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New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Drop out of the mayor's race NOW, Andrew Cuomo!
Andrew Cuomo lost big Tuesday night, but may still do New York City the huge disservice of staying on the November ballot as an independent — and so increase the chances that Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor. He can still legally drop out today, Friday June 27; otherwise, even if he doesn't campaign at all, he'll still draw some votes that should go to a non-Mamdani candidate who can win. Staying in would be the height of egotistical arrogance, but this is Andrew Cuomo we're talking about: As long as it serves his bitter, twisted and vengeful needs, he probably doesn't care about the consequences for the people of this city. Of course, that attitude explains his historic collapse despite a huge lead in the polls just weeks ago, and a ginormous $25 million in donations for 'independent' pro-Cuomo spending: Democratic voters are sick of him. And the same will prove true of non-Democrats if he persists: Whatever lead there might seem to be there in polling now (especially in polls pushed by consultants who'd profit if he stays in) is mere name recognition. Why would moderates and conservatives rally behind him? They know Cuomo helped inflict 'criminal justice reform' on New York, feeding crime and disorder in the city; he made it harder to get mentally ill homeless into treatment; he gave us the botched legalization of pot, soaring electric bills, tighter rent laws that slam small landlords, the subway Summer of Hell and 'congestion' tolls — not to mention his literally deadly 'leadership' during COVID. Yet he's plainly still in denial: 'I'm looking at the numbers from last night. I want to get an idea of what the general election looks like and what landscape looks like, and what the issues are, and then make the decision,' he arrogantly told The Post on Wednesday. Huh? After his tired run in the primary, Cuomo is a dead man walking even in the eyes his big-money donors, who are looking to shift their support to Mayor Eric Adams or some late-entry independent. By staying on the ballot in what's then at least a four-man race, Andrew Cuomo only makes it easier for Mamdani to sneak to victory with as little as 30% of the vote — meaning he needs only his hard-left base, plus those who'll always vote for the Democratic line and a handful more New Yorkers he can charm into his camp. Andrew Cuomo made New York less affordable, less safe and less livable: He's already proved he's the perfect foil for Mamdani. Yet — in some faint hope of somehow winning redemption and a platform he imagines could let him seek the White House — Cuomo stands poised to to help elect a democratic socialist who'd make all the city's problems even worse. For a few more hours, he can still serve the people of New York by setting aside his ego and removing his name from the November ballot. He has until 5 pm today to inform the city Board of Elections. The clock's ticking, Andrew: Let your final move in politics be doing the right thing.
New York Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Long Island incumbents hang on in chaotic GOP primary plagued by scandals and infighting
Two top Suffolk County Republicans fended off primary challengers Tuesday night — including one town leader who dodged a growing controversy with a major boost from local police unions. Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim appeared to have narrowly held onto his seat after a vicious GOP primary against Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta with a 700-vote lead, according to unofficial county Board of Elections tallies on Wednesday. The adult boyfriend of Wehrheim's daughter had been arrested for stalking Trotta just two days before the election but any bad press was countered by strong backing from the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association in favor of the seven-year incumbent. Advertisement 3 Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim narrowly survived holding onto his seat in the GOP primary against Suffolk County Legislator Rob Trotta. Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim/Facebook 'Last night, the people of Smithtown made their voices heard loud and clear,' Wehrheim told The Post on Wednesday. Some 400 PBA officers were said to have campaigned door-to-door for Wehrheim or worked phone banks Advertisement 'Ed Wehrheim and Smithtown are the embodiment of the Back The Blue movement,' PBA President Lou Civello said in an interview. Civello said the union would never support Trotta, who he called a 'RINO,' or 'Republican in name only,' and said his Zohran Mamdani-aligned stance on deferring some responsibility from cops over to mental health professionals and social workers makes him a 'traitor to the party' and inspired the PBA's mobilization efforts. Trotta, a 25-year Suffolk police veteran and the department's 2001 detective of the year, told The Post he believes the real reason behind the PBA's efforts is because of the role he played in helping lock up former police commissioner James Burke — who served 40 months for beating a handcuffed inmate with a group of officers and covering it up. Meanwhile, Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth crushed challenger Brooke Lupinacci with 61% of the vote, also securing the top spot on the ballot for the Conservative party as well as the Republican nomination in the deep red district. Advertisement Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post's signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here! Huntington's primary was centered on disagreements over visions of what future development for the town should look like. 'I knew I was right on the issues, I knew I would never get outworked on the campaign trail and I know that the residents of Huntington focus on the issues,' Smythe told the crowd after his win at the American Legion Hall in Halesite Tuesday. On the other side of the aisle, Maria Delgado easily defeated Cooper Macco in a Working Families Party primary for Huntington supervisor, while Chris Haines beat Vincent Colavita for the town's highway superintendent. Advertisement 3 Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth easily won his contest against Brooke Lupinacci, receiving 61% of the total vote. Ed Smyth / Facebook Two GOP primaries were also held for the open seats on the Suffolk County Legislature where the incumbents — including Trotta — hit their term limits. Lindenhurst Deputy Mayor Richard Renna defeated Brightwaters prosecutor Shawn Cullinane with 67% of the vote, and retired NYPD detective Sal Formica topped Huntington building supervisor Frank Black with 59%. In town board races, Smithtown Republican incumbents Thomas McCarthy and Lynne Nowick won with about 29% each. 3 Smyth's victory granted him the top spot in Huntington's primary for the Republican nomination. Ed Smyth / Facebook In Huntington, incumbent David Bennardo took the win while his ally, Gregory Grizopoulous, both Republicans, will be at the top of the ticket for the seat that Councilman Sal Ferro will vacate. Despite the record-setting temperatures, voter turn-out was on par with previous years at about 12%, according to election Commissioner Betty Manzella. The results set the stage for a high-stakes general election this fall, and with primaries now behind them, candidates are turning their focus to the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mamdani's stunning win over Cuomo fueled by unlikely support in moderate NYC neighborhoods
Zohran Mamdani's projected victory in Tuesday's Democratic mayoral primary was propelled by a surge in voters from historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods coming out to support him despite leaning more moderate in past elections, including backing Eric Adams in 2021, according to a Daily News analysis of ballot data. Two key factors appear to be at play. Many voters in those neighborhoods appear to have been drawn in by Mamdani's theme of affordability amidst growing economic uncertainty, experts say. The makeup of the neighborhoods themselves have also changed, with gentrification driving an influx of many of the younger, progressive voters who flocked to Mamdani. Mamdani's upset win hasn't been officially declared yet, as ranked choice rounds still need to be added to the mix. But his main opponent, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, condeded the race Tuesday night after it became clear there was no path for him left in the race. A big reason Cuomo, a centrist, was left without a path is because Mamdani, a socialist, beat him handily in at least seven Assembly Districts that have traditionally had more moderate political sensibilities. In the 2021 mayoral election, the neighborhoods in question, from Manhattan's Inwood to Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant, went for Adams, a moderate Democrat who ran a succesful campaign that year centered on a law-and-order message. Throughout the 2025 primary campaign, Cuomo tried to appeal to Adams' base, as the incumbent dropped out of the race amid fallout from his corruption indictment. Those districts backing Mamdani, a democratic socialist who ran on a tax-the-rich platform, speaks to a shifting current in the city's electorate. Experts also argued Mamdani was able to make inroads in the areas because Cuomo did little retail politics, leaning instead more on organized labor support and a massive war chest. These are the seven districts where the Adams-to-Mamdani shift played out most prominently in Tuesday's primary (the tallies are based on unofficial results released by the Board of Elections that include nearly all votes cast): •Assembly District 42, which spans Flatbush, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 500 ballots •Assembly District 43, which spans Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Crown Heights, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by 3,800 ballots •Assembly District 56, which spans Bedford-Stuyvesant, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 10,000 ballots •Assembly District 68, which spans East Harlem, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 1,100 ballots •Assembly District 70, which spans Central Harlem and Manhattanville, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 3,800 ballots •Assembly District 71, which spans Hamilton Heights and Washington Heights, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 5,000 ballots •Assembly District 72, which spans Washington Heights and Inwood, where Mamdani beat Cuomo by more than 1,400 ballots Jerry Skurnik, a veteran New York political consultant specializing in voter turnout, said he believes two factors were behind the shift to Mamdani in those areas. First, many of the districts have had large influxes of younger, often progressive residents move in as the neighborhoods have gentrified. Many of those residents didn't vote at all in previous primaries. 'I think younger voters who did not vote either because they weren't old enough or didn't care enough [in 2021] came out to vote this year and they voted for Mamdani for the same reason young voters across the city did,' Skurnik said, referencing the excitement that developed during the campaign around Mamdani's left-wing agenda. But Skurnik said the data suggests longtime residents of the neighborhoods at hand have shited gears to support Mamdani, too. He told The News that's because affordability has become perhaps the most important issue on voters' minds, as rents remain historically high, while costs of other essentials, including groceries, have surged as well. Mamdani, in turn, pushed the most aggressive affordability platform in the race, Skurnik argued, pointing to his vows — which critics say are unrealistic — to freeze rent for stabilized tenants, make public buses free and drastically expand subsidized child care. 'The issue of affordability is more important to voters than crime was four years ago,' said Skurnik, referring to Adams' main 2021 talking point. Brooklyn Councilman Chi Osse, a progressive Mamdani campaign surrogate whose district overlaps with the 42nd and 56th Assembly Districts, said he believes Cuomo's Rose Garden-style campaign also hurt his standing in many of the neighborhoods that supported Adams in 2021. 'You had one candidate who was running a rigorous campaign, and on the other you had a former disgraced governor who was hiding from the community,' Osse said Wednesday. 'In addition to that, what Zohran did with this campaign is that he spoke to issues that this community really wants, and that's affordability and fighting against Trump.' The flip to Mamdani was perhaps most pronounced in Assembly District 56, which includes Adams' Brooklyn home. The district, which covers nearly all of Bed-Stuy, went to Adams in 2021 by a somewhat sizable margin, with the mayor clinching 8,974 votes compared to the 6,941 raked in by his closest competitor, Maya Wiley. By contrast, Mamdani is projected to trounce Cuomo in that district, raking in at least 15,436 ballots compared to the ex-gov's 5,110, the early returns show. Similar, but not quite as sweeping of a shift unfolded in uptown Manhattan, including in Assembly District 71, where Adams eeked out a victory in 2021, pulling in 6,231 votes compared to Wiley's 6,143. This time around, Mamdani is on track to beat Cuomo by at least a 5,000-ballot margin in the 71st. City Councilwoman Carmen de la Rosa, whose district ovelaps with the 71st, said the jump to Mamdani in her area was largely driven by energized young voters. 'But I also saw older people who traditionally would have voted Cuomo … When I was having that conversation with people, even the older, more traditional base kept saying to me, 'We need a change, this has not been working for us,'' she said. Mamdani's campaign didn't immediately return a request for comment Wednesday on the turnout trends. Though Mamdani's campaign team was ecstatic Tuesday night, there's a long road ahead to November's general election. Adams will run in the November contest as an independent, as will lawyer Jim Walden. Republican Curtis Sliwa will also be on the ballot, and Cuomo hasn't ruled out running as an independent in November, too. In interview on 'Fox & Friends' on Wednesday, Adams provided a taste of how he plans to campaign against Mamdani, arguing the key planks in his platform are impossible to achieve. 'He's a snake oil salesman,' Adams said. 'He will say and do anything to get elected.'
Mint
3 days ago
- Politics
- Mint
What ranked choice means for NYC: Inside the final countdown to Democratic mayoral pick
New York City is entering the final, high-stakes stretch of its Democratic mayoral primary, where a historic upset and a complex voting system are colliding. With no candidate crossing the crucial 50% threshold in the first round of votes, the city's next mayor will be decided not by a traditional majority, but by the ranked-choice voting —a method now shaping the future of the nation's largest city. With 92.8% of votes counted, 33-year-old state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani holds a significant lead with 43.5% of first-choice votes, ahead of Andrew Cuomo (36.4%) and Brad Lander (11.3%). Cuomo has already conceded, but Mamdani's path to the Democratic nomination still hinges on ranked-choice tabulation, which begins July 1. This means the race is not over — and won't be officially certified until July 15, after absentee ballots are included in subsequent rounds. New York City's ranked-choice system lets voters rank up to five candidates in order of preference. Here's how it works: If no candidate earns more than 50% of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Ballots from that candidate's supporters are then redistributed to their next-choice picks. This elimination and redistribution continues round-by-round until one candidate surpasses 50%. It's a method meant to ensure the winning candidate reflects broad-based support, not just a plurality of voters. It also reduces the need for costly runoff elections and encourages more civil, coalition-based campaigning. Starting July 1, the Board of Elections will begin automated tabulations of the ranked-choice data, removing low-performing candidates, and redistributing their votes according to voters' second and third choices. That said, absentee ballots are still being accepted through the end of June. These ballots will be included in subsequent updates, released weekly until certification on July 15. If Mamdani wins the nomination, he would be: NYC's first Muslim mayor The first South Asian American to lead the city Its youngest mayor in over a century Winning the Democratic nomination is just one battle. In the November general election, Mamdani will face: Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor running as an independent Curtis Sliwa, Republican and Guardian Angels founder And potentially Andrew Cuomo, who has not ruled out an independent run despite conceding in the primary. As July 1 approaches, the city's attention now turns to how remaining preferences shake out. Ranked-choice voting may still alter the outcome — though Mamdani's commanding lead, endorsements, and strategic alliances suggest he is well-positioned.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Zohran Mamdani promises lower cost of living for NYC and outlines how
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — New York State Assemblymember and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declared victory in the city's Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night after building on campaign promises to lower the cost of living in NYC. The 33-year-old democratic socialist took a 44% lead over former Governor Andrew Cuomo despite the race not being officially called by the Board of Elections yet. Mamdani's win comes after he ran an energetic campaign aimed at working-class New Yorkers. More Local News One of Mamdani's most publicized campaign promises has been to freeze the rent for all tenants in stabilized apartments for four years. The move would impact more than two million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized apartments. 'It's something the city has the power to do through the rent guidelines board. A board composed of nine members all of whom are appointed by the mayor,' Mamdani told PIX11's Dan Mannarino during the 2025 NYC Democratic Mayoral Forum. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State He's also promised to use every available resource to build more housing in the city and lower the overall cost of rent. Building on his fare-free bus pilot in 2024, Mamdani has proposed expanding the initiative citywide as well as adding more priority lanes to increase bus speeds. He's also announced plans to implement free childcare for kids between 6 weeks to 5-years-old while raising the wages for childcare workers. 'This is something I would fund in part through the city and in large part through partnership with the state,' Mamdani explained during the forum. More News: Politics The mayoral candidate says the funding would come from raising the tax on corporations and the top 1% of New Yorkers who make a million or more per year. Mamdani has proposed creating a new city agency called the Department of Community Safety to help 'prevent violence before it happens' by investing in citywide mental health programs and crisis response. 'What we really need to do is to deploy teams of dedicate mental health outreach workers to the 100 subways stations with the highest levels of mental health crises,' Mamdani said during the forum. 'Have those teams be the ones responsible for ensuring we bring New Yorkers out of those subways and actually give them the long-term care that they need.' He has suggested placing homeless New Yorkers in vacant supportive housing units instead of sending them to places like Rikers Island or other mental health hospitals. Going along with his rent freeze promise to make the city more affordable, Mamdani has also laid out plans to construct 200,000 permanently affordable, rent-stabilized units over the next 10 years. Additionally, he has proposed overhauling the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants to coordinate code enforcement under one roof as well as revamping 311 so that tenants can schedule and track inspections. If a landlord refuses to make a repair, Mamdani has promised that the City will do it and send them the bill or take control of properties entirely if an owner demonstrates consistent neglect. To help combat the rising cost of groceries, Mamdani has promised to create a network of city-owned grocery stores focused on keeping prices low. Overhead costs would be reduced by making it so that store owners don't have to pay rent or property taxes. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
