...
By Martha McHardy
US News Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Zohran Mamdani has scored an unlikely boost in New York City's mayoral race—the backing of some conservatives.
The latest Siena poll, conducted between August 4 and August 7, shows that 23 percent of conservatives back Mamdani, which is higher than former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's 18 percent and current Democratic New York Mayor Eric Adams' 9 percent. Cuomo and Adams are expected to battle for the mayor's office as independent candidates in the general election in November.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa had the support of 40 percent of conservatives.
Read More on U.S.
In response to the poll, a spokesperson for Sliwa's campaign told Newsweek: "Siena's latest NYC mayor "poll" is a joke. They didn't even do a real NYC voter sample just tacked it onto a statewide poll, then buried in the fine print that it's not accurate for NYC voters. That's not polling, that's propaganda!"
The New York City sample used for the poll came from the statewide pool of registered voters and was not weighted to reflect likely New York City voters.
Cuomo's campaign did not provide a comment.
Newsweek has contacted the Mamdani and Adams campaigns for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Mamdani sent political shock waves across New York in June when he defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
Since then, some polls have shown the Queens Assemblymember miles ahead of his opponents, with Mamdani leading among almost all demographics.
...
What To Know
The support comes despite Mamdani's long history of positions that have drawn ire from the right, such as his previous calls to defund the police and his criticism of Israel's actions in Gaza.
"If you engineered the modern Democrat Party in a lab, you'd get Zohran Mamdani: Antisemitic, anti-police and anti-American," said Mike Marinella, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, shortly after the assembleymember won the Democratic Primary. "Every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him."
In the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020, Mamdani posted on X that the NYPD was "racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety" and called for the department's budget to be slashed.
He recently walked back those comments in a press conference after the city's deadliest mass shooting in 25 years, where four people, including an off-duty police officer, were killed in Midtown Manhattan.
"I am not defunding the police; I am not running to defund the police," Mamdani told reporters. "Over the course of this race, I've been very clear about my view of public safety and the critical role that the police have in creating that public safety."
Mamdani also slammed Cuomo for criticizing his prior calls to defund the police in the aftermath of the shooting, saying it was a way for Cuomo to "score such cynical political points."
"We want to honor the New Yorkers who have been taken from us far too soon," Mamdani said. "And yet, here we have a former governor calling every reporter he can find to speak about tweets. What kind of leadership is that?"
After the shooting, Cuomo said Mamdani would hurt the morale of local police if elected.
"Who would want to work for a mayor who basically called—not basically—did call the police officers racists? I think he would aggravate what is already a bad situation. And I don't think he understands the importance of the NYPD and the importance of public safety," Cuomo said during an appearance on CNN's The Arena.
"And something like this happens, and then it really is a reality check for all this political theory and political hype that we have going on in this country, with the extreme left postulating these theories that have no connection to reality," he told host Kasie Hunt.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has referred to Mamdani as a "Communist Lunatic."
"It's finally happened, the Democrats have crossed the line," Trump wrote on Truth Social after he won the New York primary. "Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor."
Five anti-Mamdani political actional committees have formed since the primary, according to the New York Times, backed by business moguls and real estate tycoons who warn that the Democratic nominee would be bad for the city's economy.
Still, Mamdani's campaign has surged among progressive voters, propelled by proposals such as rent freezes, publicly owned grocery stores, and universal child care. A July poll by the IMEU Policy Project and Data for Progress found that 89 percent of respondents cited his plans to lower costs as a reason for their support, while 86 percent pointed to his pledges to tax the wealthy and stand up to corporations. Meanwhile, 62 percent said his backing of Palestinian rights influenced their decision.
A survey by Zenith Research and Public Progress Solutions, conducted on 1,453 New Yorkers between July 16 and 24, found that Mamdani was surging ahead of his opponents, securing 50 percent of support, an outright majority in a five-way race.
What People Are Saying
Amit Singh Bagga, principal of Public Progress Solutions, told Newsweek earlier this month: "While politics since November 2016—including primary night in NYC this year—has taught us to expect the unexpected, knowing what we know today and provided the field stays even relatively similar, Zohran Mamdani is the next mayor of New York City."
Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist, told The Guardian this month: "Much of the electorate might reject a socialist candidate."
What Happens Next
The New York City mayoral general election is scheduled to take place on November 4
Both Cuomo and Adams could play a major role if they remain in the race, while Sliwa is hoping for a long-shot upset in a fractured field.
Update 8/1/25, 12:12 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Sliwa's campaign and additional information.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines