Independent Andrew Cuomo Would Outperform Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City Mayoral Race Without Curtis Sliwa, Poll Reveals

By Solange Reyner | Monday, 03 November 2025 03:20 PM EST

An Atlas poll released Monday suggests that Independent Andrew Cuomo would defeat Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race if Republican Curtis Sliwa were not running. In a hypothetical two-way contest, Cuomo led Mamdani 49.7% to 44.1%. However, with Sliwa in the race, Mamdani secured 43.9% of votes while Cuomo trailed at 39.4%. Sliwa remained third with 15.5%, and 1.2% of voters were undecided or stated they would not vote.

The poll surveyed 2,404 respondents between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. Mamdani, the apparent front-runner, has faced criticism from former President Donald Trump, who labeled him a “communist” and a “100% communist lunatic.” Trump also warned that if Mamdani becomes mayor and restricts cooperation with federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “we’ll have to arrest him.”

Trump has not endorsed a candidate in the race but implied on “60 Minutes” over the weekend that he views 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, citing concerns about Mamdani’s policies. “If you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there.”

Early voting in New York City concluded with record turnout, marking the highest participation for a non-presidential election in city history. The New York City Board of Elections reported 735,317 early voting check-ins over nine days, surpassing the 169,879 recorded in the 2021 mayoral race.

Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years of experience in journalism covering news, sports, and politics.