Mark Halperin’s guest describes ‘only real way’ for Mamdani to lose based on new poll

Writer John Podhoretz said Tuesday on political analyst Mark Halperin’s show that the “only real way” for socialist Democrat NYC mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani to lose would be if incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — both of whom are Democrats— dropped out.

Podheretz said this while citing Halperin’s new poll.

Halperin’s “Next Up,” in partnership with Wick, released a poll Tuesday showing Mamdani leading the four-way race with 39%, followed by Cuomo at 21%, Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa at 18% and Adams at 9%. Discussing the data on Halperin’s YouTube show, “Next Up with Mark Halperin,” Podhoretz urged Adams and Cuomo to drop out and clear the path for a showdown between Mamdani and Sliwa.

“I’m very relieved to get this poll because it explains something to me that has been a mystery, which is Cuomo’s determined persistence to stay in the race. Which I think most people thought after his embarrassing showing on the rank choice first ballot, that he wasn’t going to expose himself to more humiliation and would just simply fade away, leave it to sort of this three-way contest between Adams, Sliwa, and Mamdani,” Podhoretz said. “But the poll that you have here shows that if you were to get — though you’re not — but if you were to get Cuomo in a head-to-head with Mamdani, according to the Wick poll here, Cuomo would win.”

“So he must be seeing this number and saying, ‘OK, I’m the most viable person against Mamdani. The problem is that’s not how it’s going to happen. And the reason is Sliwa,” Podhoretz added. “Everyone’s focused on Cuomo getting out, Adams, Cuomo. Curtis Sliwa is the Republican candidate for mayor, got 325,000 votes in 2021. A generic Republican, even in a city as Democratic as New York, is going to get several hundred thousand votes from Republicans who are voters in New York City.”

Mamdani secured the Democratic mayoral nomination in June but quickly faced backlash from both parties over his refusal to denounce the phrase “globalize the intifada” and the policies he plans to bring to New York City.

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While some speculated that Andrew Cuomo would drop out after losing to Mamdani, the former Democratic governor announced in July he would remain in the race — joining Mayor Eric Adams in running as an independent.

“So right there, I think you have Mamdani’s election, that the only real way for Mamdani to lose would be for Cuomo and Adams to drop out and for Sliwa to be the only remaining candidate,” Podhoretz said. “But they’re not going to do that either.”

Halperin jumped in.

“Or for, as I said, for Adams and Sliwa to be pushed down and for the public debate to say, ‘If you want to stop a socialist, the only way to do it is Cuomo,’” Halperin said.

According to Halperin’s new polling data, surveying 500 likely voters from July 18–20, Mamdani pulled support from 54% of Democrats, 23% of Independents, and 5% of Republicans. Cuomo drew backing from 27% of Democrats, 19% of Independents, and 10% of Republicans. Sliwa garnered 70% of Republicans, 22% of Independents, and 3% of Democrats, the poll showed.

Head-to-head matchups showed Mamdani leading Adams by 10 points and Sliwa by 18. But in a direct contest with Cuomo, Mamdani trailed slightly — 41% to Cuomo’s 42%, with 17% undecided.

The data also shows Mamdani leading on key attributes, including “shaking up the system” (52%), “standing up for working people” (49%), “best affordability ideas” (42%), and “putting New York first” (39%). He was also viewed as the most favorable candidate with 43% support, while Adams ranked the lowest in favorability among the four, at 22%, according to the poll.

While Mamdani has faced pushback for proposals like raising the minimum wage to $30, launching government-run grocery stores, and taxing “richer and whiter” neighborhoods, some Democrats have rallied behind him.

Lawmakers such as Democrat New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Rep. Jamaal Bowman have praised his candidacy, though prominent figures like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have remained notably silent on offering an official endorsement.

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