🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who governs and protects the nation's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against one another. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by alleged racism and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main candidates that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former 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 the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an election that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's power moves, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should the progressive wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, should the former governor, 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' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York defeat of the progressive's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to the capital and threatened to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, 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 October 2024, few had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani 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 NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims 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.”

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