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AFTER MAMDANI’S WIN, SOME DEMOCRATS ARE DETERMINED TO STOP HIM  
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Jeffery C. Mays and Nicholas Fandos
July 7, 2025
The New York Times
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_ Though Zohran Mamdani scored a resounding victory in New York
City’s Democratic primary, some in his own party are strategizing
about how to defeat him in November. _

Former Gov. David A. Paterson on Monday criticized Zohran Mamdani,
the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayor’s race, and called
on his foes to work together to defeat him., Vincent Alban/The New
York Times

 

The race for mayor in New York City took an unusual and turbulent turn
on Monday as some Democrats lined up to suggest ways to defeat Zohran
Mamdani, the one candidate officially running on their party’s line.

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams
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two Democrats currently planning to run in the November election
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independents, each called on the other to drop out.

A third independent candidate, Jim Walden
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was less specific in his similarly themed proposal last week. He
suggested that a poll be taken in the fall to determine who among what
he referred to as the four “free-market candidates” has the best
chance of defeating Mr. Mamdani in a race that “pits capitalism
against socialism.” Mr. Mamdani’s left-leaning platform and
democratic socialist affiliation have alarmed some of the Democratic
establishment.

Whoever doesn’t win the poll, Mr. Walden said, should pledge to bow
out and support the winner.

Mr. Walden’s proposal was backed on Monday by Mr. Cuomo as well as
former Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat who held a news conference
to announce his support alongside the Republican billionaire
John_ _Catsimatidis and Sid Rosenberg, a radio host and supporter of
President Trump.

The underlying notion is that in a city where Democrats outnumber
Republicans six to one, the only way to defeat Mr. Mamdani is for his
challengers — the three independents and Curtis Sliwa, the
Republican candidate — to consolidate their support behind just one
of them, and avoid splitting the vote in a five-way race.

In some ways, the calls for unity among the independent candidates
echo the push that left-leaning groups made during the primary, when
they urged supporters to lock arms
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an effort to defeat Mr. Cuomo.

But while the leading Democratic candidates had mostly agreed to work
together, there were early signs that Mr. Adams, Mr. Cuomo and Mr.
Sliwa agreed only in theory — as long as it was the others who
dropped out.

Mr. Adams, describing what he called Mr. Cuomo’s “arrogance,”
said the former governor had asked him to bow out.

“I’m the sitting mayor of the City of New York,” Mr. Adams said
in an interview on CNBC. “And you expect me to step aside when you
just lost to Zohran by 12 points?”

When asked whether Mr. Cuomo should drop out, the mayor replied, “He
should, he should."

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said the campaign would not
respond to Mr. Adams’s characterization to avoid discussing a
private conversation. But in a statement, he argued that if all the
candidates stayed in the race, it would split the vote and “all but
ensures a socialist” would win the election.

“While this is unorthodox, these are unusual times,” Mr. Azzopardi
said. “We are at a dangerous moment for our city.”

He added: “Mayor Adams did not run in the Democratic primary because
he knew he was anathema to Democrats and unelectable. Nothing has
changed. We do not see any path to victory for Mayor Adams.”

Mr. Paterson did not say whom he preferred as mayor, but he was clear
that it was not Mr. Mamdani, even if he seemed to generate newfound
enthusiasm among Democrats.

“If he’s the cure to what ails the party,” Mr. Paterson said,
“then cyanide is the cure for a headache.” Mr. Paterson, a
moderate, endorsed Mr. Cuomo in the Democratic primary
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criticized
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candidate and his campaign after his defeat.

Mr. Sliwa said he had no plans to leave the race, suggesting that Mr.
Cuomo’s loss in the primary and Mr. Adams’s widespread
unpopularity made their candidacies untenable. “If the independents
want to play musical chairs, be my guest,” Mr. Sliwa said in an
interview. “Me, I’m focused on the campaign.”

Mr. Mamdani’s victory has been met with opposition
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those on the far right, Republicans
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some in the business community.

Mr. Mamdani’s campaign said the resistance was to be expected, given
the right’s discomfort with his campaign promises of freezing the
rent for some apartment dwellers, providing universal child care
and making city buses free
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“More than 545,000 New Yorkers voted for Zohran Mamdani, the most
votes any Democratic primary candidate has received in 36 years,”
said Lekha Sunder, a spokeswoman for the Mamdani campaign. “In the
coming months, Zohran looks forward to growing this coalition and
reaching new voters with his vision for an affordable New York
City.”

On Monday night, Democratic district leaders in Manhattan met with Mr.
Mamdani and then endorsed him for mayor, saying in a post on
X, “Democrats supporting Democrats. Groundbreaking.”
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accompanying statement, they said that they supported his vision for a
more affordable city.

Next week, Mr. Mamdani has meetings scheduled with a group of chief
executives from some of the city’s largest companies and other tech
industry leaders, according to Kathryn S. Wylde, the head of the
Partnership for New York City, a business group.

Keith L.T. Wright, the Manhattan Democratic chairman, backed Mr. Cuomo
in the primary but said in an interview Monday that the former
governor’s chance had passed.

“He had a good run, and the electorate spoke loudly and they spoke
clearly,” Mr. Wright said. “Sometimes you’ve got to know when to
show ’em and when to fold ’em.”

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a state assemblywoman who leads the
Brooklyn Democratic Party, backed Mr. Cuomo in the primary but now
supports Mr. Mamdani after his victory. She said the effort against
Mr. Mamdani would only serve to make his “base stronger and
bigger.”

But other Democrats who supported Mr. Cuomo in the primary and remain
opposed to Mr. Mamdani said in interviews that it was untenable for
both the mayor and former governor to keep running, though they
declined to say what they thought should happen instead.

“When he makes his decision, then I’ll make my decision,” H.
Carl McCall said of Mr. Cuomo, his former rival turned ally
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Mr. Cuomo’s remaining allies argue that he has the better shot of
defeating Mr. Mamdani. But his campaign would face real practical
limitations. In the primary, for example, he relied extensively on
large labor unions
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like the ones representing hotel workers and doormen, to run his
get-out-the-vote operation.

 

[Mr. Mamdani stand behind a lectern, with numerous union supporters
behind him and to his side.]

Several unions that had supported former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the
primary have now switched their support to Mr. Mamdani.Credit...Hiroko
Masuike/The New York Times

Those unions, and others, have switched their loyalty
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Mr. Mamdani and are prepared to spend generously on his behalf. Rich
Maroko, the president of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, said in
an interview that Democrats should unite behind their nominee, Mr.
Mamdani.

“New Yorkers want to see him take a shot at the job, and they want
to see him in the job,” he said. “I think he’s going to be
successful no matter what.”

Mr. Adams and Mr. Cuomo are also pursuing many of the same
deep-pocketed donors. Both men spent the weekend in the Hamptons, the
summer enclave of the city’s wealthy where Mr. Adams was raising
money.

“I want the person that drives the limousine to love the city and
the person in the back seat of the limousine to enjoy the city,” Mr.
Adams said at one event
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Some Cuomo supporters were moving in his direction. Jeffrey Gural, a
real estate investor who donated $25,000 to a super PAC supporting
Mr. Cuomo’s candidacy
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said he would now be backing Mr. Adams.

Mr. Walden took somewhat of a victory lap after his idea was well
received by some of his opponents, even as he acknowledged that he
might not benefit from it.

“If I’m one of the losers in that poll,” Mr. Walden said, “I
will stick to my word and step out.”

_Jeffery C. Mays [[link removed]] is a
Times reporter covering politics with a focus on New York City Hall._

_Nicholas Fandos [[link removed]] is a
Times reporter covering New York politics and government._

* Zohran Mamdani
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* Democrats
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* sabotage
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