Andrew Cuomo faces a pile-on and other takeaways from New York City mayoral debate

Progressives gang up against Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo faced a two-hour pile-on Wednesday as eight other Democrats vying for the party’s nomination for New York City mayor spent their first debate attempting to knock the former governor off his perch. Cuomo faced attacks over his management of the coronavirus pandemic and the sexual harassment allegations that drove him out of the governor’s office. In particular, he sparred with his biggest progressive rival, state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. All of them sought to demonstrate that they’d be best able to stand up to President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker who has frequently targeted his hometown. The Trump administration earlier in the day escalated its fight with Columbia University, on the city’s Upper West Side, declaring the school doesn’t meet accreditation standards due to its failure to protect Jewish students. Many used the current mayor, Eric Adams, as a foil after Trump’s Justice Department dropped its corruption investigation against him. Adams dropped out of the Democratic primary and is seeking re-election as an independent. Ultimately, in the first of two debates before the June 24 primary, there was no obvious breakout moment to change the dynamics of the race, with Cuomo as the front-runner and Mamdani seen as a leading progressive challenger. The underdogs often talked over each other — and the moderators — as they vied for attention. They wouldn’t answer when asked who they plan to rank second on their primary ballots, even though second-place votes could be crucial as low performers are winnowed out by New York’s ranked-choice system.