🔗 Share this article

Residents of the Big Apple will discover who will be their new city leader this election day, in a contest that will determine who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has become an acrimonious showdown, laced with alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys conducted in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an race that could be key to the path that the party, struggling in its response to Trump's power moves, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with Americans' anger at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

Conversely, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring resistance – a strategy that has angered the party base. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an force of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to the capital and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had known him, and in reality, few even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the future than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has faced difficulties in recent days, after footage emerged appearing to show him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

The progressive responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks 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 Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could express their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd