🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will learn the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who runs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has vowed to deploy military troops to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The election has become an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders 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 the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

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 campaigned on a platform of affordability and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins in every poll taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, 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 broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

Should the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a message 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 adopt at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the party arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could cement the party's current model of considered, uninspiring resistance – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an force of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting Mamdani directly. He has called Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir last week, when Cuomo laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe 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 influential figures have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The quintessential political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Speaking to the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd