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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and protects the nation's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against one another. The contest has become an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the former Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of wealthy contributors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by significant margins in every poll conducted in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an election that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the near future.

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with voters' anger at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the party arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, achieve a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. Mamdani's engaging content on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, the former governor, in his late sixties, 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 resonate, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to Trump in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, 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 heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, the candidate has faced difficulties in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his response to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those shadows 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 set aside our beliefs.”

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