🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a contest that will determine who governs and protects the country's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the city.

In this context, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democrats against one another. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement 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 his opponent in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll conducted in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent releasing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an election that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's power moves, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message 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 progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a remarkable comeback victory, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster opposition – a tactic that has angered the party base. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the city has drawn an force of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting Mamdani directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to the capital and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, launched his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in reality, few even noticed.

Cuomo, by comparison, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the city's direction than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him implying the New York police department and the IDF were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd