New York’s mayoral race remains a tossup after final Democratic debate

NEW YORK — New York City’s top mayoral candidates took their last, best shots during their final debate Wednesday night as voters head to the polls over the next six days — and no one emerged as a clear victor.

The eight Democratic contenders wrangled over homelessness, mental illness and the city budget — setting the tone for the closing stretch of a bruising campaign.

The fourth televised debate, sponsored by POLITICO, WNBC and Telemundo 47, reflected the unsettled nature of the race: No one candidate took the brunt of foes’ attacks, nor were any clear alliances formed to knock down a chosen target. Some of the sharpest exchanges came between lower-polling contenders. For the most part, candidates stayed away from the personal attacks that have marked past debates, even as they clashed fiercely on policy at the most substantive of their face-offs so far.

After six months of endless zoom forums, erratic polls and a truncated campaign season, the race remains a tossup less than a week out. With ranked-choice voting throwing more uncertainty into the process, the Democratic nominee, who is all but certain to win the general election, will likely not be named until well after Tuesday’s primary.

That uncertainty seemed apparent among the candidates who took the stage at NBC’s fabled studio 8-H — the longtime home of "Saturday Night Live."

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