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New Yorkers will learn the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who governs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to send armed forces to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against each other. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

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

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million city residents, has outpaced his rival by significant margins in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a convicts.

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

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a platform that has appealed to voters' anger at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the fresh face has created an enthusiasm within the party arguably not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a remarkable comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has angered the party base. A New York defeat of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, Cuomo, 67, isn't giving up. 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 his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has called Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, few had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held every edge. The classic political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in recent days, after footage surfaced suggesting him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, the candidate appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's escalating attacks.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins 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 shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Speaking to the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd