🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who runs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two main candidates that could have significant consequences for how the party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who beat Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has led Cuomo by double-digits across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the near future.

National Implications

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a platform that has resonated with Americans' anger at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least some of the candidate's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of considered, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has angered the party base. 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 deeply unpopular across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's engaging content on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

However, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes stacked against him, the former governor has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate claimed New York “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.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to take similar action 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 last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get the independent into office, as other influential figures have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a Kennedy and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, 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 – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

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

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks 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 Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Speaking to the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd