🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who runs and protects the nation's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democratic figures against each other. The contest has become an acrimonious face-off, laced with alleged racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading contenders that could have major implications for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is the democratic socialist, 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 ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who beat Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to lose.

A Bitter Contest

However, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

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

National Implications

Should the progressive wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a message that has appealed to voters' frustration at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce the party's existing approach of cautious, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has angered the party base. A NYC defeat 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 present version of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack 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 is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get the independent elected, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

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

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation 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 reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people 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 community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

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