🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will discover the identity of their new city leader this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The election has turned into an acrimonious face-off, laced with accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates 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 meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of affordability and pledged to halt rent increases for about 2 million city residents, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations 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 his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be critical to the path that the party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader 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 witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable comeback win, it could cement national Democrats' current model of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the stakes 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 stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting Mamdani personally. He has called Mamdani, 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” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to Trump in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had heard of him, and in reality, few even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, 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 affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in recent days, after video surfaced suggesting him suggesting the New York police department 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 IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

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