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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who governs and defends the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has threatened to deploy military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an acrimonious face-off, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a platform of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about 2 million city residents, has led Cuomo by significant margins in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racist stereotypes 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 Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with Americans' anger at inequality, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, should Cuomo, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, achieve a surprising comeback victory, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or new participants.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking Mamdani personally. He has called Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir recently, when Cuomo laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy mirrors much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to the Republican in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, 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 establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a DSA convention in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

The progressive addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows 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 shadows that we must leave our faith.”

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