What to watch for as the NYC mayoral candidates face their final debate before Election Day

New York City mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa face off in their final debate Wednesday night. 

The debate comes just days before New Yorkers will hit the polls for the start of early voting on Saturday, Oct. 25. Then, it all comes down to Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 4. 

Here’s what to know about the debate and what to watch for with each candidate’s performance. 

How to watch the final debate for NYC mayor

Wednesday’s 90-minute debate is being hosted by NY1 and it’s scheduled to start at 7 p.m. 

CBS News New York will have a live blog throughout, with real-time reporting on key moments, questions and clashes during the debate, followed by highlights and political analysis from our team of experts. 

This is the second of two debates heading into the general election. CLICK HERE for a full recap of the first debate, plus seven key takeaways and who may have won that debate. 

Pressure on Sliwa to drop out

POLITICO reporter Nick Reisman says the big question in the race is whether Sliwa is going to suspend his campaign.

“It’s worth keeping in mind here that even if Curtis Sliwa were to leave the race today or tomorrow or after the debate, he’s still going to be on the ballot. He’s still going to be on Row B as the Republican nominee. He’s still going to be on the ballot as an independent candidate under the Protect Animals ballot line,” Reisman said. 

“Mayor Adams is also still on the ballot, even though he suspended his campaign back on Sept. 28,” he continued. “So all of these polls that are showing, well, if Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani are going head-to-head, it’s going to be a much more competitive race — yes, in a vacuum, that is true. But there is still a full ballot that voters are going to have to choose from going forward.”

So how will Sliwa respond to pressure to leave the race?

“Curtis Sliwa has very little incentive, at least at this point, to drop out. While even as you have some of his allies, like John Catsimatidis, calling on him to suspend his campaign, keep in mind, you’ve got the New York City GOP chairs this morning saying that they’re reaffirming their support for Curtis Sliwa going forward to remain in this race,” Reisman added. “Sliwa’s the head of the ticket. There are a lot of people running down ballot from him for offices like local judge. So he’s going to need to carry a lot of those candidates over the finish line as the leader of the party going into Election Day.”

What does Cuomo need to do in the debate?

“What I’m going to be watching for in this debate is whether Andrew Cuomo is really going to explicitly try to make a play for Republican votes, for conservative leaning Democrats and independents, people who otherwise would be voting for Curtis Sliwa,” Reisman said. “Now, that is the strategy for the Cuomo campaign, it certainly seems like they are trying to cobble together this coalition that includes moderates and conservatives. 

“I’m skeptical that it’s going to be enough, but it’s going to be interesting to see how that plays itself out, given, that Republicans are very skeptical of Andrew Cuomo, especially when it comes to his COVID policies during the pandemic, as well as his approval of the controversial cashless bail law,” he added.

Mamdani remains a “deeply polarizing candidate”

Reisman said Mamdani has momentum both in the polls and on the heels of his previous debate performance. That said, there are concerns he may be looking to address.

“I think Zohran Mamdani put in a strong debate performance last week, but it did highlight two glaring weaknesses for him, which we have seen throughout this mayoral campaign — that is on Israel, and it is also on public safety. Those are two issues that are important and potentially activating for a number of voters,” Reisman said. “It’s something that Cuomo was pretty effective at hammering Mamdani on, so if he’s able to kind of zero in on those concerns, I think Cuomo could potentially do quite well in the debate. Unfortunately for him, it certainly seems like affordability is still going to be kind of a dominant theme, and that’s something Mamdani does quite well on.”

Reisman added Mamdani is popular, but polarizing. 

“I think what we’re seeing here with Mamdani, overall, is that he is a deeply polarizing candidate,” he went on to say. “There are people who, obviously, love Zohran Mamdani, want him to be mayor, have been kind of harnessed by this populous energy that his campaign has put together, really seemingly, out of nowhere — I mean, this time last year, I don’t think a lot of people thought Zohran Mamdani was going to be the Democratic nominee to be the next mayor of New York City.

“But on the other end of this, there are people who are legitimately terrified of Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor of New York,” he added. “So he is a deeply polarizing figure. We haven’t had a mayor like that in recent memory who elicits such strong emotions.”