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New Yorkers will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who runs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against one another. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic 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 solidly positioned as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has outpaced Cuomo by significant margins in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

However, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has criticized his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be key to the direction that the party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the party arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, if the former governor, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a remarkable comeback victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster opposition – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A New York rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has drawn an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on conservative media for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

For the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, 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 rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in recent days, after video surfaced suggesting 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 police is on your throat, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA convention in recent years. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd