Democratic mayoral candidates Andrew Cuomo, left, shakes hands with Zohran Mamdani, center, as Whitney Tilson reacts after participating in a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)

New York City mayoral race front-runner Andrew Cuomo was forced to fend off a volley of attacks from his Democratic primary rivals in a debate Wednesday, with his opponents unleashing pent up barbs at the former governor in an attempt to crack his lead.

Cuomo was on the defensive from the opening bell.

From a crowded stage, Cuomo's opponents swiped at him over the sexual harassment scandal that forced him from the governor's mansion, his coronavirus response and the federal investigation into whether he lied to Congress about his handling of the pandemic in nursing homes.

At one point, Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist state lawmaker who has emerged as one of the leading candidates in the race, pressed Cuomo on the overlap between the former governor's political donors and those who donated to Republican President Donald Trump.

“The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C.,” Mamdani said, calling himself “Donald Trump's worst nightmare.”

Weathering the onslaught, Cuomo started flicking out his own jabs.

“Mr. Mamdani is very good on Twitter, with videos, but he actually produces nothing,” Cuomo said. “Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter. He's been in government 27 minutes, he's passed three bills. That's all he's done."

The pile-on came after Cuomo, the presumed favorite, has avoided his opponents in public, giving them virtually no opportunities to meet him face-to-face.

That all changed Wednesday night.

The former governor's opponents had him in their sights throughout the debate, working in criticisms of Cuomo in their responses to questions or interjecting at points to get in another quick dig at the former governor of New York. The cross talk was heavy on a stage that hosted nine candidates.

In one exchange, Cuomo deflected on a question about whether he had any regrets from his time in politics, saying that if he regretted anything, it was “that the Democratic Party got to a point that we allowed Mr. Trump to be elected, that we got to a point where rhetoric has no connection to reality.”

The other candidates pounced.

Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council, spoke up, asking Cuomo if he had regrets about his record on health care, child care and more.

“Really, no regrets,” she said as she shook her head at Cuomo.

As Cuomo moved to respond, Jessica Ramos, a state senator, tried to get a point in, but was drowned out by a moderator who directed the former governor to answer Adams' critique.

“It is just not accurate,” Cuomo said.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who pulled out of the primary to instead run for a second term on an independent ballot line, did not participate in the debate.

Cuomo had been considered one of the Democratic Party's rising stars before his dramatic downfall in 2021 following a sexual harassment scandal.

The former governor has said he did not intentionally mistreat the women and had fallen out of step with what was considered appropriate workplace conduct, though his lawyers and consultants have worked to discredit his accusers. Cuomo repeated a similar refrain on Wednesday during the debate.

In his comeback run for mayor, Cuomo has faced renewed scrutiny about his decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic and is under investigation by the Justice Department over whether he lied to Congress about how he handled the virus as it spread through nursing homes.

During the debate, moderators tried to pin Cuomo down on the truthfulness of his congressional testimony about a state report on nursing home deaths during the pandemic, but he sidestepped the question.

“I was very aware of the report,” he said, drawing a laugh from one of the other candidates.

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Izaguirre reported from Albany, New York.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025