{"id":13351,"date":"2025-10-23T11:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/13351\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T11:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T11:44:11","slug":"who-won-the-nyc-mayoral-debate-key-takeaways-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/13351\/","title":{"rendered":"Who won the NYC mayoral debate? Key takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"NYC NYC mayoral debate highlights, key takeaways<\/a> <\/p>\n

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa sparred during the final debate of the NYC mayoral race. FOX 5 NY’s Briella Tomassetti has a recap of the night.<\/p>\n

NEW YORK CITY – With Election Day<\/a> in New York City just 12 days<\/a> away, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa participated Wednesday night in the final debate of the mayoral election cycle.<\/p>\n

RECAP OF DEBATE TOPICS: HOUSING<\/a> | TRUMP<\/a> l RIKERS<\/a> | MINIMUM WAGE<\/a> | MTA<\/a> | NOTABLE MOMENTS<\/a><\/p>\n

The debate<\/a> was lively, with each candidate frequently interrupting the other two and making personal attacks when they applied. Mamdani was attacked over his thin resume, Sliwa strove to prove his seriousness as a candidate and Cuomo was pressed on the sexual harassment allegations that drove him from office.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Who won the debate last night? <\/p>\n

The three men sparred over a number of topics, with Cuomo and Sliwa seemingly teaming up to attack Mamdani, the frontrunner. The candidates also focused on a number of issues that have been dominating the headlines in the city.<\/p>\n

FOX 5 NY is your home on Election Night. Bookmark our Election Results page<\/a> to track in real-time, and tune into our Election Night coverage live right here on fox5ny.com<\/a> and FOX LOCAL New York<\/a> as the night unfolds. Coverage begins at 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Cuomo and Sliwa, Mamdani said, “speak only in the past because that is all they know.” He said Cuomo is “a desperate man, lashing out because he knows that the one thing he cares about, power, is slipping away from him.” Cuomo, meanwhile, touted his experience.<\/p>\n

“You have never had a job. You\u2019ve never accomplished anything,” he said, insisting Mamdani lacks the merit and qualifications to run the nation’s biggest city or handle its emergencies.<\/p>\n

“Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And, Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Curtis Sliwa <\/p>\n

Sliwa accused both men of “fighting like kids in a school yard,” but piled on as well.<\/p>\n

“Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin. And, Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library in New York City,” he quipped. He also made frequent references to Cuomo\u2019s decision to resign as governor amid a barrage of sexual harassment allegations, which Cuomo denies.<\/p>\n

NYC mayoral debate highlights Housing<\/a> <\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Housing, one of the main issues of this campaign, came up fairly quickly in the debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani refused to offer his stance on six “yes-or-no<\/a>” ballot proposals that will appear on New Yorkers’ ballots come November \u2013 four of the proposals revolve around speeding up the process of building more affordable housing throughout the city.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Democratic candidate Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani participates in a second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike\/The <\/p>\n

“I have not yet taken a position on those,” he said, prompting shouts from the audience and his opponents on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“What is your opinion, Zohran?” Sliwa asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sliwa said at the debate that he’s opposed to all six proposals, while Cuomo said he’s in favor of all of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Trump factor<\/a> <\/p>\n

The candidates were again pressed on Trump and insisted that they would be most adept at handling the mercurial president. Cuomo spoke repeatedly about how he had held Trump at bay during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and said a Mamdani win would be a “dream” for the president.<\/p>\n

“He [Trump] has said he\u2019ll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will! Because he has no respect for him.”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andrew Cuomo on Zohran Mamdani <\/p>\n

“He has said he\u2019ll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will! Because he has no respect for him. He thinks he\u2019s a kid and he\u2019s going to kick him on his tuchus,” Cuomo said.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, meanwhile, tried to depict Cuomo as Trump’s “puppet” and too aligned with the president.<\/p>\n

“He wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him,” Mamdani said.<\/p>\n

Sliwa warned both were taking the wrong approach by antagonizing the president.<\/p>\n

“You can\u2019t beat Trump,” he said.<\/p>\n

Rikers Island closure<\/a> <\/p>\n

One of the topics that captured a significant portion of time during the debate was the discussion surrounding the fact that Rikers Island is legally mandated<\/a> to close by 2027.<\/p>\n

Rikers is set to close because in 2019, the NY City Council voted to shut down the jail<\/a> and ordered the construction of four new jails in four boroughs: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead of closing Rikers, however, both Cuomo and Sliwa said that they would seek to repair the issues within the jail if elected. Over the past decade in particular, the jail has seen a decline<\/a> in living conditions and an increase in violence, for example. Mamdani, instead, called Rikers a “stain” on New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Yes, we have to close Rikers Island,” he said during the debate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NYC’s minimum wage<\/a> <\/p>\n

Another issue top of mind for voters is whether the city will raise its minimum wage, a topic the three candidates discussed at length during the debate as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The minimum wage in the city is currently $16.50 per hour, and it’s scheduled to be bumped up to $17 per hour once the new year rolls around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani said that he would propose raising the local minimum wage as mayor to $30 per hour by 2030. He also reinforced the key message of his campaign, saying that the city is becoming too expensive for the average New Yorker to live in.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo participates in a second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masu <\/p>\n

He warned the city “we know and love” could become “a museum of the working class.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cuomo, on the other hand, said he’s in favor of raising the minimum wage to $20 per hour. He added that this is a more doable threshold for business owners to keep up with.<\/p>\n

Sliwa didn’t offer a specific amount he’d seek to raise the minimum wage to, but instead criticized Mamdani’s plan, saying to viewers that Mamdani “deals with fantasy, not reality.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

MTA control, pricing<\/a>\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Cuomo was asked by the moderators whether New York City should take partial control of the city’s transit away from the MTA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cuomo called the completion of the city’s capital construction projects “way overdue,” but said that funding for these projects would still come from the MTA budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“My only point is the MTA, which is a labyrinth bureaucracy set up by Rockefeller \u2013 which should’ve never been done in the first place \u2013 it’s an overwhelming task for the greatest managers, and I hired both of them,” he said. “But let the city manage the capital construction from the MTA budget.”<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa participates in a second New York City mayoral debate at LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College in the Queens borough of New York, Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Hiroko Masuike\/The New York Times <\/p>\n

Mamdani spoke of his free bus proposal, which he claimed during the debate “would cost $700 million a year” and “generate more than double in economic revenue for New Yorkers across the city.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

In speaking of transit, Sliwa said he would target fare evaders.<\/p>\n

Other notable moments<\/a> <\/p>\n

Perhaps the most heated moment of the debate was when Mamdani asked Cuomo what he had to say to the women who accused him of sexual harassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“She 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?”<\/p>\n

\u2014 Zohran Mamdani <\/p>\n

Charlotte Bennett, one of Cuomo’s accusers, was in the audience during the debate, a fact that Mamdani pointed out while on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“She 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?”<\/p>\n

One of the issues that all three candidates were able to agree on was the city’s cellphone ban in public schools. They all agreed simply with a “yes” when asked whether they support this policy, which went into effect<\/a> this school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When is Election Day in NYC?\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Election Day 2025 is Tuesday, Nov. 4, 12 days away.<\/p>\n

Timeline, key dates Saturday, Oct. 25: Application for voter registration<\/a> must be received no later than Oct. 25.Saturday, Oct. 25 through Sunday, Nov. 2: The early voting period. Early voting hours<\/a> vary.Tuesday, Nov. 4: Election Day. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. <\/p>\n

You can check your registration status online here.<\/a><\/p>\n

To find your local poll site, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s a look at some of the latest polls in the race for NYC mayor:<\/p>\n

A newly released report by Gotham Polling and the city AARP<\/a> found 44.6% of New Yorkers would vote for Mamdani if Sliwa quit the race, compared to 40.7% saying they\u2019d back Cuomo \u2013 with a margin of error of 4 points that puts Cuomo within striking distance.The latest Fox News poll shows<\/a> Mamdani with a 24-point lead among registered voters in New York City. He’s at 52% support among likely voters, while Cuomo polls at 28% and Sliwa polls at 13%.Quinnipiac University has Mamdani with a 13-point lead<\/a> in its latest poll, with Mamdani at 46% of the vote, while Cuomo and Sliwa poll at 33% and 15%, respectively. Betting odds <\/p>\n

Some companies have begun taking what amounts to bets on the outcome of the NYC mayoral election.<\/p>\n

Polymarket<\/a>: The latest odds from Polymarket show Mamdani at a 93% chance of winning.Kalshi<\/a>: The latest odds from Kalshi show Mamdani at a 91% chance of winning.Oddschecker<\/a>: Mamdani is at -2000<\/a> to win. Where are the candidates today? Zohran Mamdani 12:45 p.m. \u2013 Presser on Mamdani baby basket policy. Andrew Cuomo Around 7:50 a.m. \u2013 Be a guest on Sid & Friends in the Morning on 77 WABC Radio.12:45 p.m. \u2013 Meet with the Editorial Board of The New York Sun.2 p.m. \u2013 Meet with the masthead of The Wave.6 p.m. \u2013 Rally with Local 3 IBEW.8 p.m. \u2013 Brooklyn Rally with Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club. Curtis Sliwa Siwa has no public schedule. <\/p>\n

SKIP TO: Andrew Cuomo<\/a> | Zohran Mamdani<\/a> | Curtis Sliwa<\/a><\/p>\n

Local perspective:<\/p>\n

Returning to the mayoral race after his 2021 defeat to New York City Mayor Eric Adams<\/a>, Curtis Sliwa<\/a>, 71, brings his tough-on-crime message back to the Republican forefront.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Guardian Angels<\/a> founder and radio host is banking on his core base in conservative outer-borough neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

\"Sliwa <\/p>\n

Sliwa\u2019s law-and-order platform remains central, and he has wasted no time labeling Mamdani “too extreme for this city,” positioning himself as the voice of traditional values and public safety.<\/p>\n

He has focused his campaign on public order and community-focused housing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sliwa’s affordability plan <\/p>\n

His seven-point housing plan includes converting empty commercial spaces into homes, restoring vacant rent-controlled units, and returning zoning control to local neighborhoods. Sliwa supports hiring thousands of new police officers and reinstating the NYPD\u2019s Homeless Outreach Unit.<\/p>\n

On education, he vows to overhaul the system to focus on measurable achievement, restore school safety agents and expand gifted and vocational programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sliwa also pledges to preserve traditional Medicare for retirees, and to improve city sanitation and pest control to promote public health.<\/p>\n

After conceding defeat in the Democratic primary<\/a>, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo<\/a>, 67, has officially qualified to run as an independent in the general election, staging a late comeback that could reshape the race.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cuomo is presenting himself as a steady hand with deep experience, seeking to appeal to moderates, independents and disaffected Democrats wary of both Mamdani\u2019s progressivism and Sliwa\u2019s conservatism.<\/p>\n

\"Cuomo Cuomo considering new strategy in NYC mayor race<\/a> <\/p>\n

New York City mayoral candidates are turning to social media in an attempted to revitalize their campaigns, but is it working? Also, Republican Curtis Sliwa says he will take of his signature red beret for good if elected. FOX 5 NY’s Morgan McKay breaks down the state of the race.<\/p>\n

He has focused his campaign on restoring public safety and affordability.<\/p>\n

He calls for adding 5,000 officers to the NYPD and increasing patrols in subways and retail corridors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cuomo’s housing plan <\/p>\n

On housing, Cuomo supports building across income levels, enforcing rent-stabilization laws and offering tax relief for working- and middle-class residents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His education priorities include reducing class sizes, expanding after-school programs and addressing teacher shortages.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cuomo also wants more school-based health centers and expanded community health partnerships to improve access and pandemic preparedness.<\/p>\n

At 34-years-old, Zohran Mamdani<\/a> stands out as a Democratic Socialist<\/a> and a rising star in New York City politics. As a state assemblyman, Mamdani surged ahead on a fiercely progressive platform promising rent freezes, fare-free public transit, universal childcare and an unprecedented push for public housing expansion.<\/p>\n

\"Mamdani <\/p>\n

His campaign is centered on housing, affordability and equity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani’s housing plan <\/p>\n

Mamdani’s proposals include freezing rents for stabilized tenants, tripling the construction of permanently affordable housing and creating a citywide Office of Deed Theft Prevention to protect homeowners.<\/p>\n

On public safety, Mamdani would form a Department of Community Safety to handle mental health and homelessness responses, while maintaining NYPD staffing but cutting overtime. He\u2019s pledged to disband the Strategic Response Group<\/a>, which he says has violated New Yorkers\u2019 rights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s education plan calls for fully funded public schools, free child care for kids under five and major investments in CUNY.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His health plan would expand city hospital funding, reject Medicare Advantage and create outreach teams to connect residents with coverage and care.<\/p>\n

2025 election for NYC mayor<\/a>Politics<\/a>New York<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NYC mayoral debate highlights, key takeaways Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13352,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[9,24,55,54,12,56,3334,87,618],"class_list":{"0":"post-13351","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","11":"tag-new-york-city-news","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc-mayor-2025","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}