NEW YORK – In New York City, scoring the Democratic nomination for mayor is traditionally viewed as a lock for a general election win, but Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s primary victory has rewritten the playbook.
President Donald Trump insists that Mamdani can’t win as he ramps up his attacks against the 33-year-old, and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threw his hat back in the ring as an independent after losing the Dem primary race.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who saw record-low approval ratings this year, and Republican Curtis Sliwa have insisted they would not drop out of the race, even as Mamdani critics urge them to do so. Antitrust lawyer Jim Walden is also in the race.
But what do polls say about who voters want to become the Big Apple’s next mayor?
Latest polls
A July poll by market research company HarrisX shows Mamdani leading a four-man race. The survey of 585 registered New York City voters has Mamdani with 26% of the vote, followed by Cuomo (23%), Sliwa (22%) and Adams (13%). Fifteen percent of responded said they are undecided. Yet Cuomo and Sliwa are within the polls margin of error, meaning the results essentially show a three-way tie.
The survey also laid out the following scenarios:
- In a three-way race without Adams, Cuomo (31%) is statistically tied with Mamdani (29%) and Sliwa (28 percent).
- In a three-way race without Cuomo, Mamdani leads by 10 points, winning 35% to Sliwa’s 25% and Adams’ 19%.
- In head-to-head matchups, Mamdani topples Adams 43% to 36% but trails Cuomo 35% to 50%, a 15-point advantage for Cuomo.
More polls
Data for Progress, a left-wing think tank, conducted a survey of 756 voters which shows Mamdani in the lead (40%) followed by Cuomo (24%), Adams (15%) and Sliwa (14%).
Slingshot Strategies, a political consulting firm, has Mamdani ahead (35%) followed by Cuomo (25%), Sliwa (14%) and Adams (11%) in a poll of 1,036 registered NYC voters.
American Pulse, a market research company, surveyed 568 likely NYC voters – 35.2% would voter for Mamdani, followed by 29% for Cuomo, 16.1% for Sliwa and 13.8% for Adams.
Watch interviews with each candidate
Dig deeper:
Here’s what candidates had to say about their platforms on Good Day New York and Politics Unusual:
Zohran Mamdani
Mayor Eric Adams 
Eric Adams on mayoral race polls, Mamdani, NYPD lawsuit: Interview
New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined Good Day Friday and answered questions about his low ranking in the mayoral race polls, opinions on opponent Zohran Mamdani and the bombshell lawsuit filed by a former NYPD commissioner accusing Adams of running the department.
Andrew Cuomo 
Cuomo on running as an independent, primary loss
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it official this week, saying he’s staying in the NYC mayor’s race — running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo joined Good Day New York on Wednesday.
Curtis Sliwa 
The Source: This article uses information from candidate interviews, the Associated Press and market research firms.