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New Yorkers will find out the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who governs and defends the country's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to deploy armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has become an increasingly bitter showdown, laced with alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the former longshot who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a convicts.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an election that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with voters' frustration at inequality, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an enthusiasm within the party arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of cautious, 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 political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani'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 drawn an force of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has resorted to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. 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 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes 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 perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had heard of him, and in reality, few even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him suggesting the New York police department and the IDF were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

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

The progressive responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to disclose 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 shadows of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Speaking to the behavior of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd