🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will find out who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who runs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to deploy armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The election has become an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have major implications for how the party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by double-digits across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a rather grubby end to an election that could be critical to the path that the party, floundering in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with voters' anger at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a remarkable comeback victory, it could cement the party's current model of cautious, uninspiring resistance – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as surveys show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's engaging content on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army 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 stacked against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on conservative media for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir last week, when Cuomo laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in last year, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in 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 – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your neck, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was criticizing cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent'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 family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam 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.”

Speaking to the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd