🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a moment when the former president has vowed to send 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 election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, laced with accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 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, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an artificial intelligence video that included a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

However, if the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising comeback win, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

Yet, the former governor, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

Following extensive launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting Mamdani personally. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started 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 contest in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has faced difficulties in the final phase, after footage emerged appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF 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 recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in Gaza, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers 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 Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our faith.”

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