🔗 Share this article

New Yorkers will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has threatened to send armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures 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 significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and corporations.

With days to go, 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 agenda of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases 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 race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has generated an enthusiasm within the party arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's current model of considered, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

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

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on attacking the candidate personally. 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 claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had heard of him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had married a Kennedy and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down 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 no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings 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 surfaced appearing to show 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 neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

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