Moments after the debate, campaigns started flooding social media and their campaign email lists, claiming victory. It appears that almost every candidate believes that they came out on top.

"Zellnor Myrie delivers outstanding debate performance," read the subject of an email by Myrie's campaign.

"Mamdani Ready to serve, Cuomo ready for bed," said the release from Mamdani's camp.

"Cuomo Dominates First Mayoral Debate, Proves He's Only Candidate with Experience to Tackle Crises Facing City," read an email blast from team Cuomo.

"Scott is the 'Grown-Up' Candidate New Yorkers Are Looking For. Tonight Proved It," was Stringer's message.

Attorney General Tish James who endorsed Adrienne Adams said also said she "Won the debate hands down," in a post on X.

The debate has now wrapped, and according to GOP campaign strategist Bill O'Reilly, frontrunner Andrew Cuomo was at the center of the heated session.

"Overall: It was Andrew Cuomo vs. the Lilliputians, and the Lilliputians fell short," O'Reilly told The Post after the debate, which last just over two hours.

"Someone needed to trip up the former governor to slow his momentum, but it was clear from the jump that wouldn't happen. Cuomo hasn’t lost a step since leaving Albany, and the field lacked the skill to crack him.

The most talked-about person, unsurprisingly, was President Trump."

Candidates sharply criticized the Trump administration for stating Columbia University should lose its accreditation over its “indifference” to the harassment on Jewish students.

“[Department of Education Sec. Linda] McMahon is not an educator, and Trump has no interest in funding our education,” Jessica Ramos said. “He is trying to make our education less accessible to students.”

Zohran Mamdani called it a “gross overreach” while Michael Blake called the “overreach unacceptable.”

Still, candidates mostly acknowledged that antisemitism has spiked in the Big Apple since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and subsequent conflict in Gaza.

“This is a frightening time for Jews,” Brad Lander said while Zellnor Myrie said elected leaders need to work to root out Jewish hate.  

Andrew Cuomo jumped in when Zohran Mamdani again refused to say Israel has a right to exist as a “Jewish state.”

“I believe Israel has a right to exist,” Mamdani said to which the moderator replied, “As a Jewish state?”

“As a state with equal rights,” he said.  

Cuomo, as well as Whitney Tilson, quickly cut in on the remark, with Cuomo pointing out Mamdani declined to say the nation should exist as a Jewish state.

“And his answer was no, he won’t visit Israel,” Cuomo said in reference to an earlier answer from Mamdani.

“Unlike you, I answer questions very directly,” Mamdani told Cuomo, “and I want to be very clear I believe every state should be a state of equal rights.”

Andrew Cuomo gave a different answer Wednesday when asked how much he pays in rent each month.

The ex-gov told the moderators he's paying $7,800 but when The Post reviewed his lease earlier this month, it listed $8,200 as the monthly fee and he paid just over $8,000 to start.

He gave a different answer to The New York Times earlier this week, saying " rent just went up to about $8,000."

Here's what the rest of the candidates said they pay for housing:

• Lander: $3,300
• Adams: "Our home is paid. I'm a homeowner."
• Myrie: $1,300
• Ramos: $2,500
• Stringer: $6,400
• Mamdani: $2,300
• Blake: $1,800
• Tilson: Owns but pays $5,000 in upkeep and taxes

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The Rev. Michael Blake was the only candidate who supported the firing of Knick coach Tom Thibodeau, when asked, relatively early in the debate.

"The goal is to win a championship!" he said.

Everyone else gave a thumbs down.

The leading Democratic candidates for mayor all want to be the teacher's union pet, critics said.

Front-runners Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani and others all took pains not to offend the United Federations of Teachers when asked that New York City spends $40 billion on public schools and what they would do to bolster student performance.

"They're making clear that they have no backbone and they will be pawns of the teacher union," GOP campaign strategist Bill O'Reilly said after hearing answers during Wednesday's Democratic primary debate for mayor.

"They're going to continue to kill charter schools or private innovations. They're afraid to offend the union."

Financier Whitney Tilson was the only candidate who promoted popular charter schools as an option for students.

"There's bad management. There are few if any enough rewards for success and few if any consequences for failure," Tilson said.

"Charter schools are held accountable and not surprisingly they are overall the best public schools in the city delivering for kids.

Mamdani said too many students going to school hungry or are homeless and did not specify a plan.

Cuomo, who promoted charter schools as governor,  did not mention them.

He said he would look at the Department of Education's consultants and the curriculum.

"We need more paraprofessionals in the schools," added Cuomo, referring to teachers' aides who aid students with disabilities.

Boosting pay of paraprofessionals is a top priority of the UFT.

Other candidates talk of boosting 3-K and pre-k programs.

When moderators asked about AI and if candidates would consider replacing city workers with the tech for tax breaks -- Mamdani pointed out that Cuomo has already - allegedly - replaced aides with one of the clever machines.

The ex-gov was recently accused of using AI model 'Chat GPT' to write the last pages of the housing plan -- which included bizarre typos and language. His staff, however, denied it -- and chalked it up to lazy editing.

Whitney Tilson championed AI when it was his turn to respond. "It will be a home run for the city!" he said.

From body language expert Chris Ulrich:

"Candidates use these three elements to guide how they frame themselves in a debate — and voters should be asking themselves...

• How does the candidate want me to feel about them?
• What do they want me to notice about them?
• How they have used their appearance, competence, confidence, presence to get my attention and tell me how they would lead NYC?"

No candidate answered who they would rank second when the Democratic primary happens later this month.

Zohran Mamdani would only say he would not rank Andrew Cuomo while Whitney Tilson said he would not rank Mamdani.

Everyone else stage stayed mum on the question, with Adrienne Adams stating she would not be making news Wednesday night while Michael Blake said he would take Cuomo’s approach and not answer the question.

Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo lambasted socialist Zohran Mamdani's plans to finance $10 billion in freebies for New Yorkers as not rooted in "reality."

Cuomo argued Mamdani couldn't get a tax hike necessary for his plans through the state legislature.

Mamdani then pounced back with a shot at Cuomo's past support for giving state subsidies to a solar panel plant bought by Elon Musk's Tesla.

"What the governor is speaking about is when we want to fight for working class people, it's considered unrealistic," Mamdani said. "But when he wants to give Elon Musk a $1 billion tax break, it's totally feasible."