🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will find out the identity of their new city leader this election day, in a contest that will determine who governs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy military troops to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, marked by alleged racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former 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 Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has trashed his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as racist after sharing an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the path that the party, struggling in its response to Trump's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to voters' 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 progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, if the former governor, who had been predicted to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of cautious, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered the party base. A New York defeat of the progressive's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, 67, isn't giving up. And with the stakes stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an interview with a rightwing host, where the candidate claimed the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. 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 9/11-style incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get the independent into office, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after video surfaced 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 neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security 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 seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

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