Eleven candidates are running for mayor of New York City on November 4, 2025. Five have led in media attention: incumbent Eric Adams (I), Zohran Mamdani (D), Curtis Sliwa (R), Andrew Cuomo (Fight and Deliver), and James Walden (I).

City & State NY‘s Sahalie Donaldson, Annie McDonough, and Holly Pretsky wrote, “New York City is looking at a general mayoral election unlike any other in its history.”

The section below lists notable candidates. To read more about how Ballotpedia defines noteworthy candidates, click here.

• Adams has been the mayor since 2022. He initially ran in the Democratic primary for re-election, but withdrew on April 3 to run as an independent. He is campaigning on his record and on developing the city’s workforce.
• Mamdani is a state assemblymember for District 36. He is campaigning for a rent freeze on housing and for making city buses free. Mamdani finished first in the Democratic primary with 56% after three rounds of ranked-choice voting.
• Cuomo was governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. He ran in the Democratic primary and finished in second with 44% after three rounds of ranked-choice voting. Cuomo announced his general election candidacy on July 14 and will appear on the “Fight and Deliver” ballot designation. He is campaigning on making the city more affordable and on fighting antisemitism.
• Sliwa is the founder of Guardian Angels, an organization focused on combating street crime. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2021. He is campaigning to hire more police officers and to move the decision to build housing to local community boards.
• Walden is a former federal prosecutor. In his answers to Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, Walden said his priorities included increasing government transparency and public safety.

amNY‘s Shea Vance wrote that affordability was “the issue that, by most accounts, decided the Democratic primary.” It has remained a central focus in the general election. Adams has focused on housing affordability and wrote an op-ed discussing increasing housing opportunities for city workers and veterans. Mamdani has continued campaigning on affordability and has expressed interest in working with the New York Legislature to reach his goals. Sliwa has discussed how high costs affect young people and how to address the issue for them. Cuomo has released an affordability plan to increase food benefits and assist New Yorkers who do not meet the SNAP threshold. Walden has campaigned to lower rents to 25% of a person’s income.

Adams has tried to appeal to moderate Democrats and Black voters, and, according to the New York Post, has reached out to Republican officials and donors for support. Mamdani has met with groups that did not support his primary campaign, such as Black leaders and local business leaders. In an interview, Sliwa said he would win Republicans while his opponents split the Democratic vote. Cuomo said in an interview with New York Magazine that he would run a more active campaign in the general election and would be more capable of enacting his agenda. Walden has aligned himself with critics of Mamdani and is campaigning to stop Mamdani.

As of 2024, New York had term limits for the position of mayor: Mayors could serve two consecutive four-year terms and then could only hold office again after one full term out of office.