Every few steps, someone stopped Zohran Mamdani – a handshake here, a selfie there, a shout of encouragement from across the street – as he made his way through the streets of Manhattan, Harlem, Brooklyn and Queens.
Trailing behind him were journalists from around the world, including The National, their cameras catching each pause, smile and handshake.
Supporters crowded round for selfies, as onlookers, from teenagers sipping matcha to older New Yorkers waiting for the bus, watched with the kind of fascination usually reserved for film stars. Rarely has a New York mayoral race stirred such excitement.
On Sunday, Mr Mamdani's campaign broke its own record, with more than 103,000 doors knocked in a day, in a show of force fuelled by an army of young volunteers.
His team says more than 90,000 New Yorkers have joined the effort, turning what began as a long-shot bid into a citywide movement powered by idealism and urgency.
“He has made it crystal clear that his only interest is in running our city and serving every single New Yorker … that’s exactly what New York needs,” a young volunteer from Brooklyn told The National.
At 34, Mr Mamdani, a naturalised Muslim American from Uganda and a state assemblyman from Queens, stands at the threshold of history. If elected on Tuesday, he would become the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century and its first Muslim and South Asian leader.
Polls opened at 6am and New Yorkers have until 9pm to vote for their new mayor. Mr Mamdani is up against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned four years ago amid sexual harassment allegations and is running as an independent. The Republican candidate is Curtis Sliwa, known for founding the Guardian Angels and wearing the volunteer crime-fighting group's signature red beret.
The city Mr Mamdani hopes to lead is one of sharp contrasts. The richest 1 per cent of New Yorkers contribute more than 40 per cent of all state and city tax revenue, in a sign of just how much New York depends on its wealthiest, even as their numbers dwindle. Wall Street is shrinking, as firms move jobs to cheaper locations such as Texas and Utah, while billionaires and millionaires continue to flee for Florida.
According to the Partnership for New York City, a non-profit organisation representing about 300 of the city’s largest employers, JPMorgan Chase now has more workers in Texas than in its home state.
Meanwhile, for ordinary New Yorkers, average rent has soared to more than twice the median across the 50 largest US cities, pushing families to the edge in a city that can feel increasingly out of reach.
Mr Mamdani has offered free childcare, free bus fares, a $30-an-hour minimum wage by 2030 and a four-year rent freeze. He says his agenda would be financed by new taxes on corporations and millionaires.
But questions remain over whether he can deliver on such sweeping promises and how a newcomer with no executive experience would fare against the hostile administration of US President Donald Trump, which is already threatening to withhold the city’s federal funding.
Mr Mamdani's popularity in New York has caused concern among Democrats in Washington, where some worry his brand of socialism, popular with younger voters, could deepen the divide between progressives and moderates before next year’s midterm elections.
When asked by CNN whether Mr Mamdani represented the future of the party, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said the party’s direction would be shaped by members of the House Democratic Caucus working nationwide to regain control of the chamber.
Maria Danzilo, a former New York state Senate candidate, told The National that Democrats were banking on victories in Tuesday’s elections to build momentum before 2026, as the party struggles with low approval ratings nationwide.
Apart from the New York mayoral election, two governorships are up for grabs and a proposal to redraw California's congressional districts are among the races to watch.
“If [Mr Mamdani] wins by a landslide, Democrats on the left will see it as a positive sign heading into 2026 and will seek to build on his messaging,” Ms Danzilo said.
“Conversely, if the race is closer than polls predict, it will show that voters see through his attempt to distance himself from more extreme socialist positions he has taken in the past. Either way, New York City may be regarded as an outlier.
“Whether Mamdani helps or hurts the Democratic Party at large, if he wins, will depend on his success in his first year, leading into the 2026 midterm elections.
“Should he fail to deliver on campaign promises … his election could have a serious detrimental effect on the party. This will play out nationally and in the 2026 state elections for governor.”
