The New York City mayoral candidates faced off on the debate stage for a final time on Wednesday night — and the frontrunner, Zohran Mamdani, took some body blows. Will this be enough to move the needle?  

A debate like this could have — or should have — happened earlier. Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who is usually polished in his answers, flubbed key questions about how he’d vote on affordable housing construction ballot measures and why he wants to eliminate mayoral control of schools. By flubbed, he failed to answer or served up word salad.

Early voting starts on Saturday. Mr. Mamdani holds a double-digit lead against Democrat-turned-independent candidate, Governor Andrew Cuomo, in the polls. Republican nominee, Curtis Sliwa, trails in third place with under 20 percent support.

A 34-year-old state assemblyman and self-declared socialist, Mr. Mamdani has made affordability the signature issue of his campaign. He is promising free buses, free childcare, a rent freeze on stabilized apartments, and city-owned grocery stores. Yet when the moderators asked whether he supported three ballot measures to fast track affordable housing construction, Mr. Mamdani revealed his “youth and inexperience,” to borrow a phrase from President Reagan.

“I’m appreciative that those measures are on the ballot,” Mr. Mamdani said, filling his 60-second answer with platitudes and grand promises of more construction.

Mr. Cuomo had already said he would support the measures, while Mr. Sliwa said he would not.

“What is your opinion Zohran?” Mr. Sliwa pressed.

“Yes or no? Tell the truth. Answer the question for once,” Mr. Cuomo said.

The moderator then pressed Mr. Mamdani to answer. After insulting Republicans, Mr. Mamdani replied, “I have not yet taken a position on those ballot amendment questions.”

The crowd audibly gasped.

“What a shocker. What a shocker! Don’t worry, once he takes it he’ll change it anyway,” Mr. Cuomo said.

When Mr. Mamdani was asked about the apparent contradiction between his promise to get rid of mayoral control of schools and his promise to hold himself as mayor accountable for their performance, the state assemblyman again offered a meaningless but polished-sounding collection of phrases.

“I will not shirk that accountability,” he said. “We have to change our ways if we want to change our results.”

Mr. Mamdani also said the public schools are underfunded, even though New York City spends nearly $40,000 per pupil per year. At least Mr. Sliwa had some suggestions about cutting the education bureaucracy.

Just before the debate started, news broke that Mr. Mamdani plans to retain the current police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, in her role if elected. Ms. Tisch has wide support across the aisle and has overseen reductions in crime and corruption in the department. Public safety is Mr. Mamdani’s Achilles heel, and this decision appears to be an olive branch to those worried about a Democratic Socialist taking over the reins of the NYPD.

The other two candidates also promised to keep Ms. Tisch in her job, though they said they doubted she would want to stay under a Mayor Mamdani, who wants to decriminalize prostitution and has in the past questioned the role prisons serve.

Mr. Cuomo did not have a stellar debate performance, but it was better than last week’s. He landed some blows at the frontrunner and appeared much more comfortable doing so. Mr. Cuomo touted his accomplishments as governor and derided Mr. Mamdani for never having a job before getting elected, for having the worst attendance record in the assembly, and for voting to give himself a raise. 

Mr. Sliwa, though, landed the best line on this front. “Zohran, your resume could fit on a cocktail napkin,” he said, “and Andrew, your failures could fill a public school library.”

Messrs. Mamdani and Sliwa repeatedly attacked Mr. Cuomo for the sexual harassment lawsuits that prompted the former Empire State governor to resign in 2021. Borrowing a page from President Trump, Mr. Mamdani invited one of Mr. Cuomo’s sexual harassment accusers to sit in the audience and gave her a shout out.

The battle between Mr. Sliwa and Mr. Cuomo continued through the night. Mr. Cuomo and many of his supporters have been calling on the Guardian Angels founder to drop out of the race to give Mr. Cuomo a better shot at winning. Mr. Sliwa is refusing. He quit his 25 years-long radio show host job at WABC earlier on Wednesday after the station’s owner, John Catsimatidis, called on him to drop out of the race.

Mr. Sliwa’s strongest moments of the night were when he invoked his family. First, he spoke about one of his sons getting assaulted by teenage gang members and watching as the perpetrators were released because of the “raise the age” law that Mr. Cuomo signed and Mr. Mamdani supports. Then he went after Mr. Mamdani for his failure to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada.”

“Let me speak on behalf of my two sons,” Mr. Sliwa said, noting that they are Jewish. “They’re frightened. They’re scared. They view you as the arsonist who fanned the flames of antisemitism. They cannot suddenly accept the fact that you’re coming in as the firefighter and you’re going to put out these flames. You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”

Could this debate have moved the needle if it were held earlier or this were a two-person race? Mr. Mamdani’s base of support is committed to him, and he has the highest favorability rating among the candidates, according to polls.

When the Sun spoke with Mr. Trump’s pollster, John McLaughlin, in September, he said the only way Mr. Mamdani could be beat is if his unfavorability rating increases. Neither Messrs. Sliwa nor Cuomo have been able to do that. Wednesday night’s debate exposed serious chasms in Mr. Mamdani’s policy knowledge and proposals — but it’s  likely too little, too late.