This blog post was originally published as the third edition of Mayoral Spew, our limited-edition, election-themed email newsletter that is sent out every Tuesday afternoon.
Subscribe to Mayoral Spew here and get these stories delivered straight to your inbox.
State of the Race in 60 Seconds
Turnout was way up over the first weekend of early voting—more than double what it was in 2021 (the last day to vote early is this Sunday, June 22), which bodes well for candidates like Zohran Mamdani, who are relying on massive turnout from New Yorkers who don't normally vote in primaries to overcome the support that Andrew Cuomo has from the major unions and reliably moderate voters in Eastern Queens, Southern Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
A new poll released today by the Center for Strategic Politics and the Don't Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor (DREAM) campaign shows Cuomo winning a squeaker—52 percent to 48 percent—with Adrienne Adams besting Brad Lander to stick around in the penultimate round. A larger, independently funded poll from Marist College is expected to drop any hour now.
Speaking of Lander: Earlier today he was arrested by masked federal agents as he attempted to accompany an immigrant from his court appearance. Mamdani and other mayoral candidates converged on the scene, as did Governor Kathy Hochul, who called Lander's arrest "bullshit."
Back in 2013, candidate Bill de Blasio was arrested by the NYPD, but it was a much more choreographed, low-stakes affair.
"I've always said that the shadow of this race is really Donald Trump and the Trump administration and how we will deal with the federal government," Dr. Christina Greer, a political scientist at Fordham University, and a co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast, told Hell Gate.
"So I'm curious in this last week, if that [arrest] does shift the conversation a lot more about the D.C. focus, and who can respond to what we know will inevitably come through New York."
—Christopher Robbins and Max Rivlin-Nadler
Adrienne's Dilemma
When City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams jumped into the mayoral race in March, she pitched herself as a "no-nonsense" alternative to Andrew Cuomo—someone who has a record of countering Eric Adams's austerity budgets and malfeasance, and who could fight Donald Trump too, all while neutralizing Cuomo's sizable advantages in Black and Latine communities.
But with seven days until Primary Day, despite the full backing of Attorney General Letitia James, and a number two ranking from Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the polls show Adams running a distant third to Cuomo and Mamdani.
"I think it's unfortunate, because she's shown that she's connecting with voters swiftly. But it's not enough time," Greer said. "We know that female candidates and candidates of color, and especially female candidates of color, need a proper runway to connect with voters and overcome the hesitancy or reticence of some voters, to actually take the lead and vote for a Black female executive. We saw this in 2024 and we've seen it across the country in various races."
Greer added, "I think if Adrianne Adams had gotten in earlier, we would have a very different race."
While Adams has supported the "DREAM" movement, and told her voters to rank the Working Families Party slate she is on, she has not explicitly cross-endorsed anyone. If the primary is close—like it was in 2021 when Eric Adams beat out Kathryn Garcia by roughly 7,000 votes—Adams's stamp of approval could mean a lot to whoever is in second place to Cuomo, and right now that person is Zohran Mamdani.
"Adrienne-Zohran cross-endorsement could be the difference in stopping Andrew Cuomo," an anti-Cuomo group posted on social media today.
Adams and her campaign have been cagey on whether they would cross-endorse anyone, let alone Mamdani, who would be a tough pill for many of her politically moderate, Black voters to swallow. When we asked about a cross-endorsement, Adams's campaign initially said they'd get us an on-the-record response, but as of publication time, we haven't gotten one. "The objective is to beat Andrew Cuomo, let's keep that clear," Adams told reporters after last week's debate.
"I think she's probably looking at a calculus: What exactly does she get?" Greer said. "Her not cross-endorsing, knowing that her district or her supporters are pretty much split over a Mamdani or a Cuomo, it makes sense that she would sort of not say anything just yet."
Greer pointed out there is still time for Adams to make more of an impact: "We still have a full week, and there's still bargaining chips to be had and negotiations to be made."
—Christopher Robbins
Why Rev. Frederick Davie Loves Adrienne Adams—And Won't Rank Cuomo or Mamdani
Rev. Frederick Davie, the senior executive vice president for public theology and civic engagement at Union Theological Seminary, was one of the New York City experts chosen by the New York Times's editorial board to give their pick for the next mayor. The majority voted for Brad Lander.
Davie, who was chair of the CCRB under Bill de Blasio and was on de Blasio's charter review commission in 2021, spoke to us about how the Democratic Primary is shaping up.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Hell Gate: Why'd you pick Adrienne Adams for mayor?
Rev. Frederick Davie: I had an opportunity to work closely with her when I was chair of the Civilian Complaint Review Board and she was chair of the Public Safety Committee of the City Council, following Donovan Richards, and then Speaker of the City Council before I left that position. And I always found her extremely informed, extremely competent, a person of her word and integrity, somebody I could always depend on, that if we reached an agreement or a conclusion about something, that she and her team would follow through on it.
I followed her career closely. I get a sense of what it takes to manage that diverse body of the City Council, to deal with this particular City Hall, and I think she's done both with a great deal of expertise and aplomb. I think it's pretty clear from the debates that she's really informed on the issues, she understands them and the implications of them.
I just wish she'd started running earlier, because I think if she had, she might be polling better than she is now. But even with that, I think the response to her has been really, really strong, and that's why I chose to support her.
In the Times's story, you say Lander would be "an excellent mayor, but you have to get yourself elected. He's had a long time to do that, and he's not been able to cultivate the kind of relationships with New Yorkers that would put him in a better position." Couldn't you say the same of Adrienne Adams?
Oh, the only difference is, Brad's been out there for a while, running for mayor, and Adrienne hasn't. And I think that's the difference. If she had chosen to enter this race earlier, I think she'd be in a very different position right now. Brad's been running for at least the last three years, if not the last four, and he's a great guy, so I'm not belittling him at all. And you know, he's got a lot of skills and confidence and clearly understands the city and how it works. And I do think he'd be a very good mayor. But Adrienne's been out there, what, four months at most?
Last weekend we saw the Lander-Mamdani cross-endorsement, we saw Michael Blake and Mamdani cross-endorse. A lot of Democratic voters may be looking at Adrienne Adams and thinking, OK, if she keeps saying over and over again that we can't afford Andrew Cuomo in office, she's got to cross-endorse here. Do you think that she'll do that? And have you spoken with her about that issue?
I have not, so I have no idea what her plans are in this regard. But if she asked me, I would definitely tell her I think cross-endorsing is a very good idea, given ranked choice voting.
Is Cuomo in your top five? Do you have your ballot figured out yet?
Yeah, and the answer is, I cannot support Andrew Cuomo for mayor.
Could you say more about why that is?
You know, I think Andrew Cuomo has significant management skills. But I think character matters here, and I think that his issues around character are significant enough for me that I can't support him.
And do you mind sharing your whole ballot?
Sure, yeah. So it's Adrienne first, Brad second, [Zellnor] Myrie third, Blake fourth, and [Scott] Stringer fifth.
Interesting. No Mamdani on your ballot? Can you say why?
I just don't think he has experience.
Last question: What do you make of that weird, non-endorsement, endorsement the Times published? It was pretty confusing.
That's the word I would use: Confusing. I don't know what the Times is doing. I found it confusing after going through the process they went through with the panel, and then coming out a few days later with this.
I mean, it's clear that a majority of people in the editorial board don't want Zohran Mamdani to be mayor. And it felt like, or seemed like, kind of a backdoor endorsement of Andrew Cuomo. I think they wanted to eat their non-endorsement cake and have it too.
Later, Davie texted us this: "Chris, one more thing on Mamdani. I think older Democrats should learn from him and how he’s connected with young people and others through more contemporary means of communications as well as offering solutions, not all I agree with, to their needs."
—Christopher Robbins
The Brooklyn Bridge Demolishes the Hell Gate—But at Least You Can See How Ranked-Choice Voting Works
Last week, we asked readers to vote in a ranked-choice poll on the best bridges in New York City, to illustrate how ranked-choice voting works, and why it's so crucial to fill your ballot up.
The results are in, and our namesake bridge got washed by that timeless beauty, The Brooklyn Bridge.
While we won't linger too much on the crushing defeat we just experienced, we really want to drill home how not-super-complicated-but-really-important RCV is to understand.
There are lots of explainers that describe how RCV works—how voters' second, third, fourth, and yes, even maybe fifth choices—are counted once their top choices are eliminated.
Our main advice here: Fill up your ballot so that it lasts as long as possible. Don't take it from us, take it from longtime election attorney Jerry Goldfeder, who is working for Stringer's campaign, and who just penned a missive entitled, "Don't Lose Your Vote—Rank All 5!"
"Simply put, if I have indicated all five preferences, all of my preferences can, potentially, be counted," Goldfeder says. "If I rank only one or two candidates, if they are eliminated, then I have no voice as the counting goes on until there is a winner."
You want a voice! Fill out that whole ballot!
Mamdani and AOC's Rager
On the night of the first day of early voting on Saturday, Zohran Mamdani and 3,000 of his campaign volunteers crammed into Terminal 5 (we know, yuck), to show off the somewhat shocking political formation that he's assembled. There was John Samuelson, the head of the Transit Workers Union and a longtime nemesis of the DSA, calling Mamdani a friend of his and a friend of the transit union (they're big fans of his free buses plan, which led to less assaults on bus drivers). There was State Senator John Liu, himself a former mayoral candidate and former comptroller, saying that "I cannot claim to be socialist, but Michael Bloomberg used to call me a communist all the time. So let's not deal with labels and talk about ideas." There was the Kid Mero repping the BX while admitting he had to move to New Jersey "because the guy who's on TV still can't even afford to live in New York City." And of course, there was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who called (once again) for the Democratic party to represent working people. "For so many of us, this feels existential because it is," she told the crowd. "This can no longer be a city of pied-à-terres for the rich and the global elite."
The speeches themselves were boilerplate, but the energy in the building was insane. As a roaming reporter, there were few opportunities to even get a clear photo of the stage—supporters were crammed at the railing of every balcony, often bedecked in the Mamdani bandana (which a canvasser only receives if they do a certain amount of shifts), or cooling themselves with Mamdani hand fans, which were given out to volunteers who voted early.
Afterwards, people waited for as long as an hour to get a photo with Mamdani.
26-year-old Grant Kim, a digital marketer from Manhattan, learned about Mamdani through Hasan Piker, the left-wing Twitch streamer. Kim had voted that morning and had canvassed for Mamdani twice, and mentioned that he, too, attended Bronx Science.
I asked him what Mamdani was offering that other candidates weren't.
"Everything. Obviously growing up here, with basic human empathy, you really care about other people. And I want this to be a city that everyone can afford," he said.
I asked if he thought Mamdani would win.
"I'm still 50-50 on if he's going to win. I'm hopeful and I think AOC endorsing him is going to help a lot…but it's up to us over the last 10 days to bring it home."
—Max Rivlin-Nadler
The Deeply Sad Anti-Mamdani Rally That Went Wildly Off the Rails
This past rainy Sunday morning, Queens Assemblymember David Weprin invited people to join him on the steps of Queens Borough Hall for a "Reject Zohran Rally." In a press release, Weprin called Mamdani "dangerous" and "deceptive."
But upon arriving at Union Turnpike at the appointed time, Weprin was joined by only a few people.
One of Weprin's volunteers held up a sign that showed a still from a Mamdani campaign video in which Mamdani is called "A Powerful Voice in Albany" by the New York Times.
After standing there with the sign for a few minutes before the event got underway, a person wearing Cuomo campaign gear asked why they were holding up the sign. "It looks like this is a rally in support of Mamdani, doesn't it?" The collected older gentleman in the drizzling rain agreed, so they turned it around.
So why exactly did they have that sign? Weprin soon explained that he thought Mamdani was "deceptive" by using a campaign video that showed Weprin himself in the background…along with other elected officials at a public event where Mamdani was speaking, which is a pretty common practice for elected officials to do in campaign videos.
Really? That's why Weprin was mad at Mamdani? Not because of his support for the Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions movement? Or his support of Palestinian people, generally? Well, that too, said Weprin—but he was really upset about the ad.
"The implication is that I'm part of his team, and that I've endorsed him," Weprin told the small crowd of onlookers, holding up the sign. "This was a press conference to require visitation at correctional facilities, so children could visit their parents."
A Mamdani supporter asked Weprin whether they did, in fact, work together on the legislation.
"The implication is that we work together," Weprin replied. (Which, of course, they have done several times on legislation.) "He's gone to a lot of press conferences in Albany, and that was the only photo he used of one in this campaign videos."
Asked why there were so few people at the rally, Weprin said it was not a rally, but a press conference. (Except his press advisory very clearly called it a "Reject Zohran Rally.")
Following Weprin’s speech, a string of local older New Yorkers took turns absolutely butchering Mamdani's name in ways that would make even Andrew Cuomo blush. Madani. Mamani. Mamdami.
The star of the show however, was Muhammad Rashid, who began his remarks by calling Mamdani a "C-class rapper."
Rashid, who spoke briskly, eventually went into a diatribe into how Mamdani is, in fact, not a Muslim.
"Mr. Mamdani's blood is not one drop of Muslim blood, his mother belongs to a Hindu family from India," Rashid said, as the other people in front of Queens Borough Hall shifted awkwardly behind him. Eventually, after he spun off into even weirder places (mentioning the Kama Sutra??), he was encouraged to stop speaking, and the rally concluded. Or maybe it was a press conference. Who knows, just know that Hell Gate was there on a Sunday morning because dammit, we're committed to reporting the news.
—Max Rivlin-Nadler
Did you read all the way to the bottom of this enormous newsletter? You should probably subscribe to Hell Gate.