Photo: Yuki Iwamura/AFP/Getty Images
At Wednesday night’s mayoral debate, Andrew Cuomo finally came face to face with the eight Democratic challengers trying to upend his candidacy. And on Thursday morning, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made her long-awaited endorsement in a clear effort to knock Cuomo off his front-runner perch.
The congresswoman announced Thursday that she would be endorsing Queens assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, placing him first in the ranked-choice primary. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist who first entered the legislature in 2021, has consistently polled in second place behind Cuomo for months and has slowly begun to close the gap as the June 24 primary draws nearer.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack,” she told the New York Times in an interview. “In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”
Ocasio-Cortez said she plans to rank City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams second on her ballot, comptroller Brad Lander third, former comptroller Scott Stringer as her fourth choice, and Brooklyn state senator Zellnor Myrie fifth.
The congresswoman’s selection of the more moderate Adams as her second choice appears to be an acknowledgement of the speaker’s strength with Black and Latino voters, a key aspect of Cuomo’s base. “Even if the entire left coalesced around any one candidate, an ideological coalition is still insufficient for us to win,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times. “We have to have a true working-class coalition.”
During the debate, the candidates relished the opportunity to go after Cuomo, often using an unrelated question to launch a volley at the longtime front-runner. Mamdani invoked the former governor when asked how he would contend with President Donald Trump if elected mayor.
I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare. pic.twitter.com/hoybCKm4jy
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) June 4, 2025
“I am Donald Trump’s worst nightmare as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things that I believe in, and the difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C.,” he said. “I don’t have to pick up the phone from Bill Ackman or Ken Langone. I have to pick up the phone for the more than 20,000 New Yorkers who contributed an average donation of about $80 to break fundraising records and put our campaign in second place.”
Given a chance to respond, Cuomo went after Mamdani’s strong online presence, saying that while he’s very good on Twitter, he “actually produces nothing.”
“Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mandami like a hot knife through butter. He’s been in government 27 minutes. He passed three bills. That’s all he’s done,” Cuomo said. “He has no experience with Washington, no experience in New York City. He would be Trump’s delight.”
The other challengers also landed blows against Cuomo. Former state assemblymember Michael Blake took a question about public safety and used his time to allude to the numerous allegations of sexual harassment against the former governor. “The people who don’t feel safe are young women, mothers, and grandmothers around Andrew Cuomo. That’s the greatest threat to public safety in New York City,” Blake said.
Cuomo has long denied the claims against him and, during the debate, noted that multiple district attorneys ultimately declined to file charges against him.
When the former governor was asked to give an example of a regret he had from his time in politics, Cuomo said he regretted the state of the Democratic Party that would go on to allow Trump to become president. Adams immediately jumped on his response. “No personal regrets. No regrets when it comes to cutting Medicaid or health care. No regrets when it comes to cutting child care. No regrets when it comes to slow-walking PPE and vaccinations in the season of COVID to Black and brown communities. Really? No regrets?” she said.
No regrets, Mr. Cuomo? What about cutting Medicaid? Cutting child care? Slow walking PPE and COVID vaccinations to Black and Brown communities? Really? pic.twitter.com/4VQ5yoYowe
— Adrienne E. Adams (@AdrienneEAdams) June 5, 2025
Cuomo contested her characterization, saying that Medicaid went up under his tenure and that he was a leader during the pandemic and pressed the Trump administration for more resources during the crisis.
Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of Mamdani comes as early voting is set to start June 14. Though the congresswoman revealed her whole slate, the other mayoral candidates were not ready to make their own choices known. When asked by the moderators whom they intended to rank second behind themselves, none of the nine challengers were willing to reveal their slates publicly.
Related
