🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will discover who will be their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will determine who governs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has threatened to send military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against each other. The contest 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 party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of wealthy contributors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in recent years amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an election that could be key to the direction that the party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his bid will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. 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 fresh face has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, achieve a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of considered, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to remain in the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos 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 army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

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

Following extensive launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, 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, launched his mayoral bid in last year, not many had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication 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 rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has encountered difficulties in recent days, after footage emerged appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, filmed at a DSA convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, the candidate appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could express their true selves, 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 his opponents, who has claimed Mamd