In the heated final stretch of the New York City mayoral race, former Governor Andrew Cuomo has escalated his campaign against Democratic front-runner Zohran Mamdani by repeatedly invoking fears about Mamdani’s Muslim faith. During a radio interview on October 23, Cuomo laughed along as host Sid Rosenberg labeled Mamdani a ‘terrorist’ and speculated that he would celebrate another 9/11 attack, marking a new low in the campaign’s rhetoric.
The mayoral election, set for November 4, has seen Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the primary to Mamdani, trailing in recent polls. With early voting beginning on October 25, the candidates are making their final appeals to voters in a city where issues of public safety, housing, and transit dominate the discourse. Cuomo’s comments come just days after the second and final debate, where he and Mamdani clashed over various policies, including criminal justice and transportation.
In response to Cuomo’s radio remarks, Mamdani immediately condemned them as Islamophobic and racist. ‘Andrew Cuomo’s message is to smear and slander the first Muslim candidate on the verge of leading this city,’ Mamdani told reporters, noting that one in eight New Yorkers is Muslim. He emphasized that such rhetoric not only targets him personally but also stigmatizes the entire Muslim community, undermining the inclusive values of the city.
This incident is part of a broader pattern in Cuomo’s campaign strategy. Throughout the race, he has focused on Mamdani’s religion, arguing in debates that Mamdani’s policies, such as decriminalizing sex work, are ‘haram’ or forbidden in Islam. Additionally, Cuomo’s campaign has utilized controversial tactics, including an AI-generated video that depicted Mamdani in a negative light and mailers that allegedly darkened his beard to emphasize his ethnic background.
The backlash to Cuomo’s comments was swift, with figures across the political spectrum criticizing the divisive language. U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, who has been critical of Mamdani, wrote on social media that insinuating a candidate would celebrate 9/11 is ‘disgusting and disgraceful,’ calling for a restoration of civility in public discourse. This highlights the tension between hardline campaign tactics and the need for respectful political debate.
Amid these attacks, Cuomo has also been actively courting other religious and ethnic communities, such as Hindus and Sikhs, in an effort to broaden his appeal. He has visited temples and gurdwaras, learning cultural gestures like bowing in Sikh places of worship, as part of his outreach to immigrant voters who may be concerned about Mamdani’s progressive policies on issues like policing and education.
The implications of these developments are significant as New Yorkers prepare to cast their ballots. Cuomo’s tactics risk alienating moderate voters while potentially energizing his base, but they also raise concerns about the normalization of religious bias in politics. Mamdani, who grew up in Manhattan in the post-9/11 era, has framed his candidacy as a rejection of such fear-mongering, advocating for a city that embraces diversity.
As early voting commences, the outcome of this race will not only determine New York City’s next mayor but also set a precedent for how religious identity is handled in urban politics. With the election days away, both campaigns are intensifying their efforts, leaving voters to weigh the candidates’ visions against the backdrop of these heated exchanges.