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New Yorkers will find out the identity of their new city leader this election day, in a contest that will decide who governs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against one another. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading 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 meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought international attention. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the former longshot who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys conducted in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes 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 voters' anger at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be hard for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, if the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, achieve a surprising comeback victory, it could cement national Democrats' current model of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A New York rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an force of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

Yet, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the stakes stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on conservative media for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in recent days, after video surfaced appearing to show him implying the NYPD and the IDF 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, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his response to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. 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 community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Addressing the behavior of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd