Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa were on the attack Thursday night in their first mayoral debate. 

The took one another on across a host of issues including their plans to improve the cost of living in New York City, public safety, education, Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, and much more. 

So who won the debate? Depends who you ask, since all three declared victory. 

Cuomo’s campaign claims victory

Cuomo’s campaign chair Bill Mulrow issues the following statement: 

“Andrew Cuomo demonstrated that he is not only the best candidate for mayor, he was the only candidate on that stage capable of doing the job on Day One. Zohran Mamdani has offered no straight answers, no workable solutions, and no proposals other than to tax New Yorkers into becoming ex-New Yorkers.

“As we heard tonight, Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate with a real plan to hire and retain 5,000 NYPD officers and increase public safety. Zohran Mamdani spent the entire debate running away from past comments calling the police racist, wicked and a threat to public safety.

“Cuomo is the only candidate who can solve the housing crisis because he is the only candidate who has built housing. Zohran Mamdani’s solution is a bumpster sticker slogan that will freeze rents for the few and raise them for everyone else.

“Cuomo is the only candidate with a plan to strengthen our education system and expand our gifted and talented programs, while Zohran Mamdani’s plan is to gut it  –end mayoral control –and rob our children of the opportunity to succeed.

“Most of all, tonight’s debate demonstrates the simple fact that this is no time for on the job training, and Andrew Cuomo is the only candidate that will hit the ground running.”

Mamdani’s campaign claims victory

Mamdani’s campaign released the following statement:

“Tonight, Zohran Mamdani dominated the debate stage and sent Andrew Cuomo chasing his tail. He was the only candidate on the stage who delivered a clear, compelling vision to make New York City affordable for working families: freezing the rent, making buses fast and free, and delivering universal childcare.

“Andrew Cuomo, meanwhile, appeared increasingly out-of-touch and incoherent. Faced with a mountain of evidence about his close ties to Donald Trump, his pay-to-play donors, and his wide array of broken promises to New Yorkers, the disgraced, scandal-tarred former governor offered only deflections and falsehoods.”

Sliwa claims victory

Sliwa kept his victory message short. 

“I was the clear winner tonight. Cuomo bombed it,” Sliwa said. “He should drop out and let me take on Zohran Mamdani one on one, and I’ll beat him for New Yorkers.”

An expert’s take

Political expert J.C. Polanco, assistant professor at University of Mount Saint Vincent, had this to say about how the candidates performed. 

“Cuomo’s experience and command of the issues are clear and continue to show how he has been at the forefront of real crises. He wins on substance, but spends the night on defense, getting nonstop attacks from all sides.

“Mamdani has a better stage presence and is a more effective orator, but appears to have abandoned all of the statements on seizing the means of production, decriminalization work, and not closing jails. Or at least that’s what it appears. It’s tough to debate someone who disowns their own long-standing positions. Uncanny ability to control the camera, rehearsed the zingers, and released them timely.

“Sliwa is tough. He is striking his opponents with a deep understanding of the issues underground and among those on the streets.”