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New Yorkers will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who runs and defends the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against each other. The election 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 major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll conducted in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

It's been a particularly ugly conclusion to an election that could be critical to the path that the party, floundering in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

Should the progressive wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least some of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the party perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, complete a surprising comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of cautious, lackluster opposition – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Residents of the city seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

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

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani personally. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to get the independent elected, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The classic political insider, he had married a Kennedy and served in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature 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 – offer a more positive vision of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate 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 throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, 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 city police and Israeli forces.

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 addressed the independent's terrorism comments 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 Muslim faith. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

Speaking to the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd