🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will find out the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who governs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by 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 midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, 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 platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be hard for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the party arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, achieve a surprising comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of cautious, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the wisest course is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys 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 New York and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

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

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir last week, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to do the same 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 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent into office, as other powerful voices have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

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