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Residents of the Big Apple will find out the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who runs and defends the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has vowed to send armed forces to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two main candidates that could have major implications for how the party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- 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 Mamdani, the former longshot who beat his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, Cuomo, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has trashed Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a particularly ugly end to an election that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the coming years.

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to voters' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader not to adopt at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the party arguably not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

However, should the former governor, who had been predicted to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce the party's current model of considered, lackluster opposition – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

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

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, the independent has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, 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 recently, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of wealthy residents, including some who donated to the Republican in the 2024 election, have invested heavily into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The classic political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly 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 – offer a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced difficulties in the final phase, after video surfaced suggesting him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was criticizing joint training exercises between the city police and Israeli forces.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate appears to have won sympathy and support, 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 advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our faith.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd