Ossoff’s latest quarterly filing shows that more than 80% of the money he raised last period came from out-of-state donors. The report, which details contributions from individuals who have given at least $200 this cycle, also reveals that over half of his maxed-out donors hail from California, New York or the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia region.

After the release of an October filing, Ossoff’s team touted in a press release that, in the face of “heavy spending from GOP Super PACs,” it raised $12 million during the last third-quarter filing period that runs from July 1 through Sept. 30.

The same press release said Ossoff’s “re-election juggernaut” was “overwhelmingly” powered by small donors with an average of $36 from approximately 233,000 donors. If a donor has not given an aggregate of at least $200, that donor’s contribution remains undisclosed in FEC filings.

NATIONAL DEMS BANKROLL CAMPAIGN OF ‘FAKE INDEPENDENT’ SENATE CANDIDATE FROM MIDWESTERN STATE

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., has raked in a lot of money from out-of-state donors. Some GOP critics and Capitol Hill insiders have posited that the Georgia Democrat cannot break rank and vote to reopen the government, or he could risk losing his significant support from liberals around the country.  (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Ossoff is running for re-election in a state Trump won in 2024, albeit by a thin two-point margin. He first arrived in Congress in 2021 after defeating incumbent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., in a razor-thin election that required a runoff. During that first election cycle, according to The Washington Free Beacon, Ossoff raised 60% of his contributions from outside the state of Georgia.

According to Ossoff’s recent October FEC filing, California is leading the pack in terms of the most donations to his campaign during the third quarter, totaling about 20% of all donations. Georgia is second with about 17.5%.

But when it comes to donors who have maxed out their contribution limits, more of those political donors came from California (33.3%) New York (15.65%) and Massachusetts (10.8%) than from Georgia, which accounted for only 6.1% of maxed-out donors who contributed to Ossoff in the third quarter.

REPUBLICAN DOOLEY JUMPS INTO GEORGIA’S SENATE RACE WHILE TOUTING SUPPORT FOR TRUMP AND TAKING AIM AT OSSOFF

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is up for re-election after a narrow victory in the 2020 election cycle. (AP Photo/Buddy Carter For Senate)

Given Ossoff’s vulnerability heading into Election Day, GOP strategists and Senate sources say the Georgia Democrat is unlikely to break with his party to vote for reopening the government, fearing it could cost him crucial support from liberal donors nationwide.

“There is no middle ground for him when it comes to these big decisions that have to be made, and I think the shutdown proves that,” Ryan Mahoney, a Georgia-based GOP strategist who has worked with Republican senators in the state told The Washington Examiner.

“His calculus is, ‘Do I vote to open the government up and get crushed and can’t raise a single dollar of low-dollar money, or do I vote to shut the government down and get $3 million [from online fundraising]?’” a Democratic Party insider also told The Hill.

A sign that says “Closed due to federal government shutdown” outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2025. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

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Ossoff’s campaign declined to comment when reached for this article.

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“Donald Trump’s puppet DOJ has no business screwing around with next month’s election,” Newsom posted on Friday in response to news theDOJ plans to send federal election watchers to California and New Jersey for their closely watched elections next month.

“Sending the feds into California polling places is a deliberate attempt to scare off voters and undermine a fair election. We will not back down. Californians decide our future — no one else.”

Many on social media, including DOJ Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, quickly pointed out that the Justice Department has a long history of sending election monitoring resources to areas that have a history of issues to ensure election laws are being followed.

NEWSOM THREATENS TO SUE IF TRUMP SENDS TROOPS TO SAN FRANCISCO: ‘WANNABE TYRANT’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom during a bill-signing event related to redrawing the state’s congressional maps Aug. 21, 2025. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“Lol calm down bro,” Dhillonposted on X. “The@TheJusticeDept under Democrat administrations has sent in federal election observers for decades, and not once did we hear that this was voter intimidation from states such as California. Do you really want to go there? Isn’t transparency a good thing?”

Dr. Houman Hemmatiposted on X, “Hey @GavinNewsom WHY would any legitimate voter be “scared off” by having federal election observers? Most people think legitimate voters would be more likely to vote because they’d trust the process.

“But clearly you’re afraid of something. I wonder what that is…”

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Republican candidate for governor in California to replace the term-limited Newsom, wrote on X, “Gavin sure seems worried about people seeing how he’s handling elections.”

The Republican parties in both California and New Jersey requested the federal observers as California votes on a ballot measure aimed at redrawing the state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats to counter states like Texas that have redrawn its map favoring Republicans. New Jersey votes in a highly watched gubernatorial election.

NEWSOM BAILS OUT PLANNED PARENTHOOD WITH $140M TO KEEP 100 CLINICS OPEN AFTER TRUMP CUTS

Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon arrives for a news conference at the Justice Department Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The Department of Justice sent election monitors to California twice during the Biden administration, during the2022 general election and the2024 general election.

“This is not a federal election,” Newsom’s press officeposted on X. “The US DOJ has no business or basis to interfere with this election. This is solely about whether California amends our state constitution.

“This administration has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote.”

DUFFY TELLS NEWSOM ‘3 MORE PEOPLE WOULD BE ALIVE’ IF HE FOLLOWED FEDERAL TRUCK LICENSING RULES

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in San Francisco Aug. 7, 2025.  (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Biden Justice Department sent election resources to several non-federal elections as well, includingAlaska municipal elections in October 2023, aNew Jersey off-year general election in 2023 and aMississippi off-year general in 2023.

Fox News Digital reached out to Newsom’s office for comment.

“In recent elections, we have received reports of irregularities in these counties that we fear will undermine either the willingness of voters to participate in the election or their confidence in the announced results of the election,” California GOP Chairwoman Corrin Rankin wrote in a letter to Dhillon on Monday.

The New Jersey GOP sent a similar letter about Passaic County, which is heavily Latino and once favored Democrats but voted for Trump in 2024.

The state GOP alleged a “long and sordid history” of vote-by-mail fraud.

Democrats in both states have pushed back against the decision.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin called the move “highly inappropriate” and said the DOJ “has not even attempted to identify a legitimate basis for its actions.”

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Voters make selections at their voting booths inside an early voting site. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)

Los Angeles County Clerk Dean Logan said election observers are standard practice across the country and that the county, with 5.8 million registered voters, is continuously updating and verifying its voter records.

“Voters can have confidence their ballot is handled securely and counted accurately,” he said.

During the 2024 election, multiple Republican-led states pushed back on the Biden administration’s efforts to send federal resources to monitor elections, arguing the state measures in place were satisfactory.

Election monitors are lawyers who work for the Justice Department, including in the civil rights division and U.S. attorney’s offices across the country. They are not law enforcement officers or federal agents.

For decades, the Justice Department’s civil rights division has sent attorneys and staff members to monitor polling places across the country in both federal and non-federal elections. The monitors are tasked with ensuring compliance with federal voting rights laws.

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division enforces a number of statutes protecting the right to vote. That includes the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation and threats against those who are casting ballots or counting votes. And it includes the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandates that election officials ensure people with disabilities have the full and equal opportunity to vote.

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and The Associated Press contributed to this report

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

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After Mamdani admitted he would rank Sliwa second in the spin room following Wednesday’s debate, Fox News Digital asked Sliwa if he would be willing to collaborate with Mamdani and help his administration if the 34-year-old assemblyman is elected mayor in less than two weeks.

“The only thing I would do if, God forbid, Zohran Mandami was the choice of the people, and we will leave it up to them, is I will organize resistance because I will improve. I will not move. Zohran Mamdani could bet that I will be his worst nightmare,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa said that unlike former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani in June, the founder and CEO of the Guardian Angels, isn’t going anywhere.

TRADING BARBS FROM LIGHT-HEARTED TO VICIOUS, MAYORAL CANDIDATES MAKE FINAL APPEAL TO NEW YORKERS

Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa have found unlikely common ground with less than two weeks until Election Day. (Fox News Digital/Getty)

“Because, unlike Andrew Cuomo with his billionaire friends in the Hamptons, who said, ‘Oh, if Zohran’s elected, I’m fleeing to Florida,’ I’m not going anywhere. I was born in New York. They tried to kill me in New York. I’ll die in New York. I’ll be buried in New York,” Sliwa confirmed.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’

“If somehow Zohran Mandami is elected by the people, boy, he is gonna regret ever knowing the name of Curtis Sliwa because I’m gonna be on his case 24 hours a day,” Sliwa said.

Sliwa also compared Mamdani to Pinocchio, but instead of his nose growing, “his smile just gets bigger and bigger and bigger.”

“That’s how you know that Zohran Mamdani is telling another lie, another whopper, fantasy, rather than reality,” Sliwa said, referencing Mamdani’s near-constant smile.

When asked if Mamdani regretted his answer about ranking Sliwa second if the general election had ranked-choice voting, the Democratic socialist doubled down on his response.

Supporters for New York City Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa gathered outside LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City ahead of the final debate on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025.  (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)

“I believe it’s important to rank those who actually love New York City, and there was only one other candidate on that stage who seems to love this city,” Mamdani said, in an apparent jab at Cuomo.

With less than two weeks until Election Day, Mamdani and Sliwa have landed on unlikely common ground by rejecting billionaire influence in the New York City mayoral election.

Two billionaires, Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman, have called on Sliwa to drop out of the mayoral race in order to clear a pathway to victory for Cuomo.

“The billionaires can conspire to pick their candidate,” Sliwa said during a press conference in Manhattan on Monday. “I trust the people. They will make the decision. I will not drop out.”

Several blocks downtown at his own press conference Monday morning, Mamdani admitted his surprise at agreeing with Sliwa.

New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani answers reporter questions after the final debate on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, ahead of Election Day.  (Fox News Digital/Deirdre Heavey)

“I never thought I would say this, but here we are, where the only candidates who agree that billionaires shouldn’t control the future of this city are the Republican nominee and the Democratic nominee,” Mamdani said.

A recent Fox News survey of the mayoral race, conducted Oct. 10–14, asked voters about their second-choice candidate. If both Adams and Sliwa are out, the results show Mamdani keeping a significant lead, even as support for Cuomo increases.

With Sliwa out, the poll found Mamdani would pick up 50% compared to 37% for Cuomo. But Sliwa has maintained for weeks that he has no intention of ending his mayoral campaign.

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New York City mayoral contenders relentlessly criticized their opponents as they made their final pitch to voters Wednesday night in the last debate at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City before early voting starts Saturday.

Election Day is coming up on Nov. 4, and with Mayor Eric Adams suspending his re-election campaign last month, New Yorkers are set to elect a new mayor to lead the city.

Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital. 

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“We lost ground with many of our communities,” DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad told Fox Digital of the Democrat Party following its 2024 election losses. “The Asian American community was one of them. Where we found that … more votes that did go towards Donald Trump, not overall, but in terms of a change from, you know, 2020 to 2024 there was a dip in the support for Democrats.”

“I’ve certainly seen there’s been a greater play from the Republican Party to reach Asian American voters, particularly in these last several years,” Conrad added. “And, you know, while there’s also been a lot of anti-Asian rhetoric and anti-Asian hate that has come from the Republican Party, there’s also been a real sort of tapping into fears around the economy, around the impact of taxes on the Asian American community, and that there have been more Republicans that have actually, you know, gone to Asian community spaces.”

The year 2025 is an off-season election year, with only Virginia and New Jersey holding gubernatorial elections, and New York City holding a highly-anticipated mayoral race.

MAGA STAR JOINS CIATTARELLI ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN NEW JERSEY AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli face off in a gubernatorial debate as they vie to become New Jersey’s next governor. (Heather Khalifa/The Associated Press )

New Jersey is a longtime Democrat stronghold, previously voting for a Republican presidential candidate during former President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 election. Trump, however, made inroads with New Jersey voters in the 2024 election, sparking renewed enthusiasm among Republicans to flip the state red.

New Jersey voted to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the 2024 race, but post-election data showed Trump and the GOP flipped five counties red. All in, Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points to six in 2024.

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill was elected the party’s nominee for governor and will face off against Republican Jack Ciattarelli at the polls Nov. 4.

FORTNIGHT TO ELECTION DAY: 5 KEY 2025 RACES TO WATCH

New Jersey has a massive Asian American population at just more than one million people in a state of roughly 9.5 million total residents. The 2024 voting data shows there were 584,236 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the state.

Conrad, who is also the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, told Fox Digital that the lack of outreach to the voting bloc could hurt the Democrat Party’s efforts to retain the governorship. She said she reminds party members that “there are a million Asian Americans in New Jersey” and that “we as Democrats, have not invested as much as we could have into the community at our own peril.”

(Left to right) Sophia Danenberg, Shasti Conrad and Junelle Cavero attend “Our Future, Our Freedom” a DNC celebration concert in Chicago in 2024.  (Jeff Schear/Getty Images )

AAPI voters “are the fastest growing demographic in this country, and we are growing in states that we need to win in,” she added. “We are growing in the South. We’re a growing population in North Carolina, in Georgia, in Texas.”

On the national stage, 57% of Asian voters backed Harris in 2024, but Trump also improved his margins with the voting bloc compared to 2020. Trump saw one-in-four Asian votes cast in his favor in 2024 compared to earning 30% of the Asian vote in 2020, according to Pew data.

The DNC leader said the party needs to meet AAPI voters in their community, whether it be at temples and churches or Asian-owned businesses, and hear their concerns directly.

The voting bloc brings a multitude of cultural backgrounds and, subsequently, is a very nuanced group. Conrad noted the diversity of the group when listing off common top voting concerns among AAPI voters, including the economy and immigration — most notably how it relates to H-1B visas.

Conrad said Republicans have met with Asian voters at their churches and businesses and at other cultural events in recent history, with the party increasingly throwing its support behind Asian candidates, as well.

“They’ve just have done more,” Conrad said about the GOP. “And they’ve also been running more Asian candidates, which is … sometimes it’s confusing to voters, in particular the Asian American community, where there’s a lot of pride in having leadership that, you know, that is from the community.”

She called on Democrats to include Asian voters in their common campaign platforms focused on Black, Latino, rural and young voters.

CRIME AND IMMIGRATION DIVIDE NEW JERSEY VOTERS AFTER EXPLOSIVE CIATTARELLI-SHERRILL DEBATE

Indian American signs For Donald Trump rally In Edison, New Jersey, Hindu Indian-American rally for “Humanity United Against Terror.”  (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

“When we’re talking the importance of really building that coalition, we have to continue to say and include Asian Americans in that as well,” she said. “And I think sometimes we get left off, as you know, not even considered or thought about or remembered as a really important community to engage with.”

Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sam Chan told Fox News Digital when asked about their AAPI outreach that “throughout the campaign, Mikie has partnered directly with Asian communities, and shared her vision to lower costs, bolster support for small businesses, and ensure people have the opportunity to achieve the American dream here in New Jersey.”

“As governor, Mikie will work to ensure Trenton serves everyone,” Chan continued. “Mikie will work to make it easier to start and grow a small business and lower costs, ensure our schools are fully funded, and stand up for our constitutional rights and uphold the law. Mikie’s Save You Time and Money Agenda will help business owners launch and expand their ventures, while her State of Emergency on Utility Costs will end the rate hikes and reduce electric bills.”

Chan also took a shot at Trump in the remarks, saying Ciattarelli “cheers along Trump as he attacks our communities, rips away billions from our schools and transit system, and jacks up prices with his unaffordable tariffs, Mikie is running to fight for all New Jerseyans.”

Fox News Digital also spoke with Parul Khemka, a New Jersey Democrat running for re-election on the Livingston Board of Education, who said the Sherrill campaign has increasingly attended cultural events, including a Diwali celebration.

“Even within Bergen County, there’s a big east Asian population, so she’s tapped into that as well. It’s just, New Jersey is a little bit funky. You’d think that it’s one party, one thing … But different counties have their own different attributes, so you have to figure it out as you go along.”

Sherrill, she added, was involved in cultural events in her congressional district, which includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties in North Jersey, and that her office has historically been approachable.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Khemka said that top priorities for the AAPI community commonly include education, immigration and visas, and the economy and affordability, while also noting the massive voting bloc is nuanced and diverse. She said AAPI voters have always leaned more to the left, from her view, but that voters moved more to the right as Trump campaigned on getting the economy back on track following spiraling inflation.

President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally in Wildwood, N.J., Saturday, May 11, 2024. (Matt Rourke/The Associated Press)

Democrats, Kehmka said, are positioned to better appeal to AAPI voters as they understand the nuances of the voters’ political concerns as opposed to broad issues.

“The Democratic Party obviously does a little bit better than the Republican Party to understand these nuanced issues, and they do not paint everybody in the same brush,” she said, adding that the AAPI community in New Jersey could make or break Democrats retaining the governor’s mansion.

The Sherrill campaign, for example, has deployed multilingual phone banking and canvassing programs in towns with high levels of Asian voters, with Sherrill, herself, also meeting with voters in their communities.

Conrad said that the Sherrill campaign has built more inroads with AAPI voters in recent months, pointing to outreach events over the weekend that included DNC chair Ken Martin also traveling to the Garden State to rally support for the ticket.

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“We did an AAPI oriented canvas. And then … DNC Chair Ken Martin hosted an AAPI roundtable to meet with AAPI leaders and to show that engagement. I have heard, even just in a month’s time, I had heard a big change from the community about feeling like they were, you know, being engaged more directly by the Sherrill campaign, and we’re feeling better about it,” Conrad said.

“I do think that that work is happening,” she added, praising efforts by the DNC’s AAPI caucus, specifically South Asians for America, rallying Democrat support ahead of New Jersey’s and Virginia’s high-stakes elections.

The New Jersey gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 4.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ciattarelli’s campaign Thursday for comment on AAPI outreach and has yet to receive a reply.

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The president has issued a full-throated endorsement for Attorney General Jason Miyares’ re-election bid but has stopped short of doing so for Earle-Sears or lieutenant governor nominee John Reid.

He has notably endorsed New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli as a “winner” with a “complete and total endorsement” – and that “after getting to know and understand MAGA, [Ciattarelli] has gone all-in.”

At a White House event in which he hosted outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Trump wished him “good luck with the upcoming election” and said the fellow former business executive has been “working very hard” for the candidates.

JAY JONES INVOKES TRUMP NEARLY 50 TIMES DURING VIRGINIA AG DEBATE, TIES MIYARES TO ‘MAGA’

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, left; President Trump, right. (Al Drago/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“He wants to see that young woman win,” Trump said of Youngkin, appearing to refer to Earle-Sears.

“And the attorney general who I endorsed.”

After the Jay Jones murder-texts scandal broke, Trump called on the Norfolk Democrat to drop out “immediately” and said Virginia must “continue to have a GREAT (sic) attorney general in Jason Miyares who by the way has my complete and total endorsement.”

SPANBERGER USES SPONGEBOB TO MOCK SEARS-TRUMP RELATIONSHIP, AS PRESIDENT PRAISES GOP NOM

“Jason will never let you down,” Trump said.

When asked in June about appealing to moderate voters while running in Trump’s party, Reid told the Hampton Roads’ ABC affiliate that he is running his own race.

“Donald Trump’s in D.C. John Reid’s in Richmond, and I’m looking to help Virginia, and so, if you love Donald Trump, awesome. If you hate Donald Trump, I really don’t intend to argue with you. I want to save Virginia and that’s why I’m running,” Reid said.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

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This week, Trump again obliquely complimented Earle-Sears while speaking to reporters on Air Force One – but declined again to issue a Miyares-type “total endorsement.”

TRUMP VOICES SUPPORT FOR GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, ADMITS SHE HAS ‘TOUGH RACE’

“I haven’t been too much involved in Virginia — I love the state; I did very well in the state … I think the Republican candidate is very good, and she should win because the Democrat candidate is a disaster,” he said.

He warned that both Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. – the Democratic nominee in the Garden State – will preeminently be bad for the current U.S. energy dominance agenda.

“Both the Democrats are going to drive the energy prices through the roof,” he said.

Trump also faulted Spanberger for refusing to directly call for Jones’ ouster.

THE ONLY GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATES RUNNING IN 2025 ELECTIONS LEAN INTO TRUMP’S MAGA CAMPAIGN TACTICS

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for clarity on whether Trump’s comments thus far have equated to an endorsement or whether he plans to offer one in the closing days, but did not receive a response.

When reached as well, the Republican National Committee indicated they were not at liberty to discuss the presidential prerogative in endorsements.

Earle-Sears, however, said she looks forward to working with Trump as governor to continue Republican policies focused on public safety, energy costs to Virginians and conservative values – and that Trump has indeed been supportive of her bid.

“I am deeply grateful for President Trump’s support and his direct encouragement to voters in Virginia to vote Republican,” she said.

“We must ensure Virginia is the best place to live, work and raise a family and, with President Trump, I’ll fight to keep energy costs low, keep our families safe and defend our commonsense values.”

Sources have pointed to Youngkin’s own success brought on by keeping Trump at arm’s length during his own hard-fought campaign against Terry McAuliffe in a closely-divided state.

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Video

Youngkin’s messaging in predominantly Democratic northern Virginia and the I-95 corridor focused on issues like biological males in girls sports and parents’ rights that could and did draw crossover votes from Virginia voters not inclined to support someone associated with Trump.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the state, Youngkin campaigned on broader conservative or Trumpian tenets and successfully ran up the score in friendlier southside and southwest Virginia, where turnout in those less-populated counties was elevated.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. 

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant. 

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

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Vance made the remark as early voting began Saturday in New York City, where Mamdani, the frontrunner in the race, is trying to fend off challengers Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa.

“I want to speak to the memory of my aunt. Who stopped taking the subway after September 11th because she did not feel safe in her hijab,” Mamdani said in a clip of a Friday campaign event that Vance shared.

“According to Zohran, the real victim of 9/11 was his auntie who got some (allegedly) bad looks,” Vance said.

EARLY VOTING UNDERWAY IN NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, AMID HOTLY CONTESTED MAYOR AND GOVERNOR RACES

Vice President JD Vance, left, criticized New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025. (Leo Correa/AP; Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times via AP)

Mamdani also said Friday, “I want to speak to the Muslim who works for our city, whether they teach in our schools or walk the beat for the NYPD, New Yorkers who all make daily sacrifices for the city they call home, only to see their leaders spit in their face.”

“I want to speak to every child who grows up here marked as the other, who is randomly selected in a way that never quite feels random, who feels that they carry a stain that can never be cleaned. Growing up in the shadow of 9/11, I have known what it means to live with an undercurrent of suspicion in this city,” Mamdani added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Mamdani campaign for reaction to Vance’s comment.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER CUOMO, MAMDANI RIP EACH OTHER DURING FINAL DEBATE: ‘UNMASKED’

Andrew Cuomo shakes hands with Zohran Mamdani during a mayoral debate this week.  (Angelina Katsanis)

Mamdani accused Cuomo this week of “Islamophobic rhetoric” after the former governor joined a radio show and its host speculated that Mamdani would be “cheering” if New York City faced another 9/11-style attack.

During an appearance on WABC’s “Sid & Friends in the Morning” on Thursday, Cuomo questioned Mamdani’s ability to lead the city through a crisis situation.

“Any given moment, there’s a crisis, and people’s lives are at stake. God forbid, there’s another 9/11. Can you imagine Mamdani in the seat?” Cuomo asked host Sid Rosenberg.

“He’d be cheering,” Rosenberg retorted.

“That’s another problem,” said Cuomo, before returning to his hypothetical question: “But could you imagine that?”

During a Mamdani campaign event in Manhattan later on Thursday, a reporter asked Mamdani if Cuomo’s comments were Islamophobic.

People cast their ballots during early voting on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025, in New York.  (Olga Fedorova/AP)

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“Yes, I believe that they were,” Mamdani said, before adding, “We’re speaking about a former governor who, in his final moments in public life, is engaging in rhetoric that is not only Islamophobic, not only racist, it’s also disgusting.”

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

The post JD Vance slams Mamdani over 9/11 comment, says Democrat socialist believes 'the real victim' was 'his auntie' appeared first on My Blog.

A local election candidate is making waves for a bizarre protest at a township meeting this week when he dressed up in martial arts gear and unleashed a series of flying kicks and punched through several of his own protest signs.

The man, identified in previous theatrical stunts as Will Thilly, is running as an independent for the Cranford Township Committee in New Jersey and has been railing against the mayor on taxes, development policy and civic unity.

Independent candidate Will Thilly performs a kung fu routine during a Cranford Township Committee meeting in New Jersey, kicking through protest signs as part of a staged demonstration. (CranfordTV35)

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR HOPEFUL ATTENDS ‘NO KINGS’ PROTEST, VOWS TO FIGHT TRUMP ‘TOOTH AND NAIL’

About 45 minutes into the streamed meeting, Thilly approached the podium in his blue-colored gear, yellow belt and black headband and began clapping.

He then broke out singing “Eye of the Tiger” and asked the bemused crowd to join in.

That’s when two helpers on either side of the floor unfurled a sign that said “Unfair Taxes,” and Thilly proceeded to kung fu kick through it. One man in the crowd can be seen laughing, and another man held his head in his hands, while a despondent elderly couple got up and left.

But Thilly and his crew weren’t finished here.

His pals unfurl three other signs that said, “Closing Our Pools,” “Overdevelopment” and “Divisiveness,” with Thilly kung fu kicking through each of them.

The two men then unfurl another sign that says “Let Love Rule,” which was also adorned with hearts.

“Mr. Thilly, please address your comments to the township committee,” Mayor Terrence Curran can be heard saying.

Unfazed, Thilly then says, “This is love.” He walked toward it and the two men embrace him, wrapping him in the sign.

Independent candidate Will Thilly performs a kung fu chop during a Cranford Township Committee meeting in Cranford, N.J. (CranfordTV35)

BLUE STATE GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEES TRADE BARBS OVER CRUCIAL ISSUE WEEKS AHEAD OF ELECTION DAY

Moments later, Thilly took the microphone and aired his grievances to the mayor, accusing him and the township committee of mishandling a controversial 30-year PILOT tax-exemption deal for a 250-unit apartment complex.

“You also voted for the 30-year tax exemption and PILOT at 750 Walnut on Oct. 8 last year. Then, this July, you said you never voted for that deal, that I was lying,” Thilly said.

“The fact that you, our mayor, cannot remember that you voted for the single largest financial deal and loss in our town history is grounds for that agreement’s annulment. … This is the real reason our taxes are going up so much.”

He alleged that the agreement costs the town millions in lost revenue and contributes to rising property taxes, claiming officials have “censored” meetings and canceled a candidates’ debate “for the first time in history.”

Fox News Digital requested comment from Curran but did not immediately receive a response.

Thilly isn’t new to theatrics. Last month, a video of the independent candidate breakdancing at another meeting went viral, drawing more than 1.6 million views, according to CBS News New York.

Independent candidate Will Thilly gestures toward a banner that says “Let Love Rule” during a Cranford Township Committee meeting in Cranford, N.J., Oct. 21, 2025. (CranfordTV35)

In that appearance, Thilly moonwalked across the floor and performed a backspin before using his allotted five minutes to complain about rising taxes, according to CBS News New York.

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“We were told the referendum was gonna bring it up for an average household about $400, I think, and mine went up like 900 bucks,” Thilly said, per the outlet.

After his speech, he moonwalked out.

Curran dismissed that stunt as “completely a distraction,” per CBS.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

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With Election Day closing in, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the U.S. House, on Friday announced his support for Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from the New York City borough of Queens, in a statement to the New York Times.

“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries added: “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”

MAMDANI LANDS CRUCIAL ENDORSEMENT IN NYC MAYORAL SHOWDOWN

Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, speaks at an endorsement event from the union DC 37 on July 15, 2025, in New York City.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Jeffries acknowledged in his statement that he has “areas of principled disagreement” with Mamdani.

Jeffries, whose congressional district covers much of neighboring Brooklyn, becomes the second major New York State Democrat to back Mamdani, following a late September endorsement from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The endorsement from Jeffries comes the day before early voting begins in New York City on Saturday.

The top two Democrats in the New York State legislature backed Mamdani days after the governor announced her support.

The endorsements from Jeffries and Hochul may put intense pressure on longtime Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who is the top Democrat in the Senate, to also back Mamdani in an election that is a little over a week away.

Mamdani shocked the political world in June with his convincing win over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination in the nation’s most populous city.

The Ugandan-born Mamdani, if elected, would become the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city. He is the clear frontrunner in the latest public opinion polls in the mayoral race in the Democrat-dominated city.

Mamdani is sitting on a large double-digit lead over Cuomo in the latest New York City public opinion polls.

TRUMP REVEALS NEW NICKNAME FOR MAMDANI

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during his weekly press conference in Washington, D.C., on May 13, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images)

Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee in the Democrat-dominated city, is a distant third in the polls.

New York’s current mayor, the embattled incumbent Eric Adams, had decided to run as an independent but announced late last month that he would no longer pursue the office amid anemic polling. President Donald Trump’s advisors had floated administration roles for both mayoral hopefuls.

This week, Adams endorsed Cuomo, even though the two had repeatedly clashed earlier this year on the campaign trail.

POLL POSITION: JUST HOW LARGE IS MAMDANI’S LEAD IN THE NYC MAYORAL RACE?

New York City mayoral candidates, from left to right: Zohran Mamdani, Eric Adams, Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa. (Getty Images)

Mamdani surged to the Democratic primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. It was fueled by a massive grassroots army of supporters and backing from top national progressive champions, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

Mamdani has been heavily criticized by his rivals for his far-left platform, as well as his verbal attacks on Israel, his past critical comments about the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and his proposal to shift certain responsibilities away from the NYPD and focus on social services and community-based programs.

“Assemblyman Mamdani has promised to focus on keeping every New Yorker safe, including the Jewish community that has confronted a startling rise in antisemitic incidents as well as Black and Latino neighborhoods that have battled deadly gun violence for years,” Jeffries said in his statement on Friday.

Trump, a native New Yorker who now calls Florida home, has derided Mamdani ever since his primary victory as a “communist” and earlier this month came up with a new derogatory nickname.

“I call him my little communist. He’s my little communist mayor,” Trump said during an extended Fox News interview on “Fox and Friends.”

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Video

Republicans have worked overtime the past three months to anchor the mayoral nominee to vulnerable congressional Democrats up for re-election in next year’s midterms.

“‘Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries just bent the knee to the socialist left, and now the only place he’s leading his party is down a cold, dark tunnel toward electoral humiliation. Every single Democrat owns the socialist agenda and is now a willing accomplice in their own party’s collapse,” National Republican Congressional Committee national press secretary Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Jeffries met with Mamdani for the first time in July, with a second meeting last month. While Jeffries praised Mamdani’s affordability emphasis on the campaign trail, neither meeting resulted in an endorsement.

Most House Democrats, including many progressives, have given Jeffries plenty of latitude and have declined to criticize his lack of an endorsement.

Among the exceptions is Ocasio-Cortez, who said earlier this summer that “we use our primaries to settle our differences, and once we have a nominee, we rally behind that nominee,”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a former House Democrat, similarly chastised congressional leaders for failing to rally around Mamdani.

While Jeffries joins Hochul in endorsing Mamdani, New York State Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs said that he — as an individual — wouldn’t endorse his party’s mayoral nominee.

And Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, whose suburban swing congressional district includes a small portion of Queens, has previously announced that he wouldn’t support Mamdani.

Rumors of the Friday endorsement earned immediate criticism from Republicans suggesting that Jeffries is succumbing to pressure from his far-left base to endorse Mamdani despite his socialist policies that will certainly become a target during next year’s midterms.

“Hakeem is bending the knee!!!,” Maureen O’Toole, National Republican Congressional Committee Eastern Regional press secretary, posted on X.

Mamdani released a statement on Friday afternoon welcoming the support from Jeffries.

“This campaign has always been about bringing people together to improve the quality of life for every New Yorker,” Mamdani said.

“I welcome Leader Jeffries’ support and look forward to delivering a city government, and building a Democratic Party, relentlessly committed to our affordability agenda — and to fighting Trump’s authoritarianism. Our movement to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas grows stronger by the day.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.”

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“Early voting starts this Saturday. We turn out, we win. Let’s finish strong,” Ciattarelli told supporters at a packed diner in this small city in north-central New Jersey.

Ciattarelli, aiming to pump up the Republican base as the polls tighten, was joined on the campaign trail Wednesday morning and afternoon at three diner stops by Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, a top House ally of President Donald Trump.

“Jack’s been running a great campaign. I’ve been watching it from down in the Sunshine State. But it’s about winning. We got to help everybody get across the line,” Donalds said in a joint Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital interview.

BATTLE FOR GOVERNOR IN THIS CLOSELY WATCHED RACE MAY BE HEADED FOR A PHOTO FINISH

Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, left, is joined by GOP Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida at a diner in Linden, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News )

Ciattarelli, who’s making his third straight run for Garden State governor, and who nearly upset Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, says things are different this time around.

“Because of the closeness of that race in ’21, people are paying closer attention this time around,” Ciattarelli said.

In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, four public opinion polls released over the past two weeks — from Fox News, Quinnipiac University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers-Eagleton — indicated Ciattarelli narrowing the margins with Sherrill in the race to succeed the term-limited Murphy.

FIVE KEY RACES TO WATCH WITH TWO WEEKS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

“I think we’re in a great position,” Ciattarelli emphasized. ” As you know, many of these polls have a dead heat. And that’s in a state in which Republicans typically under poll because we are the minority party. And when you have the endorsement of Democratic mayors across the state, it says people want change. That’s exactly what we’re going to deliver when we win this race.”

Donalds, who has Trump’s backing as he runs for Florida’s governor next year, touted that in New Jersey, “the wind is at our back.”

Asked why he made the trip, the congressman said, “It’s about New Jersey and making sure that the people of the Garden State get out and vote. That’s all that matters right now.”

Donalds was the second major MAGA star to parachute into New Jersey. Last week, Ciattarelli was joined at a diner packed inside and outside with supporters by Ohio gubernatorial candidate and former White House contender Vivek Ramaswamy.

Republican gubernatorial candidate in Ohio Vivek Ramaswamy headlines a campaign event for Jack Ciattarelli, on Oct. 15, 2025, in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“A lot of Trump voters do not vote for anybody else, so getting guys out that they like will get them out to vote,” former Rahway, New Jersey, GOP chairman Patrick Cassio told Fox News.

“Four years ago, 400,000 Republicans didn’t vote. So, think about that. He picks up half of that, he wins. The math is pretty simple,” Cassio said.

Democrats took aim at Ciattarelli for teaming up with MAGA surrogates.

“Jack Ciattarelli is ramping up his outreach to the furthest MAGA fringes, this time with Byron Donalds — who doesn’t think people need health insurance and wants a 6-week abortion ban. With two weeks to go until Election Day, Jack’s choice to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him tells you everything you need to know about why he couldn’t be more wrong for New Jersey,” New Jersey Democratic State Committee spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki charged in a statement.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial showdowns in the year after a presidential election, and the contests traditionally grab outsized attention and are viewed as political barometers ahead of the following year’s midterm elections.

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And this year, they’re being viewed, in part, as ballot-box referendums on Trump’s unprecedented and explosive second-term agenda.

While Democrats have long dominated federal and state legislative elections in blue-leaning New Jersey, Republicans are very competitive in gubernatorial contests, winning five out of the past 10 elections.

And Trump made major gains in New Jersey in last year’s presidential election, losing the state by only six percentage points, a vast improvement over his 16-point deficit four years earlier.

President Donald Trump, seen speaking at a campaign event in Wildwood, New Jersey, May 11, 2024, will headline a tele-rally for Jack Ciattarelli, the 2025 Republican gubernatorial nominee in the Garden State. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While it’s still not clear if Trump will physically hit the campaign trail in New Jersey sometime during the next two weeks, Fox News confirmed that the president will hold a tele-rally with Ciattarelli ahead of Election Day.

Asked if he wants Trump to join him in person on the campaign trail, Ciattarelli didn’t directly answer.

THE POLITICAL BOMB TRUMP EXPLODED IN THE NEW JERSEY SHOWDOWN FOR GOVERNOR

“The White House is working in close partnership with us, and what they’ve said is ‘we’ll do whatever it is that we think we can do to win.’ The president is very busy. So he’s got a lot going on. We’re happy to work in partnership with the White House to deliver a win here,” Ciattarelli said.

While Trump isn’t on the ballot, he’s loomed large over the New Jersey gubernatorial election.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli, on the stage moments at the start of their second and final gubernatorial debate, on Oct. 8, 2025, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News Digital)

At this month’s second and final debate, Sherrill charged that her GOP rival had “shown zero signs of standing up to this president. In fact, the president himself called Jack 100% MAGA, and he’s shown every sign of being that.”

FINAL FACEOFF: CIATTARELLI, SHERRILL, CLASH ON DEBATE STAGE

Asked whether he considered himself part of the MAGA movement, Ciattarelli said he was “part of a New Jersey movement.”

When asked to grade the president’s performance so far during his second term, Ciattarelli said, “I’d certainly give the president an A. I think he’s right about everything that he’s doing.”

“I think that tells us all we need to know about who Jack Ciattarelli’s supporting. I give him an F right now,” Sherrill responded, as she pointed to New Jersey’s high cost of living.

In the weeks since the final debate, Sherrill has highlighted that Ciattarelli gave Trump an A rating.

Rep. Byron Donalds joins Jack Ciattarelli on the campaign trail at a diner in Linden, New Jersey, on Oct. 22, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

But Donalds argued that Sherrill’s focus on linking Ciattarelli to Trump would backfire.

“I think that’s a stupid strategy,” Donalds said. “Let me tell you why. He secured the border. That’s what the American people want, even people in New Jersey. He’s done that. Our economy is sound and getting better every single day. That’s what all Americans want.”

Sherrill, a Naval Academy graduate who flew helicopters during her military service and who was first elected to Congress in 2018, is getting plenty of company on the campaign trail. This past weekend she was joined by two of the biggest names in the party — Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland — who are considered potential 2028 White House contenders. And former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, two more potential presidential candidates, are on deck.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill holds a news conference at a commuter rail station in Secaucus, New Jersey, on Oct. 16, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

And Sherrill’s campaign announced on Tuesday that the most popular Democrat in the country — former President Barack Obama — will headline a rally with her in Newark on Nov. 1, the final weekend before Election Day.

But Ciattarelli’s campaign claimed that Obama’s upcoming appearance on the New Jersey campaign trail is a sign of weakness for the Democrats.

“National and New Jersey Democrats are in full-blown panic. At this point, we expect them to import anyone they think can excite Democrats because Mikie Sherrill excites no one,” Ciattarelli campaign chief strategist Chris Russell argued in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Former President Barack Obama speaking at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024, in Chicago. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced on Tuesday that it’s upping the ante, infusing more money into the New Jersey Democratic Coordinated Campaign, on top of the $3 million it’s already dished out in the Garden State.

“This November will set the tone for years to come, and it’s our moment to show Donald Trump and the Republicans that their time in power is coming to an end,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

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New Jersey traditionally elects a governor from the party out of power in the White House, which this year would favor the Democrats.

But Garden State voters haven’t elected a governor from the same party in three straight elections in over a half century, which would favor the Republicans.

One of those political trends will be derailed in two weeks.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.”

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Mamdani and Sliwa took the opportunity during Wednesday’s debate to drill down on past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the former governor of New York, ahead of an impeachment inquiry that preceded Cuomo’s 2021 resignation. Cuomo was also hit by Mamdani over accusations he has – while in public office – failed to meet with Muslim constituents and only began doing so amid pressure from his mayoral campaign, and over his alleged poor handling of the COVID-19 virus in New York after Cuomo was party to issuing guidance forcing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to admit COVID-19 positive patients.

Meanwhile, Cuomo did not hold back on targeting Mamdani over alleged controversies that have embattled his campaign. Cuomo blasted the self-proclaimed socialist over his lack of experience, ties to radical politics, and past radical comments about law enforcement, Israel and the situation in Gaza.

FBI AGENTS FROM ’93 WTC ATTACK BLAST MAMDANI FOR EMBRACING RADICAL IMAM

All three candidates for New York City governor debated Wednesday night. From left to right: Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa and Zohran Mamdani. (Photo by Angelina Katsanis-Pool/Getty Images)

“My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan. … He’s never run anything, managed anything. He’s never had a real job,” Cuomo said of Mamdani during the debate. Cuomo also branded Mamdani as someone who has proven to be “a divisive force in New York,” pointing to past incidents that have garnered Mamdani heat from critics.

One of those incidents included a picture he took with a hard-lined Ugandan lawmaker who has pushed policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani took while taking a break from the campaign trail to visit his home country of Uganda for a wedding. Cuomo also hit the controversy over whether Mamdani supports Jewish New Yorkers, as his critics have claimed he is anti-Israel pointing to statements he has made, like “globalize the intifada.”

Cuomo also accused Mamdani of disrespecting Italian Americans after a video of him surfaced giving the middle finger to a statue of Christopher Columbus, while also pointing to criticism the self-proclaimed socialist candidate has garnered from 9/11 first-responders after posting a photo with a Muslim cleric who served as a character witness for the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FIERY NYC MAYORAL DEBATE: ‘HE LITERALLY HAS NEVER HAD A JOB’

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) shakes hands on the debate stage with Democratic Party candidate for New York City mayor (right) Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo is running as an Independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary election. (Photographer: Angelina Katsanis/AP)

“You have been a divisive force in New York, and I believe that’s toxic energy for New York. It’s with the Jewish community. It’s with the Italian American community – when you give the Columbus statue the finger. It’s with the Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is Haram. It’s the Hindus,” Cuomo continued. “Then, you take a picture with Rebecca Kadaga, deputy prime minister of Uganda. … She’s known as Rebecca ‘Gay Killer.’ … You’re a citizen of Uganda. You took the picture. You said you didn’t know who she was. It turns out you did. How do you not renounce your citizenship or demand BDS against Uganda for imprisoning people who are gay just by their sexual orientation? Isn’t that a basic violation of human rights?”

Mamdani shot back that his politics have remained “consistent” and that they are built on a belief in human rights for all people, including LGBTQ+ folks. Had he known Kadga’s role in drafting legislation to imprison gay folks, Mamdani said, he never would have taken the picture.

“This constant attempt to smear and slander me is an attempt to also distract from the fact that, unlike myself, you do not actually have a platform or a set of policies,” Mamdani shot back at Cuomo before introducing his own claims about the former governor regarding past accusations of sexual harassment.

MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’

New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo slammed his democratic socialist opponent Zohran Mamdani during Wednesday’s debate for a variety of alleged scandals he has been involved in. (Angelina Katsanis/Getty; Angelina Katsanis/Getty)

“Mr. Cuomo. In 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political,” Mamdani said while attacking Cuomo Wednesday night.

“You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?”

Cuomo, in 2021, was accused of multiple incidents of sexual harassment that preceded his resignation as governor that year. A subsequent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 through 2020,” while in January 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced it had reached a nearly $500,000 settlement with Cuomo’s executive office over one of the claims. However, no criminal charges were ever filed against Cuomo, with some district attorneys citing insufficient evidence.

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Cuomo defended himself against Mamdani’s accusations, noting the cases were eventually dropped, before returning to questions about Mamdani’s alleged past.

Meanwhile, Sliwa didn’t skip an opportunity to slam Cuomo over the sexual assault allegations either, saying early in the debate during a discussion about homelessness that Cuomo “fled” the governor’s office amid an impeachment inquiry that was investigating him.

“Andrew, you didn’t ‘leave.’ You fled from being impeached by the Democrats in the state legislature,” Sliwa began before getting into the homelessness issue, earning him a round of applause from the audience.

“‘Leave?’ You fled!” Sliwa continued to applause. “But let’s get back on topic.”

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