🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will discover who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has become an increasingly bitter face-off, marked by alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has outpaced his rival by double-digits in every poll conducted in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent freeing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a platform that has resonated with Americans' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce the party's current model of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the present version of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom last week, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to the capital and warned to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The classic political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Addressing the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd