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New Yorkers will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will determine who governs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has threatened to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against one another. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of racism 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 midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former 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 beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins in every poll taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be compelled to address a platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the party arguably not witnessed since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has angered the party base. A New York defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

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 the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo 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 the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, few had known him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in recently, 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 future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after video surfaced appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in 2023. The progressive, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, he 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 shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd