Cuomo was looking for a moment to change the race\u2019s contours less than two weeks from Election Day while Mamdani both sought to lock in his lead and establish himself as winning the \u201cbattle over the soul\u201d of the national Democratic Party<\/a>. The two tore into each other in strikingly personal terms on their backgrounds, their policy ideas and how each would address antisemitism.<\/p>\n Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa<\/a>, meanwhile, reprised his wildcard role as he refuses to bow to a pressure campaign from some in his party to leave the race.<\/p>\n Here are key moments from the debate:<\/p>\n Cuomo gives Mamdani a dressing-down about experience<\/p>\n In a pivot from his frequent reference to his time in government, Cuomo sought to put distance between his record as governor and New York City\u2019s municipal failures. Notably for someone elected governor three times, Cuomo argued that \u201cthe city has been getting screwed by the state, and that has to change.\u201d<\/p>\n But the exchange gave Mamdani an opening to attack Cuomo for his record as governor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor doesn\u2019t build housing in New York City,\u201d Cuomo said in response to a question on housing policy.<\/p>\n \u201cNot if it\u2019s you,\u201d Mamdani retorted.<\/p>\n That led to Cuomo accused Mamdani of never having \u201caccomplished anything.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did things; you have never had a job,\u201d Cuomo said motioning towards Mamdani and drawing applause from the crowd. \u201cThere is no reason to believe you have any merit or qualification for 8.5 million lives. You don\u2019t know how to run a government.\u201d<\/p>\n He went on to paint Mamdani as an inexperienced legislator who is unprepared to lead America\u2019s biggest city and would be dangerous in the event of an emergency.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t know how to handle an emergency, and you literally never proposed a bill on anything that you\u2019re not talking about in your campaign,\u201d Cuomo said, his voice rising.<\/p>\n In response, Mamdani accused Cuomo of creating \u201chis own facts.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe just had a former governor say in his own words that the city has been getting screwed by the state,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cWho was leading the state? It was you. You were leading the state for 10 years, screwing the city.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani participates in the second New York City mayoral debate with Independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. – Hiroko Masuike\/AFP\/Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Mamdani tears into Cuomo\u2019s experience argument<\/p>\n \u201cYou will hear from Andrew Cuomo about his experience as if the issue is that we don\u2019t know about it,\u201d Mamdani said at one point. \u201cThe issue is that we have all experienced your experience.\u201d<\/p>\n To underscore that argument, Mamdani\u2019s campaign invited Charlotte Bennett, a former aide in Cuomo\u2019s administration who accused him of sexual harassment<\/a> in 2021. Cuomo resigned from office under the cloud of that investigation though he has denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n Given a chance to question Cuomo, Mamdani raised the sexual harassment cases.<\/p>\n \u201cYou sought to access her private gynecological records,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cShe cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?\u201d<\/p>\n The question drew applause from Mamdani supporters in the audience. Cuomo then turned to Mamdani to attack him for appearing in a picture with a Ugandan politician known for her anti-LGBTQ positions.<\/p>\n \u201cHad I known that the first deputy minister was the architect of that legislation, I would not have taken that photo,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cI also know that this constant attempt to smear and slander me is an attempt to also distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or set of policies to protect those same New Yorkers here.\u201d<\/p>\n The three candidates talk about ICE and Trump<\/p>\n Immigration raids in New York City emerged as a flashpoint early in the debate, as all three candidates rejected the federal crackdown and argued over who was best able to deal with President Trump.<\/p>\n Cuomo said that \u201cwe don\u2019t need ICE to do quality-of-life crimes,\u201d after a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Chinatown\u2019s Canal Street<\/a> in Manhattan Tuesday. Mamdani argued the agency \u201ccares little for the law and even less for the people that they\u2019re supposed to serve.\u201d And Sliwa agreed that \u201cthe feds should not have stepped into this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n But the candidates diverged sharply on how they\u2019d approach Trump. Cuomo said that \u201cyou\u2019re going to have to confront\u201d him while Sliwa suggested that \u201cyou can\u2019t beat Trump, he holds most of the cards,\u201d saying that \u201cyou have to try to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani, meanwhile, said that he was open to working with Trump on lowering the cost of living but pivoted to attacking Cuomo, saying that Trump \u201cwants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor, not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo shot back that Trump would take advantage of Mamdani\u2019s youth and inexperience to press his crackdown on the city.<\/p>\n \u201cDonald Trump, I believe, wants Mamdani. That is his dream, because he will use him politically all across the country, and he will take over New York City. Make no mistake, it will be President Trump and Mayor Trump, and he will come in and take over the city,\u201d Cuomo said.<\/p>\n Then he worked in a bit of Yiddish.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has no respect for him,\u201d Cuomo said. \u201cHe thinks he\u2019s a kid and he\u2019s going to knock him on his tuchus.\u201d<\/p>\n Cuomo participates in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. – Hiroko Masuike\/AFP\/Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s rivals gang up on him about ballot measures<\/p>\n Cuomo and Sliwa briefly ganged up on Mamdani over his refusal to take a position on a set of controversial ballot measures New Yorkers will weigh in this election year.<\/p>\n At one point, holding his hands up in the air and swaying side to side as if to mock Mamdani for talking too much, Cuomo attacked Mamdani for not having yet made his position clear.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat a political answer. What is your opinion, Zohran?\u201d Sliwa demanded.<\/p>\n \u201cYes or no?\u201d Cuomo joined in.<\/p>\n \u201cI think on this stage, you can see two people appealing for the Republican Party\u2019s votes,\u201d Mamdani chimed in over the crosstalk. Pressed to answer, he conceded, \u201cI have not yet taken a position on those ballot amendments.\u201d<\/p>\n There are six ballot proposals covering a range of topics, including significant housing reform, a change to election years and the construction of a sports complex on forest land.<\/p>\n Mamdani sends a clear signal about policing<\/p>\n For months, Mamdani has said he would consider keeping New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch<\/a> if elected but has stopped short of committing to asking her to stay on.<\/p>\n That changed Wednesday. Just before the debate began, two people familiar with the plan confirmed to CNN that Mamdani intends to ask Tisch to stay on the job if he is elected mayor.<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s decision, first reported<\/a> by The New York Times, signals his attempt to moderate as the general election nears and he continues to face criticism, especially on his previous critiques of the police.<\/p>\n \u201cI can confirm that reporting,\u201d Mamdani said on the debate stage.<\/p>\n Mamdani has walked back previous calls to defund the police and has apologized to officers for referring to them as \u201cracist\u201d and \u201cwicked\u201d in social media posts.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not clear if Tisch, who is highly regarded in the city\u2019s political circles, would stay on even if asked.<\/p>\n Cuomo and Sliwa also said they would ask Tisch to stay on as commissioner.<\/p>\n Independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participate in the second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. – Hiroko Masuike\/AFP\/Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Mamdani faces criticism about antisemitism<\/p>\n Mamdani again addressed Jewish voters<\/a> who are concerned about his criticisms of Israel and question his commitment to fighting antisemitism.<\/p>\n \u201cI look forward to being a mayor for every single person that calls the city home,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cAll 8.5 million New Yorkers, and that includes Jewish New Yorkers who may have concerns or opposition to the positions that I\u2019ve shared about Israel and Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani\u2019s opponents, however, expressed skepticism and accused him of promoting antisemitism.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re the savior of the Jewish people? You won\u2019t denounce \u2018Globalize the Intifada,\u2019 which means \u2018Kill Jews,\u2019\u201d Cuomo said, referencing the controversial phrase that Mamdani has discouraged using<\/a> and noting that hundreds of rabbis had signed a letter criticizing him. \u201cThere\u2019s unprecedented fear in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Sliwa made a personal appeal to Mamdani, referencing his own Jewish family members, saying that members of the community were \u201cscared.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLet me speak on behalf of my two sons when they\u2019ve heard some of the statements you\u2019ve made,\u201d Sliwa said. \u201cThey view you as the arsonist who fans the flames of antisemitism. They cannot suddenly accept the fact that you\u2019re coming in like a firefighter and you\u2019re going to put out these flames. You\u2019ve got a lot of explaining to do, a lot of apologizing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n He also alleged that Mamdani, who would be the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor, had praised \u201cglobal jihad.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani responded that \u201cthere is room for disagreement on many positions and many policies.\u201d But he also pushed back.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never, not once, spoken in support of global jihad. That is not something that I have said and that continues to be ascribed to me,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd frankly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that I am the first Muslim candidate to be on the precipice of winning this election.\u201d<\/p>\n Sliwa goes after Cuomo; Cuomo fires back<\/p>\n Cuomo\u2019s allies have pressured Sliwa to drop out of the race so the former governor can consolidate opposition to Mamdani. Sliwa has rejected that push with his characteristic bluntness and color, referencing the movie \u201cBraveheart\u201d earlier Wednesday in suggesting he would choose death<\/a> over working for a Cuomo mayoral administration.<\/p>\n Sliwa challenged Cuomo repeatedly, including on the sexual misconduct allegations that led him to resign as governor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only reason that Zohran is on this stage is because of the failed Gov. Cuomo, who was rejected by the Democrats in the primary and rejected by 13 women who charged you with sexual harassment,\u201d Sliwa said. \u201cDo you ever know that no means no? Do you know what no means, Cuomo?\u201d<\/p>\n Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participates in the second New York City mayoral debate with Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and Independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, on October 22, 2025. – Hiroko Masuike\/AFP\/Pool\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Cuomo responded by accusing Sliwa of tax fraud, claiming that he\u2019d failed to properly disclose donations to his crime prevention organization, the Guardian Angels. \u201cSo I think that\u2019s the person who has explaining to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At another point, Sliwa accused Cuomo of cutting funding for hospital beds for people with mental illnesses, ending his point with \u201cShame on you!\u201d<\/p>\n Retorted Cuomo: \u201cThere\u2019s one bed I\u2019m going to save for you.\u201d<\/p>\n This story and headline have been updated with additional details.<\/p>\n![\"Democratic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/e5d8798315370233aa97e45e5f499e09.jpeg\"\/)
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Cuomo responded at first by suggesting Mamdani was being unserious and immature. He then launched into his defense, saying five district attorneys declined to pursue the cases and that he has not been found criminally or civilly liable.<\/p>\n![\"Cuomo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/74272b6d49f4b29ae5c4130ec615a409.jpeg\"\/)
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