1st NYC Mayoral Debate On Thursday: What Voters Can Expect

NEW YORK CITY — The first mayoral general election debate is set to take place on Thursday and will give voters some insight on where each candidate stands on some of the city's biggest issues.

Here's what you need to know.

The debate will be held live at 7 p.m. on NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47.

The candidates that will appear on stage Thursday will be Zohran Mamdani (Democrat), Andrew Cuomo (Independent) and Curtis Sliwa (Republican).

Here's how the three candidates stack up.

Zohran Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary in June, defeating Andrew Cuomo who had been viewed as the front-runner at the time.

Mamdani has lead the majority of mayoral race polls since the summer.

The 33-year-old lawmaker is running on lowering the cost of living for New Yorkers and wants to freeze the rent as well as build more affordable housing.

He also wants to create a network of city-owned grocery stores and make MTA buses free for all riders, among other points.

Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo is running on the independent line after falling to win the Democratic primary in June. The former governor is vying for a political comeback after resigning from office amid sexual harassment allegations and a COVID-19 scandal related to nursing home deaths.

Cuomo is hoping to sway voters by being a reassuring figure in elected office — similar to the one seen in the early months of the pandemic.

The former governor is running on increasing affordable housing, affordable healthcare, improving education in the city and making public transportation more affordable.

Curtis Sliwa

Sliwa is running for mayor as the Republican candidate after a previous unsuccessful bid in 2021 where he lost to current mayor Eric Adams.

The 71-year-old Republican nominee has refused to drop out of the race, despite calls to do so from the Trump administration.

He is focusing his campaign on public safety, where he would hire 7,000 additional NYPD officers. In addition, he said he would repeal City of Yes arguing the plan fast-tracks displacement, hands developers free rein, and pushes working people out of their neighborhoods.

Sliwa has said he would restore the Homeless Outreach Unit to connect homeless individuals living in the subway system with shelters and support services.