New York City's mayoral election heads into its decisive phase, with over 734,000 early votes cast — more than four times the 2021 total — and five million registered voters poised to decide the city's next leader on November 4.
Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, holds a commanding lead in the latest polls, energizing progressive voters with promises of universal free childcare, free public buses, and a rent freeze for one million rent-regulated apartments.
The race features a three-way contest among Mamdani, independent Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, marking a clash of progressive, establishment, and conservative visions in the nation's largest city.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat in office since January 2022, withdrew earlier this year amid controversies, including a dismissed federal indictment on bribery and conspiracy charges.
The RealClearPolitics average places Mamdani at 45.8 percent, 14.7 points ahead of Cuomo at 31.1 percent and 28.5 points over Sliwa at 17.3 percent.
Individual surveys from firms like Emerson College, Marist College, and Quinnipiac University show Mamdani's lead ranging from three to 25 points, reflecting varying methodologies in random sampling via phone, text, or online.
Margins of error introduce uncertainty, with results capturing voter preferences on key issues and candidate approval, though aggregation helps mitigate individual biases.
Unlike the ranked-choice primaries, the general election employs first-past-the-post, awarding victory to the top vote-getter among the city's 5.1 million voters — 65 percent Democrats, 11 percent Republicans, and 1.1 million independents.
Polling stations open between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET on Election Day, varying by site, following early voting from October 25 to November 2.
President Donald Trump has voiced reluctance to allocate federal funds to New York City should Mamdani prevail, labeling him a "Communist" in a CBS 60 Minutes interview. He stated:
It's gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a Communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there.
The city received $7.4 billion in federal funding this fiscal year, amid Trump's history of targeting cuts to Democratic-led areas.
Trump contrasted Mamdani unfavorably with former Mayor Bill de Blasio and implicitly backed Cuomo, saying, "if it's gonna be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, I'm gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time."
Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman who won the Democratic primary, has dismissed communist labels, likening himself to a "Scandinavian politician," only browner.
He criticized Cuomo as a puppet and parrot of Trump, advocating instead for a city "that believes in the dignity of everyone who calls this place home."