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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 decide who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis 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 matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against each other. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs 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 brought global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has outpaced his rival by double-digits in every poll conducted in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the near future.

National Implications

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his bid will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with Americans' frustration at inequality, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least some of the candidate's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the party arguably not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could cement national Democrats' current model of considered, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate'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 force of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes stacked against him, the ex-leader has resorted to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. 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 attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to drop out from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in 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 freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in recent days, after video emerged suggesting him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the city police and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could express their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Speaking to the behavior of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd