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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 decide who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to send armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious face-off, marked by accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors 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 leading candidate. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about two million city residents, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins in every poll conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly conclusion to an election that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to Trump's power moves, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should the progressive secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a platform that has resonated with voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation 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 affordability, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could cement national Democrats' current model of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of the progressive's progressive, positive message 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 widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of the city seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has resorted to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has labelled 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 the candidate claimed New York “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to Trump in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him suggesting the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, filmed at a DSA convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered 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 realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “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 express their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our beliefs.”

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