🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. On the establishment side is the former governor, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a platform of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be critical to the direction that the party, floundering in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with voters' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Polls show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, 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 set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to the Republican in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get the independent into office, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, few had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in recent days, after footage emerged suggesting him implying the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins 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 shadows that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd