Polls opened on Tuesday to elect the next mayor of New York City, America’s largest city and home to over 1 million Jews, with Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani projected to win in several pre-election day polls.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. and were set to close at 9 p.m.
Candidates made their last appeals, with Mamdani releasing a video on X/Twitter touching on major campaign themes, such as affordability.
“Our time has come, New York,” said Mamdani. “Our time is now.”
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo stated on social media that New Yorkers had to vote “like our city depends on it.”
“Bring one friend who hasn’t voted yet because every single vote matters in this election and could be the one that makes the difference,” said Cuomo.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa said on Instagram on Monday that he didn’t “hear no bell” and encouraged residents to put him “over the top” so that he could secure the city’s streets and subways.
A Monday AtlasIntel poll of likely voters indicated that Mamdani was set to secure victory with 43.9% support. Cuomo had 39.4% support among respondents, and Guardian Angels founder Sliwa had 15.5% support. Just under 1% of respondents said they were undecided.
A Thursday Fox News poll found that Mamdani was backed by 47% of respondents, with Cuomo at 31% and Sliwa at 15%.
On Thursday, Maris University released a poll indicating that Mamdani led Cuomo by 16 points, with 48% to the independent candidate’s 32% support. Sliwa had 16% support.
Emerson College released a poll on Thursday showing that Mamdani had a 50% lead, and Cuomo had half the support. Sliwa was not far behind the former governor, with 21% support.
In the Wednesday Quinnipiac University poll, Mamdani had 43%, Cuomo 33%, and Sliwa 14%. Quinnipiac had 6% undecided, while Marist had half of that.
Trump called Jewish Mamdani voters 'stupid'
As polls opened in New York City on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump declared that any New York City Jews who vote for Mamdani are stupid, as the New York assemblyman allegedly dislikes Jews.
“Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self-professed Jew-hater, is a stupid person,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Trump had backed Cuomo for the mayoralty on Monday, explaining that Sliwa had no chance at winning.
Mamdani was a “communist,” Trump said, and warned that he would not allow the contribution of federal funds to his “beloved first home” because under the assemblyman’s rule, “this once great city has zero chance of success, or even survival.”
“It can only get worse with a Communist at the helm, and I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad,” said Trump. “It is my obligation to run the nation, and it is my strong conviction that New York City will be a complete and total economic and social disaster should Mamdani win. His principles have been tested for over a thousand years, and never once have they been successful.”
Trump said he would rather see a Democrat with a record of success win than a “communist with no experience,” urging New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo whether they liked the former governor personally or not.
“We must also remember this – A vote for Curtis Sliwa (who looks much better without the beret!) is a vote for Mamdani,” said Trump.
Mamdani has used Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo as a point of attack, mockingly congratulating the former governor in a Monday social media post, “I know how hard you worked for this.”
Mamdani has used Trump as a foil against Cuomo throughout his campaign, arguing during the debate that his opponent was “Trump’s pick” because the former governor would be good for the president, rather than the city’s residents.
“Cuomo’s desperate final act is bankrolled by the very billionaires who brought us Donald Trump and the broken status quo,” Mamdani said on X on October 17. “New Yorkers are ready for a change.”