ZO VS CUO

I got this thing wrapped up... right?

 Just to show you how fast things can change in politics, five months ago I noted a
young, unknown upstart named Zohran Mamdani was the only "semi-serious" challenger to Andrew Cuomo in the race for Mayor of New York. And even then, he was polling 20 points behind the former Governor. My unspoken belief was This guy has zero plus zero chance of winning this thing.

Who's laughing now?

By September, the guy with the beard and funny name had flipped the table, running 20 points ahead of Cuomo. Upon recalculation, my prediction was more on the order of, This guy is going to crush Cuomo like a trash compactor at the city dump.

 One month later, that lead has been cut in half, with current mayor Eric Adams now out of the race (and in the pockets of billionaire Bill Ackman). Doing further calculations, I have arrived at the answer, I think Mamdani will probably likely possibly win. Maybe. 

Mamdani supporters can take heart that the poll is based on only 500 respondents in a city of 4.7-million registered voters. Cuomo fans are all in by their guy laughing when a radio show host claimed Mamdani would cheer another 9/11. 

No wonder why Republicans prefer Cuomo over their candidate Curtis Sliwa. He's been believably accused of sexual harassment, doesn't contradict anti-Muslim remarks, and is running strictly to rehabilitate his tattered image. He's just like Trump! Yay! Trump even supports him! So it's OK if we do, too!

Cuomo is even vowing to move to Florida if Mamdani wins. Just like Alec
"Deadeye" Baldwin swore to move to a gated community in Beverly Hills to escape the New York paparazzi and tabloids nine years ago. Hah! Once you've tasted the fame (positive or negative) and power that comes with being a celebrity in New York, there's no going anywhere else. Unless, if you're Donald Trump, that anywhere is Washington, DC.

Yeah, let's give it a nepo baby like Andrew
Cuomo. By the way, who are Mamdani's
parents anyway?

My latest prediction: Mamdani wins in relative landslide (which these days is over 1%). Republican bigwigs will continue to spend their time calling him a Communist, trying to deport him, and predicting Muslims will take over the country. And Mamdani's voters will be disappointed when he can't keep most of his promises. Sounds like rather than being a Commie, he's a real red white & blue American politician. 

PS: Yesterday, I was almost prevented from early voting because my current signature wasn't identical to my original one from 30 years ago. I offered to show them my recently-renewed driver's license, but that isn't allowed. Fortunately, I was given a do-over. Voting in New York can be a funny thing, but I'm not laughing.

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