Five months, millions of dollars and sharply divergent messages defined the New York City mayoral race, a hotly contested campaign that has drawn national attention and exemplified the generational and ideological tensions roiling the Democratic Party.
Zohran Mamdani, a Queens assemblyman and social-media-savvy political upstart, kept a packed campaign schedule even after his stunning 12-point victory in the Democratic primary in June. His top opponent, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, has aimed to curb Mr. Mamdani’s momentum through appeals to the city’s moderate voters. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, sought to run up the score with his base, especially in the redder corners of the city.
Being mayor of New York City is widely considered one of the toughest jobs in American politics. It could also be the most influential — the next mayor of New York will have one of the largest platforms in the country to outline both a policy platform and a vision for his party’s future. If Mr. Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is elected, he could present a steep departure from the Democratic establishment. He would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, and one of its youngest.
President Trump, a Queens native who has long had a tumultuous relationship with New York, said on the eve of the election that he might withhold all but the “minimum required” federal funding from the city should it elect Mr. Mamdani on Tuesday. Mr. Cuomo, throughout his campaign, brandished the possibility of Mr. Trump’s interference in the city’s affairs to argue that he was better prepared to lead through crises. Mr. Cuomo cast a wide net, reaching out to Republicans and a variety of groups with longstanding affiliations with Democrats. But he also faced accusations that his campaign strategy was divisive.
The mayoral race hit a whirlwind pace in its final weeks, taking the three men from the strongholds of their bases to farther-flung corners of the city. By the final weekend of the early voting period, which ended on Sunday, more than 735,000 New Yorkers had cast ballots — more than four times the number who participated during the same period in 2021.
As each candidate strove to define and build a winning voter coalition, the city’s vast and diverse electorate was on full display. Here are some of the most memorable scenes our photographers captured from the campaign trail.
Maya King is a Times reporter covering New York politics.
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