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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who runs and defends the nation's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of 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 the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and pledged to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has outpaced his rival by double-digits across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be critical to the direction that the party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

Should 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 appealed to Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has angered the party base. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

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

Personal Attacks

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

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has called Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It hit bottom 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 echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, few had heard of him, and in truth, few even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in the final phase, after video emerged appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in Gaza, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

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

The progressive addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could embrace 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 behavior of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd