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Residents of the Big Apple will discover the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two main contenders that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has outpaced his rival by significant margins in every poll taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, the former governor, who resigned as governor in recent years amid allegations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a series of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly end to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to the former president's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with Americans' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce the party's current model of cautious, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand 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 negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on attacking the candidate personally. He has labelled his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

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 take similar action to NYC, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent into office, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, launched his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had married a Kennedy and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, 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 more positive vision of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, 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 suggesting the New York police department and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA gathering in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our faith.”

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