What this New York Mayoral Election Unveils About the Democratic Party

Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their new city leader this Tuesday, in a contest that will decide who runs and protects the nation's largest city at a moment when the former president has threatened to deploy armed forces to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an acrimonious face-off, 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 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 rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. The candidate, who has run on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits in every poll conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after posting an artificial intelligence video that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

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

National Implications

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with Americans' frustration at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

However, should Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's current model of considered, uninspiring resistance – a strategy that has angered the party base. A NYC defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the political center – even as polls show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed the city “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 attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. 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 influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

For the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this point. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in last year, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a more positive vision of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in recent days, after video surfaced suggesting him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in 2023. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

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

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That safety 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 seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd