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New Yorkers will discover 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 time when the former president has threatened to deploy armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has become an acrimonious face-off, marked by alleged racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

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

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll conducted in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly conclusion to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at inequality, 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 the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for New York and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an force of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has called Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate claimed the city “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 attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had married a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

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

Mamdani addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “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 express their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

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