🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who runs and protects the country's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, laced with accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million city residents, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

National Implications

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with voters' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the fresh face has created an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

Conversely, if the former governor, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's current model of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for New York and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate claimed the city “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 Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe 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 get the independent into office, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this point. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a Kennedy and worked 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.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, Mamdani has faced difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged appearing to show him suggesting the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a DSA convention in 2023. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide 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 sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first ran for state assembly, a Muslim uncle 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 safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

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