Cuomo Appears to Be Closing Fast on Mamdani

The seemingly insurmountable lead that Zohran Mamdani held in the New York City mayor's race doesn't seem quite so insurmountable anymore. A week before the election, a Suffolk University poll shows that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has cut Mamdani's lead in half and now trails by 10 points, reports USA Today. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and the Democratic nominee, has 44% to 34% for Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa trails at 11%, per the Hill.

Cuomo's surge over the last month follows the exit from the race of incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who endorsed Cuomo and whose supporters appear to be shifting to him. "He's still an underdog, and everything has to fall right for him," said Suffolk poll director David Paleologos of Cuomo. "He is beginning to stage a comeback, though." Election Day is Tuesday. "The good news for Mamdani is he's very close to being at the number he needs to win," Paleologos added.

One notable shift: Cuomo now leads among Hispanic voters by one point after trailing Mamdani by 30 in September. Paleologos attributes the swing to a possible preference for a more moderate candidate with government experience, though the specific reasons remain unclear. Another factor is that Cuomo appears to be appealing to GOP voters, with Sliwa supporters favoring him as a second choice over Mamdani by an overwhelming margin.