🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will find out the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to deploy armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against one another. The contest has become an acrimonious face-off, marked by alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a convicts.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an election that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a platform that has resonated with voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A New York rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city 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. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an force of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate personally. He has labelled his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on conservative media for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. 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 terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by comparison, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. 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 the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage 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 NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our city. 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 leave our faith.”

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