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Residents of the Big Apple will discover the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will determine who runs and defends the country's largest city at a moment when the former president has vowed to deploy armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democrats against each other. The election has become an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party fares in next year's midterm elections.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to Trump's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive 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 Americans' anger 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 a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, if the former governor, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, achieve a remarkable comeback victory, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A New York defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually get out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

However, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, 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 pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature 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 – present a more positive vision of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, 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 boot of the police is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA gathering in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and IDF.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member advised to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a realization, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

Speaking to the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd