🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will learn the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who runs and protects the nation's largest city at a time when the former president has vowed to send armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious 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 party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A New York rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to stick to the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate personally. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to the capital and warned to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to get the independent elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The quintessential political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him implying the NYPD 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 influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, 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 escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd