NEW YORK -- Zohran Mamdani was attacked over his thin resume, Republican Curtis Sliwa strove to prove his seriousness as a candidate, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was pressed on the sexual harassment allegations that drove him from office in a contentious final debate in New York City's mayoral race.
While Mamdani, the frontrunner, began by accusing his rivals of being consumed by fighting -- suggesting he would try to focus instead on his vision for New Yorkers -- the state assemblymember joined them in mud as he tried to create viral social media moments, included inviting one of Cuomo's accusers to appear in the audience.
Cuomo, running as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, fared better Wednesday than during their first debate. He used its focus on the day-to-day of running the city to showcase his political experience.
Though he has urged Sliwa to drop his bid to avoid splitting the anti-Mamdani vote, he didn't bring up his request during the debate. Instead he worked to cast Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, as out of his league, highlighting his pro-Palestinian advocacy and President Donald Trump's threats to take over the city if he wins.
Cuomo and Sliwa, he said, "speak only in the past because that is all they know."
Cuomo, meanwhile, touted his experience.
"You have never had a job. You've never accomplished anything," he said, insisting Mamdani lacks the merit and qualifications to run the nation's biggest city or handle its emergencies.
Sliwa accused both men of "fighting like kids in a school yard," but piled on as well.
Mamdani came under fire after he declined to take a position on a set of initiatives that will appear on the November ballot.
Mamdani also said as mayor he would ask New York City's police Commissioner Jessica Tisch to remain in her post. Mamdani, who was deeply critical of the city's police in the past, has been trying to moderate his most contentious positions.
The candidates also railed against this week's immigration enforcement operation targeting vendors on Manhattan's famed Canal Street that led to 14 arrests.
Cuomo said the city does not need Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the city to handle quality-of-life crimes like dealing in counterfeit bags.
Cuomo spoke repeatedly about how he had held Trump at bay during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and said a Mamdani win would be a "dream" for the president.
"He has said he'll take over New York if Mamdani wins, and he will! Because, he has no respect for him. He thinks he's a kid," Cuomo said.
Mamdani, meanwhile, tried to depict Cuomo as Trump's "puppet" and too aligned with the president.
"He wants Andrew Cuomo to be the mayor not because it will be good for New Yorkers, but because it will be good for him," Mamdani said.
Sliwa warned both were taking the wrong approach by antagonizing the president.
Mamdani said one of the women who had accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, his former aide Charlotte Bennett, was in the audience Wednesday.
"What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?" he asked as he pressed Cuomo on the allegations and the millions in taxpayer dollars that were spent to defend him in court.
Cuomo denied wrongdoing and chided Mamdani.
"If you want to be in government, then you have to be serious and mature," he said.
Bennett was the second woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, alleging he subjected her to invasive questions about her personal life and sexual relationships. Cuomo denies Bennett's allegations.
Several candidates noted at the start of the debate that New Yorkers would probably rather be watching the Knicks opening game of the season, which tipped off at the same time. Cuomo made it to the game's second half, where he was photographed sitting next to incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.