Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani did not appear to deny his opponent’s charge that he did not vote for former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
During Thursday’s debate, ahead of the New York City mayoral general election, former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, running for mayor as an independent, accused Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist, of not being a Democrat and not voting for Harris. Harris was the party’s failed nominee against then-candidate Donald Trump. Mamdani responded by appearing to not directly state whom he voted for in the 2024 general election. He instead said he supported leaving that year’s Democratic primary ballot blank to protest what he called “the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.”
“You’re not a Democrat. You’re not a Democrat,” said Cuomo, who lost to Mamadani in the June 24 Democratic New York City mayoral primary. “You’re a democratic socialist. You didn’t vote for Kamala Harris, right?”
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“That’s an incendiary charge,” Mamdani replied while petitioning the moderator — who appeared to want to move on to another topic — for a chance to respond.
“You didn’t say, leave it blank in the Kamala campaign?” Cuomo asked, referring to Mamdani endorsing a campaign for New York Democrats to oppose former President Joe Biden during the party’s 2024 primaries. This, to protest the way the Biden administration handled the war between Israel and Hamas. Harris was not a candidate during the primaries. She only entered the presidential race after Biden dropped out in July 2024.
“I said leave it blank in the presidential primary because primaries are a place to air dissent,” Mamdani told Cuomo. “And like many Americans, I was horrified by the Israeli genocide of Palestinians.”
“And if you want to look for me on the ballot you will find me as the Democrat,” Mamdani added, without directly addressing how he voted in the 2024 general election.
Mamdani has come under fire for failing to directly condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is widely regarded as a call for antisemitic violence.
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