Mamdani leads Cuomo as NYC mayoral race heads into final stretch

With Election Day two days away, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani is heading into the final stretch of New York City’s mayoral race holding a substantial lead over former governor Andrew Cuomo as hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have already cast early ballots across the five boroughs. The city’s Board of Elections reported more than 735,000 early in‑person votes, the highest total for a nonpresidential municipal election, and polls taken in recent days show Mamdani leading by double digits in most surveys.

An aggregate of recent public polls puts Mamdani near the mid 40s in support and Cuomo in the low 30s, leaving the Democratic socialist roughly 14 to 16 points ahead in many samples. Individual surveys vary, with some showing a narrower margin and a few outliers projecting larger gaps, but the prevailing picture is of a commanding advantage for Mamdani heading into Tuesday’s vote. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa remains a distant third in most polls but his supporters could influence the outcome in a three‑way, first‑past‑the‑post contest.

Campaign activity over the weekend illustrated the contrasting appeals of the two front‑runners. Mamdani, 34, stumped in Harlem and...