N.Y.C. mayoral debate recap: Democrats talk immigration and Trump; Andrew Cuomo fights attacks

A casual viewer could be forgiven for mistaking Democrats’ first New York City mayoral debate for the roast of Andrew Cuomo.

A casual viewer could be forgiven for mistaking Democrats’ first New York City mayoral debate for the roast of Andrew Cuomo.

All eight of his primary opponents took turns throwing verbal daggers Wednesday evening at Cuomo, who arrived on the debate stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza with multiple suitcases of baggage to go with his status as the polling frontrunner.

Cuomo, the former governor, has consistently led polls of the nine-candidate field, leveraging his name recognition as a longtime public official in New York and the scion of a storied political family. He resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations and an investigation into the claims, but he is now attempting a comeback in New York City, where Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is running for re-election as an independent.

Cuomo’s front-runner status in the Democratic primary made him a constant target Wednesday night at the debate hosted by NBC New York, WNJU Telemundo and Politico. When Cuomo sidestepped a question about a 2021 report from the state attorney general accusing him of undercounting nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, his opponents laughed in his face and jeered him.

When Cuomo cited “the state of the Democratic Party” when he was asked to name his biggest regret in his political career, Adrienne Adams, speaker of the New York City Council, pounced.