In the final, fevered days of the 2025 New York City mayoral race, the political landscape has been dominated by a clash of personalities, visions, and generational divides. At the heart of the contest stands former Governor Andrew Cuomo, a seasoned political heavyweight fighting to reclaim his relevance, and Zohran Mamdani, a rising progressive star promising bold change—and, if elected, set to become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
On November 1, 2025, Cuomo took the stage at a campaign event in Queens, his tone unmistakably urgent. He trained his fire on Mamdani, questioning the younger candidate’s readiness for the city’s top job. "He is dangerously unqualified," Cuomo declared, as reported by NPR. "When you are mayor of the city of New York, that is a big job. You are responsible for eight and a half million lives. Mayor of New York City should not be your first job."
It’s an attack Cuomo has repeated often, underscoring the stark contrast between his own lengthy resume and Mamdani’s relatively recent entry into politics. At 67, Cuomo’s decades-long career includes a stint as U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Clinton in the late 1990s, a term as New York State Attorney General beginning in 2006, and a decade as governor from 2011 to 2021. Mamdani, by comparison, only turned 34 in October and has served as a New York State Assemblyman since 2020, following an earlier, more unconventional career as a rapper performing under the name Mr. Cardamom—a detail Cuomo has not hesitated to mock on the trail.
But the difference in experience is only one front in a much broader battle over the soul of the Democratic Party and the future of New York City. Cuomo, once a darling of the party establishment, has seen his star dim in recent years. His political prominence peaked during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, when his daily webcasts drew national attention for their blend of hopefulness and candor. Yet the subsequent months brought a cascade of controversy: mounting questions about his administration’s handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic, and a series of sexual misconduct allegations from women, including some who worked under his authority. Cuomo has steadfastly denied wrongdoing but ultimately resigned in August 2021, telling the public, "Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing."
For his part, Mamdani has made Cuomo’s downfall a central theme of his campaign. During a heated mayoral debate, he drew a sharp contrast: "What I don't have in experience, I make up for in integrity. And what you don't have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience." According to NPR, Mamdani’s message has resonated with voters hungry for change and wary of the old guard’s baggage.
Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has positioned himself as the face of the city’s progressive movement. His policy proposals are ambitious: a citywide rent freeze, free bus service to boost affordability, and a raft of other left-leaning ideas aimed at reimagining what New York can be. If elected, he would break barriers as the city’s first Muslim mayor, a milestone not lost on his supporters or critics.
Yet Cuomo’s own record complicates the narrative. Despite his recent pivot to the center, he’s hardly a stranger to progressive achievements. He was instrumental in legalizing same-sex marriage in New York in 2011, a landmark victory for LGBTQ rights. In 2013, he championed the SAFE Act, then considered one of the strictest gun control laws in the country. He also launched a statewide initiative to downsize New York’s prison system, which now houses roughly half as many inmates as before, and was a vocal advocate for "cashless bail," a policy he signed into law in 2019.
These accomplishments once earned Cuomo the support of the party’s left flank, though the winds have shifted. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in a public endorsement, praised Cuomo’s pragmatism and ability to "get big things done, including the redevelopment of LaGuardia Airport, the opening of the 2nd Avenue Subway, and the creation of Moynihan Station—all long-stalled projects that he jump-started and completed." Bloomberg added, "He has governed as a pragmatist, focused on solving problems rather than engaging in ideological or partisan warfare."
Still, the electorate appears to be looking elsewhere for inspiration. Polls have shown Mamdani leading the general election by double-digit margins for weeks, following his decisive victory over Cuomo in the Democratic Party primary earlier this year. As political analyst J.C. Polanco observed, "Experience matters and Assemblyman Mamdani doesn't have the same experience compared with Cuomo." Yet, Polanco continued, "In modern populist politics, on the left and right, a deep resume doesn't hold as much sway with voters. Experience doesn't count as much. A bunch of Democrats are saying it doesn't matter."
Part of Mamdani’s success can be traced to his deft use of social media. His hopeful, often viral messages on platforms like TikTok and Instagram have captured the imagination of younger voters and those disillusioned with traditional politics. Cuomo himself has acknowledged this dynamic, lamenting that his more old-school campaign style has failed to ignite the same spark.
In response, Cuomo has tacked aggressively to the right in the final days of the race, recasting himself as a pro-business, pro-law-and-order centrist Democrat. At a recent stop at a shopping mall in Queens, he drew a bright line between himself and Mamdani: "He is a socialist. Democrats don't believe in socialism, they're not anti-business, they're not anti-wealth, they're not anti-jobs. And they're not anti-public safety and they're not anti-NYPD. They want safe communities."
This repositioning highlights a broader struggle within the Democratic Party—one between the pragmatic centrism of the old guard and the idealistic energy of the new progressives. For some, Cuomo’s experience and track record remain persuasive; for others, Mamdani’s promise of integrity and fresh ideas is the antidote to years of scandal and stagnation.
As Election Day looms, the city stands at a crossroads. Will voters opt for the steady hand of a political veteran determined to prove he still matters, or embrace a new voice promising to shake up the status quo? One thing is certain: the outcome will reverberate far beyond City Hall, shaping the direction of the Democratic Party—and New York itself—for years to come.
