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New Yorkers will learn who will be their new city leader this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an acrimonious showdown, laced with alleged racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of wealthy contributors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about two million New Yorkers, has outpaced his rival by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

This represents a rather grubby end to an election that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to Trump's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback win, it could cement the party's current model of cautious, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A New York defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has drawn an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to the capital and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a more positive vision of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, the candidate has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged appearing to show him implying the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, the candidate appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. 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 disclose about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

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