NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander gets backing of New York Times opinion panel. Here's what it could mean.
There was an unexpected development in the New York City mayor's race on Thursday. A panel of New York Times opinion experts picked Comptroller Brad Lander as the top overall choice to run the city.
It comes as former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani continue to be the frontrunners in almost every poll heading into Thursday night's Democratic primary debate.
Why the panel's decision matters
Lander's latest commercial has him riding the Coney Island Cyclone roller coaster to prove he can deal with the ups and downs of governing the city.
"New York City is a ride in itself. Buckle up, remain seated, and vote for Brad Lander," the ad says.
But that's nothing compared to the ride he's expected to get from the surprise decision of a panel of 15 Times opinion makers, who decided he's the best choice to occupy Gracie Mansion.
Lander was ecstatic.
"I could not be prouder to have the support and confidence of the panel of experts," he said Thursday.
The endorsement could have a major effect on the race. In 2021, the Times Editorial Board's endorsement of Kathryn Garcia provided a significant boost to her campaign, CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer reported.
The board no longer does endorsements, but Lander is clearly hoping the panel's backing will have the same effect in helping his campaign. He said he hopes "that New Yorkers asking who will do the best job as mayor of New York City will follow the advice of the New York Times opinion panel."
Cuomo leads 2 of 3 new polls
As the race enters the home stretch, there have been a flurry of new polls.
- Read more: Who's on the ballot in the NYC mayoral election? Meet the candidates in the Democratic primary
The lineup of the leading candidates in an internal poll by Fix the City, a superPAC backing Cuomo, has the former governor at 40%, Mamdani at 19%, Lander at 8%, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams at 7%, and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer at 6%, with a margin of plus or minus 3.5.
A poll by comptroller candidate Justin Brannan that includes the mayor's race shows Mamdani with 35%, Cuomo at 31%, Lander at 9%, Stringer at 5%, and Adams at 4%, with a margin of plus or minus 4.1.
A Honan Strategy Group poll has Cuomo with 38%, Mamdani at 22%, Lander at 12%, Adams at 10%, and Stringer at 4%, with a margin of plus or minus 2.76. That poll also took into consideration ranked-choice voting.
"What we find in the simulation is that Cuomo wins 56% to 44% by the seventh round of voting," said Bradley Honan, group's CEO and president.
The poll that has Mamdani ahead is within the margin of error, but all the other polls from Thursday appear to have been completed before Michael Bloomberg endorsed Cuomo, so the survey likely didn't measure the former mayor's effect on the race, Kramer reported.
