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New Yorkers will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who runs and protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democratic figures against each other. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, laced with accusations of racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a platform of affordability and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million city residents, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly conclusion to an election that could be key to the path that the party, struggling in its response to the former president's power moves, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a message that has appealed to Americans' frustration at inequality, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader not to adopt at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement national Democrats' current model of cautious, lackluster opposition – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has drawn an force of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate 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 radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that is expected. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw 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 the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in March 2025 and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him implying the New York police department and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic 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, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani responded to the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims 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 Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the behavior of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd