🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will discover who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who governs and protects 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 experienced a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious showdown, marked by alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has outpaced his rival by double-digits across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an race that could be critical to the direction that the party, floundering in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of considered, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has infuriated the party base. A New York rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually get out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to the capital and warned to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, launched his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a Kennedy and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected 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 city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

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

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's escalating attacks.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, he 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 emerge from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd