Mamdani rivals defiant against dropping out despite facing long odds in NYC mayor battle

NYC mayoral race features Zohran Mamdani leading polls against Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams as candidates debate dropping out strategy.

Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference on Aug. 4, 2025, in New York City. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Nearly every recent poll in the New York City mayoral race indicates that Mamdani holds a healthy double-digit lead over Cuomo and the other contenders in November's general election.

Mamdani stood at 37% support in the most recent survey, a small-sample Siena Research Institute poll conducted Aug. 4-7, with Cuomo at 23%.

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Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee, grabbed 12% support, with Mayor Eric Adams, the embattled incumbent who announced earlier this year that he would seek re-election as an independent candidate, at 7%. 

Mayor Eric Adams officially launches his independent re-election bid, on June 26, 2025, in New York City. (AP)

"The people who are running – they are harmful to our city and the progress we’ve made. And I owe it to New Yorkers to get my story out to them and to run a campaign," Adams said this week in a Politico interview as he once again pledged to stay in the race.

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Sliwa, in a FOX Business interview Wednesday, dismissed "this idea of everybody dropping out" and argued that "if we debate the issues, we are going to weaken Zohran Mamdani."

Mamdani surged to a primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City's high cost of living. It was fueled by a grassroots army of supporters and backing from top national progressive champions, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

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Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City's vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) "tuition-free," freezing rents on municipal housing, offering "free childcare" for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

New York City mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa. (Getty Images)

Mamdani, enjoying a lead in the polls, is now training his political fire on the biggest boogeyman in Democrat-dominated New York City – President Donald Trump.

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The candidate this week is crisscrossing New York City on a "Five Boroughs Against Trump" tour.  

"My administration will be Donald Trump’s worst nightmare," Mamdani declared last week, ahead of launching the tour.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast."

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mamdani-rivals-defiant-against-dropping-out-despite-facing-long-odds-nyc-mayor-battle