NEW YORK — In the final Democratic debate in the primary for mayor of New York City, seven candidates sparred over immigration, affordability and President Donald Trump’s policies. But more often, the debate Thursday devolved into sharp personal attacks.

The most pointed exchanges involved former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, the two front-runners in polls.

Cuomo pummeled Mamdani, arguing that his inexperience was dangerous. Mamdani criticized Cuomo as out-of-touch and beholden to the same special interests that support Trump.

Other candidates often entered the fray. Brad Lander, the city comptroller, drew attention to Cuomo’s handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic and the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation as governor in 2021.

The debate, which was hosted by NY1, WNYC Radio and The City, was the candidates’ best and possibly last chance to grab attention before the start of early voting Saturday. The primary will be held June 24.

Here are five takeaways from the debate.

Ganging Up on Cuomo

Cuomo is still clearly viewed as the front-runner based on the attacks he faced from his rivals. Several of the candidates mentioned the sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied.

Lander laced into Cuomo, saying he would be reluctant to tell recent college graduates to work in a Cuomo administration and citing a valedictorian from City College who was coming to work for a city agency.

“I don’t want to have to tell her: Don’t go work at City Hall because the mayor is a sexual harasser,” he said.

Later in the debate, Lander drew attention to Peter Arbeeny, a man in the audience whose father died of COVID-19 shortly after having been in a nursing home in New York during the pandemic. He asked Cuomo to apologize to Arbeeny.

Cuomo challenged Lander’s assertions, but said he was “very, very sorry” for Arbeeny’s loss.

Mamdani raised concerns about donors to a super political action committee supporting Cuomo, including DoorDash, a delivery service that contributed $1 million. Mamdani said the company wants to “ensure they can continue to operate with impunity.”

Cuomo dismissed the idea that he was beholden to donors: “I’m not for rent, and I’m not for sale.”

Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist who is not associated with any mayoral campaign, said Lander and Mamdani “teamed up very effectively to undercut Cuomo’s managerial arguments and exploit Cuomo’s weaknesses.”

It’s Getting Personal

The candidates exchanged personal attacks over where they came from, one of their names and over their records.

Mamdani bristled at Cuomo’s repeated mispronunciation of his name.

“The name is Mamdani. M-A-M-D-A-N-I,” he said, spelling it out.

Cuomo mentioned Lander’s upbringing in St. Louis, hinting that he was not a true New Yorker.

“Maybe where you come from in St. Louis, facts don’t matter,” Cuomo said when Lander brought up the nursing home deaths.

Lander won more attention Thursday than in the previous debate and seemed energized by his support earlier in the day from a panel convened by The New York Times’ opinion section. He is from St. Louis — and is still a proud Cardinals fan — but he has lived in New York City for many years.

Lander said Cuomo had “screwed” immigrants as governor when the state-run transit agency “cheated” them out of wages for cleaning the subway.

Lander expressed outrage at Cuomo’s use of the words “illegal immigrants” during his response: “What did you call them?”

Then Cuomo pivoted to calling the workers “undocumented.”

Experience Matters

Cuomo and Mamdani had one of their most heated exchanges over experience.

Cuomo, 67, criticized Mamdani’s youth — he is 33 — and contrasted it with his own decades of experience as governor and as the former secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

“I think inexperience is dangerous,” Cuomo said, expressing concern over his inability to deal with the Trump administration.

“He’s never done any of the essentials,” he said. “And now you have Donald Trump on top of all of that.”

Mamdani’s response was swift and cutting, drawing attention to Cuomo’s political liabilities.

“To Mr. Cuomo, I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid. I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA,” he said. “I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo.”

Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, used her chance to question another candidate to ask Mamdani if he thought that he was more qualified than she was.

Mamdani said that he appreciated her track record, but that he was the best candidate because of his focus on affordability.

“I believe the most pressing crisis we’re facing here is one of affordability, and that is something that my campaign has been laser-focused on,” he said.

Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller, said that Cuomo had experience and Mamdani had vision, but that the city needed a mayor with both.

“My experience and my vision, when you combine it, is the third lane to win this race,” he said.

Partnerships Emerge

Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund executive, said he would list Cuomo second on his ranked-choice ballot.

It was not exactly a surprise. They have both expressed support for Israel and criticized Mamdani.

Cuomo used his one question for another candidate to ask Tilson about paying for Mamdani’s many populist plans.

“You’re a financial expert,” Cuomo said. “Is it feasible and financially possible that he is telling the truth?”

Tilson cast doubts on Mamdani’s plans, calling them “preposterous.” He said they would lead to an “exodus of businesses and jobs and crush our city” and had no chance of passage in Albany.

The four candidates endorsed by the left-leaning Working Families Party — Mamdani, Lander, Adams, and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie — mostly avoided confronting one another.

Mamdani, who has argued that Cuomo is a carpetbagger from Westchester County who has not lived in the city since the 1990s, defended Lander when Cuomo brought up St. Louis.

“Brad Lander is more of a New Yorker than Andrew Cuomo is,” Mamdani said.

Myrie asked Adams a question about a shared concern of theirs — nearly 200,000 Black families leaving the city — while citing one of her major accomplishments: a housing plan known as City of Yes.

“Love the question,” she said and thanked him for giving her an opportunity to discuss the plan and its protections for homeowners.

Tensions Surface Over Religion

Cuomo and Mamdani faced questions from the moderators — and each other — about Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers.

Cuomo was asked whether he had made a public visit to a mosque as governor — an issue that has concerned Muslims in New York.

Cuomo said: “I believe I have — I would have to check the record.”

When he was pressed on the issue by a moderator, Cuomo said: “Off the top of my head, I can’t tell you where I went.”

Asked what he would say to Muslim New Yorkers about welcoming and protecting them, Cuomo said: “We are a city of immigrants. I welcome them. I love them. I’m not Mr. Mamdani. I’m not antisemitic. I’m not divisive.”

Mamdani, who recently faced calls for his deportation from a City Council member (he is a naturalized citizen), condemned the way that a super PAC supporting Cuomo considered distributing an attack mailer that showed Mamdani with his face and beard altered.

Mamdani, who criticized the altering of the photo as Islamophobic, tied the matter to Cuomo’s response to the question about whether he had visited a mosque.

“The reason he doesn’t have a message for Muslim New Yorkers is because he has nothing to say to us, because he doesn’t see us as if we are every other New Yorker,” Mamdani said.

Mamdani, who has received criticism from Cuomo over his support for Palestinians, again defended his views and rejected claims that he is antisemitic. He said he had spoken to Jewish residents who were worried about their safety.

“I will protect Jewish New Yorkers and deliver them that safety,” he said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Maya King/Vincent Alban
c. 2025 The New York Times Company