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Residents of the Big Apple will discover the identity of their new city leader this election day, in a contest that will decide who runs and defends the country's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to deploy military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an acrimonious 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 party fares 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 people-powered movement has attracted global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of affordability and pledged to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits in every poll conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

Yet, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of sexual harassment, has made it clear he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby end to an election that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to voters' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Polls show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's engaging content on social media, his optimistic vision for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has drawn an force of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

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

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking the candidate personally. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted the city “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy mirrors much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should never have come to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in October 2024, not many had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a DSA convention in recent years. The progressive, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

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

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “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 express their true selves, 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 behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd