🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will discover the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who governs and defends the country's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to deploy military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against each other. The election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about two million New Yorkers, has outpaced Cuomo by double-digits in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

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

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a platform that has appealed to voters' anger at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A New York rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an force of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

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

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has labelled his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to the capital and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and maybe 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 get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the New York state assembly 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 Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after video surfaced appearing to show him suggesting the New York police department and the IDF were intertwined.

“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 gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his response to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

The progressive responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

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