The 2025 NYC Mayor’s race is entering a new phase with the release of TV ads as the June 24 Democratic primary draws closer.
Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign will hit the airwaves Thursday evening with a broadcast ad attacking front-runner Andrew Cuomo as a corrupt politician who will be no different than the scandal-scarred Mayor Eric Adams.
With the 30-second spot, Mamdani, a Queens Assembly Member, is the first candidate of the cycle to finance a TV ad directly. Mamdani’s $100,000 ad buy will debut during the New York Knicks’ playoff game on Thursday night and run for the next five days on ABC, MSNBC, and Comedy Central, according to his campaign.
In the highly produced video, Mamdani holds both Mayor Adams and Cuomo, who resigned amid 11 sexual harassment allegations that he denies, responsible for the city’s affordability crisis.
“Working people are being pushed out of the city that they built and its because corrupt politicians like Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo have sold us out to billionaires and corporations, rigging the economy against us,” Mamdani says. “Now Cuomo is running for Adams’ second term.”
Mamdani’s voice plays over shots of the city which are overlaid with negative headlines from Cuomo’s time as governor, with dramatic music underscoring it all.
Cuomo’s spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, declined to comment on Mamdani’s ad for this story.
While Cuomo’s campaign has yet to release its own TV ad, a super PAC supporting his bid — “Fix the City” — has been running hits for a couple of weeks focused on how the city is “in crisis” and Cuomo is the candidate best positioned to address it.
Fix the City has $5.8 million in ad spending and reservations, according to the political advertisement tracking service AdImpact.
In his video, Mamdani also introduces himself to voters and touts his own platform to make the city more affordable, including freezing the rent for stabilized tenants, making buses fast and free, and implementing universal child care.
The arrival of television spots at this stage of the campaign — now two months away from the June 24 primary — allows candidates to introduce themselves and their campaign platforms to millions of voters who have not previously tuned into the race. It also gives candidates the chance to attack their opponents.
Most candidates will likely follow Mamdani in using their airtime to run negative messages against Cuomo, hoping to eat away at his commanding lead. Another candidate, city Comptroller Brad Lander, said Thursday that his campaign will go on TV in the next couple of weeks as well.
That Cuomo and Mamdani have already launched TV ads reflects their financial strength in the race.
Mamdani’s campaign has gained significant momentum over the past few months, and he has come in second behind Cuomo in a string of recent polls. He has also been the strongest fundraiser in the race, having raked in over $8.1 million to date, including both private and public funds.
Cuomo, who had been denied public campaign funds earlier this month due to what the campaign called a technical error, nonetheless raised $1.5 million in March. The Fix the City PAC affiliated with Cuomo also raised $4.8 million.
Mamdani has gained notoriety both for his bold progressive campaign platform and for his ability to connect with young voters through social media.
