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Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race 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 very different Democrats against each other. The election has become an acrimonious showdown, laced with accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two main candidates that could have significant consequences 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 people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of wealthy contributors and big business.

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 frontrunner. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has made it clear 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 the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani 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 voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising comeback victory, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A New York rejection of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes stacked against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has narrowed his focus on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in reality, 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 big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, 17 years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after video 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,” Mamdani said in the clip, 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 committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

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

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd