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--:-- Noel King: Welcome to Today Explained. I'm Noel King. Today, we're talking about the New York City mayoral primary. There are nine people credibly running in this election, but the smart money says it comes down to two: Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani.
--:-- Brian Lehrer: That's right, Noel. I'm Brian Lehrer, host of The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. I've been covering this election closely, and I have to say, it's been a wild ride.
--:-- Noel King: Brian, you've been hosting your show for years, and you get a lot of calls from New Yorkers. What's the wildest call you've taken about the mayoral race?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Well, Noel, I had a caller this morning who said they were Team Cuomo for a long time, but then they saw Mamdani on the debate stage and decided to vote for him. They even ranked him first and Cuomo second.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. So, as you alluded, the two candidates who everybody seems to think it will come down to are Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo. Tell us about these two men.
--:-- Brian Lehrer: So, Mamdani is a 33-year-old state assembly member from Queens. He's a democratic socialist promising a lot of free stuff to make life more affordable for the working class. He's been endorsed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he's running on a platform of freezing rent for rent-stabilized tenants, making buses fast and free, and delivering universal childcare.
--:-- Noel King: That sounds like a pretty progressive platform. What about Andrew Cuomo? He's been in politics for a long time, and he's got a lot of experience.
--:-- Brian Lehrer: That's right, Noel. Cuomo is a seasoned politician who's been in office for a long time. He's got a lot of experience, but he's also got a lot of baggage. He resigned as governor in 2021 after a sexual harassment scandal, and he's been accused of cutting Medicaid and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA.
--:-- Noel King: Wow, that's a lot of controversy. How are these two guys campaigning, and how are they approaching each other?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Cuomo is running on his experience and his ability to get things done. He's saying that Mamdani is inexperienced and can't run a city of 300,000 employees. Mamdani, on the other hand, is running on his progressive platform and his ability to connect with young people.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. There's also been some controversy about Mamdani's views on Israel. Can you tell us more about that?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Yes, Noel. Mamdani has said that Israel should not exist as a Jewish state, but rather as a pluralistic democracy. This has been a point of contention in the campaign, with Cuomo accusing Mamdani of being anti-Semitic.
--:-- Noel King: That's a pretty sensitive topic. How are these two guys approaching the issue of Israel?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Cuomo is running hard on anti-Semitism and painting Mamdani as somebody Jews can't trust domestically. Mamdani, on the other hand, is saying that he believes in equal rights for all people, regardless of their background or religion.
--:-- Noel King: That's a pretty nuanced position. How are these two guys campaigning, and how are they approaching each other?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Cuomo is running on his experience and his ability to get things done. He's saying that Mamdani is inexperienced and can't run a city of 300,000 employees. Mamdani, on the other hand, is running on his progressive platform and his ability to connect with young people.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. There's also been some controversy about ranked-choice voting in this election. Can you tell us more about that?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Yes, Noel. Ranked-choice voting is a system where voters rank their candidates in order of preference. This has been a point of contention in the campaign, with some people saying that it's too complicated and others saying that it's a good way to encourage coalition-building.
--:-- Noel King: That's a good point. How are these two guys approaching the issue of ranked-choice voting?
--:-- Brian Lehrer: Cuomo is running on his experience and his ability to get things done. He's saying that Mamdani is inexperienced and can't run a city of 300,000 employees. Mamdani, on the other hand, is running on his progressive platform and his ability to connect with young people.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. David Friedlander, a features writer with New York Magazine, joins us now to talk about the mayoral race and what Democrats nationally can learn from it.
--:-- David Friedlander: Thanks for having me on the show, Noel.
--:-- Noel King: So, David, what do you think is the main issue in this election?
--:-- David Friedlander: I think the main issue is the divide within the Democratic Party. On one hand, you have Cuomo, who's running on his experience and his ability to get things done. On the other hand, you have Mamdani, who's running on his progressive platform and his ability to connect with young people.
--:-- Noel King: That's a good point. How are these two guys approaching the issue of populism?
--:-- David Friedlander: Cuomo is running on a kind of populist message, saying that he's the guy who can save New York from disorderly streets and subways. Mamdani, on the other hand, is saying that he's the guy who can make life more affordable for working-class people.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. How are these two guys approaching the issue of Israel?
--:-- David Friedlander: Cuomo is running hard on anti-Semitism and painting Mamdani as somebody Jews can't trust domestically. Mamdani, on the other hand, is saying that he believes in equal rights for all people, regardless of their background or religion.
--:-- Noel King: That's a pretty nuanced position. How are these two guys campaigning, and how are they approaching each other?
--:-- David Friedlander: Cuomo is running on his experience and his ability to get things done. He's saying that Mamdani is inexperienced and can't run a city of 300,000 employees. Mamdani, on the other hand, is running on his progressive platform and his ability to connect with young people.
--:-- Noel King: That's interesting. Thanks for joining us, David.
--:-- David Friedlander: Thanks for having me on the show, Noel.
--:-- Noel King: And that's all for today's show. Thanks for listening to Today Explained.
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--:-- Noel King: Support for Today Explained comes from Adio, an AI-native customer relationship management platform that's built for the next era of companies. Learn more at adio.com.
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--:-- Noel King: Today Explained is produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen and Denise Guerra, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Andrea Kristinsdottir and Patrick Boyd, and hosted by Noel King.
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--:-- Noel King: If you want to support Today Explained and get ad-free episodes, become a Vox Member at vox.com/members.
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--:-- Noel King: Thanks for listening to Today Explained. We'll be back with a new episode on Sunday.
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--:-- Noel King: And that's a wrap.
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