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Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who governs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to deploy armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The election has become an acrimonious showdown, 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 Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed his opponent's objectives as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

This represents a particularly ugly end to an race that could be critical to the path that the party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with voters' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

However, should Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has angered the party base. A New York rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince 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.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. 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 influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, the candidate has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him implying the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is committing genocide in Gaza, indicated he was questioning 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 his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member suggested 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 security could only be found in the margins of our city. 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 silence that we must leave our faith.”

Addressing the behavior of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd