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

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democrats against one another. The contest has become an acrimonious showdown, laced with accusations of racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two main contenders that could have major implications for how the party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys conducted in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a platform that has appealed to voters' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the fresh face has created an excitement within the party arguably not seen since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a surprising comeback victory, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

Following extensive launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might resonate, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has faced some challenges in the final phase, after video surfaced suggesting him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing 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 response to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, 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 Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd