing Republican voters to bolster his centrist base, pitching himself as the only candidate who can stop Mamdani.

Mamdani kicked off the day by crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, carrying a banner alongside Democratic allies.

“I continue to be confident about our chances heading into Election Day tomorrow,” Mamdani said at a news conference outside City Hall. “But I will not allow myself or let this movement to become complacent.”

Mamdani, 34, a state assemblymember who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, beat Cuomo in the primary with an energetic campaign focused on making the city a more affordable place to live.

As the race approaches the finish line, Mamdani has continued to post viral social media videos and urge his progressive fans to maintain the enthusiasm and send as many supporters to the polls as possible.

Mamdani’s busy weekend of campaigning included nightclub appearances, watching the Buffalo Bills at a bar with Gov. Kathy Hochul and attending a Knicks game — in the nosebleed seats, drawing a contrast with Cuomo’s courtside view a few weeks earlier.

Sliwa, the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, visited a subway stop in Brooklyn, laying a wreath for a woman who died last year after being set on fire at the station.

“I’m running because this city deserves safety, accountability, and leadership that won’t look the other way,” Sliwa wrote on social media.

Trump, a former New York resident of note, has loomed over the race for months. The president has threatened to arrest Mamdani, to deport him and take over the city if he wins.

In an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, Trump said if Mamdani wins, “it’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York.”

Mischaracterizing Mamdani, a democratic socialist, as a communist, Trump said he would choose Cuomo between the two of them.

“I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s gonna be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you,” he said.

Asked about those comments Monday, Cuomo said Trump had not endorsed him, while playing up the president’s threats to punish New York if Mamdani is elected.

“He said if Mamdani wins, he’s going to cut off funding for New York,” Cuomo said of Trump. “He calls him a communist. He’ll send the National Guard. We need a mayor who can stand up to Donald Trump, who can get the funding New York deserves, who can make sure the National Guard doesn’t come to New York.”

Mamdani offered a different spin.

“Late last night, Andrew Cuomo received Donald Trump’s endorsement,” he said Monday. “If he is elected mayor, our city will only descend deeper into a darkness that has forced too many of our neighbors to flee, and made it impossible for working people to live lives of dignity.”

Cuomo on Friday released another of the AI-generated ads that have been a fixture of his campaign, this time showing a fake Mamdani going trick-or-treating for Halloween. The video has a disclaimer that it is “AI generated.”

The former governor has been criticized for his use of artificial intelligence in ads, and in one instance pulled down a fabricated ad depicting Mamdani eating rice with his hands and describing his supporters as criminals. A campaign spokesperson said the video was posted in error.

Mamdani, meanwhile, released a social media video of him speaking Arabic — which he admits in the ad, “needs some work.” He has previously put out videos speaking Spanish and Bengali.