🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will discover who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who runs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The election has become an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who beat Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

This represents a particularly ugly end to an race that could be critical to the path that the party, floundering in its response to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace 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 the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of considered, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the political center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, few had heard of him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in recent days, after footage surfaced suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

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

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Speaking to the behavior of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd