Faced with accusations of amplifying or inserting Islamophobia into the New York City\u2019s mayor\u2019s race, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo struck a familiar, aggressive pose last week.<\/p>\n
It was his opponent, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who sought to offend and divide, not him, Mr. Cuomo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho haven\u2019t you offended?\u201d he asked Mr. Mamdani rhetorically at a news conference in Queens. \u201cJewish, Italian, L.G.B.T.Q., N.Y.P.D., the Black community, saying that Barack Obama is evil and a liar. Who have you not offended? Who have you not tried to divide and attack? Hindu community. Sunni Muslim community. Who have you not attacked?\u201d<\/p>\n
As Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat running as an independent, tries to improve his standing in the final stretch of the race, he has cast a wider net to attract voters. To win Republican supporters of that party\u2019s nominee, Curtis Sliwa, Mr. Cuomo has courted them at campaign stops, in interviews on Fox News and with appearances on conservative podcasts.<\/p>\n
But Mr. Cuomo has also targeted groups that have longstanding affiliations with Democratic candidates and that may be more inclined toward Mr. Mamdani, a democratic socialist<\/a>, whether because of his views, background or the fact that he is the Democratic nominee.<\/p>\n To bolster his case, Mr. Cuomo has used tactics reminiscent of those used by President Trump to cut into the margins of reliable Democratic constituencies, including Black, Hispanic and Jewish voters.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump tried to woo these groups by arguing that Democrats had abandoned them in favor of undocumented immigrants who were taking \u201cBlack jobs\u201d and \u201cHispanic jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n And the strategy seemed to be effective: Mr. Trump made gains this year among Black voters and he made significant inroads with Hispanic voters, including in Democratic strongholds<\/a> like New York City.<\/p>\n But Mr. Trump could also count on a reliable Republican base. As an independent candidate in a Democratic city, Mr. Cuomo has a different challenge: He must create a new base of support outside of traditional partisan politics that includes Democrats who spurn their party\u2019s nominee.<\/p>\n On Saturday, Mr. Cuomo went on MSNBC and condemned Islamophobic remarks, then he suggested that the city\u2019s diversity could be both a \u201cstrength\u201d and a \u201cweakness.\u201d \u201cSo you have to work very, very hard to make sure you\u2019re always keeping people united,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Mr. Cuomo has exploited political tensions to target key demographic groups in the city, particularly Jewish voters, by repeatedly citing Mr. Mamdani\u2019s long-held pro-Palestinian views and vocal criticism of Israel. Mr. Trump has often focused on the left\u2019s criticisms of Israel when he claims Jewish voters backing Democrats are betraying their identities.<\/p>\n Campaign fliers sponsored by a super PAC tied to Mr. Cuomo\u2019s interests have sought to cast doubt and fear over a Mamdani mayoralty.Credit…Victor J. Blue for The New York Times<\/p>\n Mr. Cuomo\u2019s campaign has also taken aim at Mr. Mamdani\u2019s support among South Asian voters, in part by pointing to his family\u2019s mixed religious heritage. The assemblyman\u2019s mother is Hindu and his father is Muslim, and Mr. Mamdani has said his Muslim faith has been central to his political views.<\/p>\n The former governor has also singled out Sunni Muslims as he argues that Mr. Mamdani, who is Shiite, holds views on decriminalizing sex work<\/a> that are \u201charam,\u201d or forbidden by Islamic law.<\/p>\n Mucahit Bulici, a sociology professor at John Jay College, said the split between the Shiite and Sunni sects did not tend to be central in Muslim American communities.<\/p>\n Separately, the Cuomo campaign posted a video last month that featured a group of supporters who called themselves \u201cMuslims Against Mamdani\u201d and argued that Mr. Mamdani was not really Muslim. \u201cHe\u2019s a self-proclaimed Hindu,\u201d one man says.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever he goes to a mosque, he says, \u2018I\u2019m a Muslim,\u2019\u201d another man says, adding that when Mr. Mamdani is at a Hindu temple, \u201che says, \u2018My mother was Hindu.\u2019 He\u2019s misleading people.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cuomo campaign has targeted South Asian voters in part by highlighting how Mr. Mamdani has made much of his Muslim upbringing, but has not said much about his mother\u2019s Hindu background.Credit…Victor J. Blue for The New York Times<\/p>\n That line, amplified by Mr. Cuomo\u2019s campaign, echoed an attack that Mr. Trump made against his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, who is Black and Indian, as he tried to win Black voters away from Democrats.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black,\u201d Mr. Trump said last year. \u201cSo I don\u2019t know, is she Indian or is she Black?\u201d<\/p>\n Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, dismissed suggestions that his tactics were divisive and said that the Cuomo campaign was trying to provide information to voters who were not properly informed about Mr. Mamdani\u2019s past statements.<\/p>\n \u201cZohran is the least vetted candidate since George Santos,\u201d he said, \u201cand the most unqualified since\u201d Bill de Blasio, the former mayor. \u201cVoters,\u201d Mr. Azzopardi added, \u201cneed to know the facts.\u201d<\/p>\n Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani, accused Mr. Cuomo in a statement of \u201ccorrupt, self-serving politics\u201d that \u201cNew Yorkers can hardly wait to leave behind for good come this Tuesday.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr. Cuomo has also tried to sow doubt among L.G.B.T.Q. voters, who largely vote for Democrats, by pointing to a photo of Mr. Mamdani with a Ugandan elected official who has supported laws that would make same-sex sexual activity illegal.<\/p>\n Mr. Mamdani has characterized his encounter with the official as an airport run-in and has said he did not know her views. But Mr. Cuomo, who pushed to legalize same-sex marriage in New York when he was governor, has cited the picture as evidence that he would better represent the L.G.B.T.Q. community as mayor. (Mr. Cuomo has also campaigned with a former Bronx elected official<\/a> who has made anti-gay statements, and with a Republican City Council member who opposed bills related to transgender<\/a> rights.)<\/p>\n Christina Greer, an associate professor of political science at Fordham University, said that Mr. Cuomo\u2019s attempts to target other groups \u2014 L.G.B.T.Q. voters, Black residents, Muslims \u2014 with identity-based appeals struck her as \u201cvery disingenuous.\u201d<\/p>\n Joseph Borelli, a Staten Island Republican and former city councilman who supports Mr. Cuomo, rejected the idea that the former governor\u2019s campaign efforts were inherently divisive.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he\u2019s trying to put a lasso around people who are simply concerned about the rise of progressive socialism in New York,\u201d Mr. Borelli, who also supports Mr. Trump, said.<\/p>\n