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      Manhattan Democrats Will Weigh Tenure of District Attorney in Primary

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      Patrick Timmins, who is challenging Alvin L. Bragg, says the groundbreaking felony conviction of President Trump is irrelevant. He promises to tackle crime in the subway.While New Yorkers have been inundated with news about the Democratic primary for mayor, voters in Manhattan on Tuesday will also decide whether to re-elect their top prosecutor.Alvin L. Bragg, the Democrat who has been Manhattan’s district attorney since 2022, is facing a sole primary challenger in the race to lead one of the country’s largest prosecutors’ offices.His challenger, Patrick Timmins, a civil litigator who served in the Bronx district attorney’s office in the late 1990s, has said Mr. Bragg ushered in an increase in crime in Manhattan, especially in the subway.Mr. Timmins, 69, said that he has heard a desire for new leadership during his conversations with Manhattanites in recent months.“They fear crime, they fear where Manhattan is going, and so they want a change,” Mr. Timmins said. “They want a change from Alvin Bragg.”Mr. Bragg’s campaign rejected the assertion that crime has risen. In Manhattan, the seven felony crimes that the New York Police Department uses as benchmarks — murders, rapes, robberies, felony assaults, burglaries, grand larcenies and grand larcenies of automobiles — are overall 13 percent lower this year compared with the same period in 2022, when Mr. Bragg took office, according to police data.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Why Ranked-Choice Voting Could Have a Pivotal Effect on the Mayor’s Race

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      The candidates have struck alliances and made cross-endorsements to take advantage of the ranked-choice voting system.This year’s Democratic primary will be only the second time New York City has used ranked-choice voting — which allows voters to list up to five candidates on their ballots in order of preference — to select a nominee for mayor.The campaigns have worked hard to educate voters about how to make the most of their rankings, and some candidates have struck alliances to improve their chances of winning.A critical partnership emerged the day before early voting began this month when two progressive candidates — Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker, and Brad Lander, the city comptroller — cross-endorsed each other in an effort to beat the front-runner, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.The two candidates’ hope is that if most of their supporters rank them in the top two spots on their ballots — and leave Mr. Cuomo off — they can combine their share of the vote and overtake Mr. Cuomo.Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist who is not working on any of the mayoral campaigns, said that it was a smart move by Mr. Mamdani, who has been second in the polls and catching up to Mr. Cuomo.“Given how close the polls are, and the likelihood that Lander will be the last candidate eliminated before the Cuomo-Zohran climax, the X-factor is how overwhelmingly Lander’s votes go to Zohran,” he said.If 65 to 70 percent of Mr. Lander’s votes go to Mr. Mamdani, “then we might have our first Muslim, socialist mayor,” Mr. Yang said.Under the ranked-choice system, if a voter’s top choice is eliminated, their vote is transferred to the next candidate on their ballot, and so on.Before the city began using ranked-choice voting in citywide elections in the 2021 primary, New Yorkers would cast their votes for only one candidate. If no candidate received more than 40 percent of the vote, the top two finishers would go to a runoff. The ranked-choice system amounts to an instant runoff.Mr. Cuomo led in the polls for months, but Mr. Mamdani has generated momentum and the race narrowed considerably. Mr. Cuomo has struck his own alliances, but has not made a cross-endorsement with another candidate.Mr. Cuomo was endorsed by Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who is running for mayor and who had reservations about Mr. Mamdani. Another candidate, Whitney Tilson, a hedge fund executive, also opposes Mr. Mamdani and said he would rank Mr. Cuomo second on his ballot.The left-leaning Working Families Party endorsed a slate of four candidates, including Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Lander, and held a rally on Sunday to show unity against Mr. Cuomo.Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker who is part of the slate, said she supported the group, but chose not to make a cross-endorsement with Mr. Mamdani.Mr. Mamdani and Michael Blake, a former state lawmaker from the Bronx, also cross-endorsed each other. Mr. Blake has trailed the others in polls, but had a strong debate performance. More

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      2025 NYC Mayoral Race: Photos From the Campaign Trail

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      New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary field is crowded, diverse and tenacious, like the city itself. It includes candidates who would be the first woman, the first Muslim and the oldest person elected to lead City Hall. As the race has heated up, the contenders have traversed the five boroughs in an effort to gain support from millions of voters who hold competing interests and visions of New York.Running for citywide office, like much of American politics, is a contact sport. Candidates seeking to raise money and boost their name recognition have had to take their message directly to voters — meeting them everywhere from the seats of the G train to the steps outside an N.B.A. playoff game at Madison Square Garden. And that was just before the first debate.Candidates often campaigned in places where they had personal connections, or sought out New York City icons like the Cyclone roller coaster and the Staten Island Ferry.Yet the dark political mood has cast a shadow over the contest. All the Democrats running have made big promises to bring the city they love back. Rising costs of living, threats from President Trump and enduring concerns over public safety have captured New Yorkers’ attention and are driving their votes. This atmosphere has prompted some of the candidates who currently hold public office to leverage their positions to make waves and force tough policy conversations.The race coincides with continuing tensions within the Democratic Party, which is still forging a path forward after bruising losses in last year’s presidential election. And as the candidates seek to galvanize voters and make a name for themselves, they have also sought to paint themselves as fighters for their city, and against Mr. Trump. Here are some moments captured by New York Times photojournalists of the leading candidates on the campaign trail.Adrienne AdamsAdrienne Adams marching in the Haitian Day Parade; marking the anniversary of her father’s death from Covid-19; and campaigning with Attorney General Letitia James and union leaders.Victor J. Blue for The New York Times, Janice Chung for The New York Times, Dave Sanders for The New York Times and Todd Heisler/The New York TimesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      An Iran Cease-Fire, and Why N.Y.C.’s Mayoral Race Matters for Democrats Everywhere

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      Listen to and follow ‘The Daily’Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | YouTube | iHeartRadioOvernight, Iran and Israel said they had agreed to a cease-fire — after an Iranian attack on a U.S. air base in Qatar that appeared to be a largely symbolic act of revenge.But the main topic on “The Daily” is the mayor’s race in New York City, where Tuesday is Democratic Primary Day. The race has quickly become an excruciatingly close contest between two candidates who are offering themselves as the solution to what’s wrong with their party in the age of President Trump.Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York politics for The Times, discusses the competing visions competing for the mayoralty and who is most likely to win.Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.On today’s episodeNicholas Fandos, a reporter covering New York politics and government for The New York Times.The primary has taken on national implications, with the top two candidates tapping into Democratic voters’ hunger for a fight.Angelina Katsanis and Anna Watts for The New York TimesBackground readingIn the N.Y.C. mayor’s race, top democrats take on President Trump and their own party.Here’s the latest on Israel and Iran.There are a lot of ways to listen to ‘The Daily.’ Here’s how.We aim to make transcripts available the next workday after an episode’s publication. You can find them at the top of the page.The Daily is made by Rachel Quester, Lynsea Garrison, Clare Toeniskoetter, Paige Cowett, Michael Simon Johnson, Brad Fisher, Chris Wood, Jessica Cheung, Stella Tan, Alexandra Leigh Young, Lisa Chow, Eric Krupke, Marc Georges, M.J. Davis Lin, Dan Powell, Sydney Harper, Michael Benoist, Liz O. Baylen, Asthaa Chaturvedi, Rachelle Bonja, Diana Nguyen, Marion Lozano, Rob Szypko, Elisheba Ittoop, Mooj Zadie, Patricia Willens, Rowan Niemisto, Jody Becker, Rikki Novetsky, Nina Feldman, Carlos Prieto, Ben Calhoun, Susan Lee, Lexie Diao, Mary Wilson, Alex Stern, Sophia Lanman, Shannon M. Lin, Diane Wong, Devon Taylor, Alyssa Moxley, Olivia Natt, Daniel Ramirez, Brendan Klinkenberg, Chris Haxel, Maria Byrne, Anna Foley and Caitlin O’Keefe.Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsverk of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnick, Paula Szuchman, Lisa Tobin, Larissa Anderson, Julia Simon, Mahima Chablani, Elizabeth Davis-Moorer, Jeffrey Miranda, Maddy Masiello, Isabella Anderson, Nina Lassam, Nick Pitman and Kathleen O’Brien. More

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      Primary Day, by the Numbers

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      Here’s what to know about the primary election for mayor and a number of other posts, which will take place on the hottest day of the year so far.Good morning. It’s a very hot Tuesday. We’ll get details on today’s Democratic primary.Supporters of Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo outside the second Democratic primary debate for the New York City mayoral race this month.Anna Watts for The New York TimesAt the end of a day like today, Primary Day in New York, it’s always about numbers.There’s the number of votes the winner won by.There’s the number of people who voted.And today, there’s also a number that election-watchers usually don’t watch: the temperature.With the city under an extreme heat warning until 8 tonight, it may hit 100. That is far warmer than the last time there was a primary for mayor, in 2021. That day, the high was a seasonable 78.This time around, the heat could affect the turnout in a race that could turn on whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s union supporters and paid staff members head off Zohran Mamdani’s volunteers.Here’s another number: 384,338.That’s the number of voters who don’t have to think about standing in a sweaty line at a polling site. They’ve already cast their ballots, having taken advantage of early voting, which ended on Sunday. (Here is yet another number: 78,442. That is how many voters checked in at polling places on Sunday, by far the busiest of the nine days of early voting.)We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Cuomo and Mamdani Push to Raise Turnout in ‘Jump Ball’ Mayor’s Race

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      A new poll shows the New York City mayor’s race tightening in its final days. Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani are scrambling for every last vote.In the final hours before Primary Day, the Democratic race for mayor of New York City appeared to be razor-tight, leaving the two leading candidates — Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani — in scramble mode to boost turnout on Tuesday.A new poll released on Monday by Emerson College suggested the race was too close to call, with Mr. Cuomo drawing the most first-place votes but falling short of the 50 percent threshold required to be declared the winner under the city’s relatively new ranked-choice voting system.The poll shows Mr. Mamdani pulling ahead in the eighth round, topping Mr. Cuomo by 3.6 percentage points — matching the poll’s margin of error. It is the first major survey that shows Mr. Mamdani winning, seemingly reflecting his momentum, especially among younger voters.“It is essential that we turn out in record numbers in order to turn the page on Andrew Cuomo, his billionaire donors, and the politics of big money and small ideas,” Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman and democratic socialist, said on Monday.Mr. Cuomo, the former governor who resigned in 2021 following a series of sexual harassment allegations that he denies, has led in polls for months, including one also released on Monday by Fix the City, a super PAC tied to Mr. Cuomo’s interests. His campaign called the Emerson poll an “outlier.”“We will continue to fight for every vote like he will fight for every New Yorker as mayor,” Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Terry Virts, Former Astronaut, Announces Texas Senate Run

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      Terry Virts, an early entrant in the Democratic field targeting Senator John Cornyn’s seat, appeared eager to take on his own party as well as President Trump’s.Terry Virts, a retired NASA astronaut, is not a household name, even in his home of Houston. But the way he announced his campaign on Monday for Senator John Cornyn’s seat in Texas, taking a swing at both political parties, may be blazing a trail for Democratic candidates in 2026.Mr. Virts’ official announcement video was revealing in two ways. It reflected the growing hunger among Democratic outsiders to take on President Trump. And it underscored how such outsiders believe the best way to do that is to also take on the Democratic leaders in Washington.“Trump’s chaos must be stopped,” Mr. Virts said in the video. “But leadership is M.I.A.,” he added over an image of the Senate’s Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York.Mr. Virts, who describes himself as a “common sense Democrat,” emphasized the point in a telephone interview on Monday. “The Texas senator should not work for the senator from New York,” he said. “I’m going to work for Texas voters.”He said he was willing to break with the national party on issues such as immigration, which he says he supports only if it is legal. “The Democratic Party, for some inexplicable reason, gaslit us and told everybody that, ‘Hey, this illegal immigration is OK,’ and voters knew that it wasn’t,” he said.Democrats in Texas, who have not won statewide office since the 1990s, have become hopeful about their chances in 2026, particularly if Mr. Cornyn is defeated in the Republican primary next year by the state’s hard-right attorney general, Ken Paxton.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Big Names, Bigger Money and Global Themes Color the N.Y.C. Council Races

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      All 51 seats are up for election this year, and the Democratic primary battles feature crowded fields, moneyed interests and some recognizable figures.The ballots feature political figures who resigned in disgrace. Global story lines related to Israel and President Trump have defined contests. And millions of dollars from corporate interests have been injected to sway outcomes.Even as most of New York City’s political attention is focused on Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary, this year’s races for City Council have also drawn widespread interest and money.Two names well known in New York congressional circles will grace the ballots in Manhattan: Anthony Weiner, the former congressman who spent about a year and a half in prison and much longer in public exile; and Virginia Maloney, whose mother, Carolyn Maloney, was a longtime congresswoman. Each is running to fill an open seat.All 51 Council seats will be up for election in November, and eight have no incumbent. But with most districts heavily Democratic, the primary on Tuesday has become the real race.Super PACs backed by companies, unions and housing advocacy groups, many with interests before the Council, have spent about $13.4 million to influence the contests, $6.8 million more than in 2021.Some of the races have been defined by local issues. In Lower Manhattan, for example, candidates have sparred over the fate of the Elizabeth Street Garden, where a long-gestating plan to build affordable housing for older New Yorkers has been put on hold.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More