🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will discover the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who governs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to send military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democrats against one another. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys conducted in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an race that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, takes in the near future.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, achieve a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce the party's existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Personal Attacks

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

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on attacking Mamdani personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, the candidate has faced difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him suggesting the New York police department and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a DSA convention in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in Gaza, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Speaking to the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd