With the final mayoral debates taking place this week, New Yorkers are facing a decisive choice. The three candidates are representative of three very different visions of what New York might be in the following years. Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist, caused an uproar in polls and public opinion when he won the primaries against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who remains in the running for the race as an independent candidate. Curtis Sliwa, the Republican nominee in the race, remains in the running despite mounting pressure to drop out to narrow the gap between Cuomo and Mamdani.

The race between Mamdani and Cuomo comes at a significant time. The Democratic Party is scrambling to appeal to voters, with the Democratic National Committee undergoing leadership changes and no clear consensus on a policy strategy to market going forward. Throughout this uncertainty, Donald Trump and the Grand Old Party wreak havoc on the governmental systems through executive orders transforming immigration policy through ICE deployments, economic policy through extensive tariffs, and deploying the National Guard at will. The differences between Mamdani and Cuomo are emblematic of the struggle on radical leftist ideas within the Democratic party. Mamdani’s campaign has sparked national interest for attracting a record turnout of young voters, a group the Democratic Party has struggled to connect with, all through a grassroots campaign.

The lack of Democratic support for Mamdani as the party nominee is acutely observed from the delayed, and in certain cases, absence of endorsements. While more left-wing figures like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez supported Mamdani early on in June, the nominations from established Democrats, such as New York Governor Cathy Hochul were slower to endorse Mamdani, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries only announced his endorsement this past Friday, right before early voting began to open. Senior Democratic figures, such as Chuck Schumer, remain silent.

According to polls, Mamdani continues to lead with substantial cushioning. What grates, however, is the hypocrisy of the Democrats. During the 2024 presidential elections, many remember the party’s message being widened to encompass more moderate policies. This was done to attract more voters, but ultimately irritated its more left-leaning supporters who had to accept this shift toward the center. This strategy was ultimately unsuccessful, as Trump secured a second term. The Democrats should learn from newcomers such as Zohran Mamdani, who create engagement and promise policy that stirs excitement among constituents. Yet, their reluctance to embrace and investigate this success is telling.

Mamdani’s past tweets to “defund the police,” and references to shut down Rikers prison are all representative of what makes establishment Democrats so wary to support him. In fact, the opening page on Andrew Cuomo’s campaign website has the button “Say No to Zo”, which leads to a visual of a lie detector exploding. Following that, a page in neon red, orange, and blue details how Mamdani has called to legalize prostitution, defund the police, and is a “prominent member” of the Democratic Socialists of America. These buried tweets were repeatedly referenced in the mayoral debates as well, despite Mamdani making it explicitly clear he no longer stands by many of these policy stances.

Even more alarming is the blatant Islamophobia that Cuomo and his supporters have not shied away from. In the most recent mayoral debate, Cuomo questioned what Mamdani would do in response to another 9/11 attack, and a recently deleted AI-generated ad depicting “Criminals for Zohran” with blatantly Islamophobic attacks. This only serves to further highlight the Democrat’s fear of embracing new members and ideas, especially when faced with the silence of any sort of outrage on behalf of their nominee.

This is not just any other mayoral election with the potential for another Eric Adams mandate. Under Donald Trump, ICE has attacked vendors on Canal Street and Chinatown and has only promised more to come. The tried and true strategy of Democrats to condemn violence — insist that everything is fine, and wait for the next election cycle — will not work. Andrew Cuomo has a confirmed record of sexual harassment against 11 women, which led to his resignation as Governor of New York and demonstrated incompetence to lead through crisis, as demonstrated through COVID-19. Nonetheless, the silence from established Democrats persists, revealing the stale message and workings of the party. Counter-attacks are non-existent, only reactionary and crushing compromise is demanded from those straying too far from the center.

In the face of this, or perhaps because of it, Mamdani’s campaign gains traction with simple, effective policies: freeze the rent, make buses free, no cost childcare. This campaign will likely be dissected once it is over, regardless of the election’s outcome, and individuals will wonder what caused such a significant change in New York City’s political landscape. Whether this will become a blueprint and a new strategy for the Democratic party or interpreted to be a one-hit wonder remains to be seen.