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Residents of the Big Apple will discover who will be their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will determine who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to send armed forces to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious face-off, marked by alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two main contenders that could have major implications for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is the progressive, the former longshot who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to halt rent increases for about two million city residents, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

National Implications

If Mamdani 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 economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the party perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an interview with a rightwing host, where the candidate claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. 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 powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, few had heard of him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in March 2025 and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his father, the former governor, left office from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – present a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has encountered some challenges in recent days, after video emerged appearing to show him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced 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 Israel who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “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 emerge from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

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