Voters in New York City are casting their ballots for the first time in local elections since Donald Trump began his second term as president.
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, faces 67-year-old Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat running as a more centrist independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary, four years after resigning as New York state's governor in disgrace.
Far beyond New York City's five boroughs, the 2025 mayoral election has commanded global attention.
As the largest city in the United States, with a budget of around US$250 billion ($386 billion), this election will decide the most powerful municipal official in the country.
With US politics experiencing a profound shake-up under President Donald Trump, the future of one of America's most progressive and culturally influential cities could have wide implications.
When will we know the results?
Polls will close at 9pm Tuesday local time (1pm Wednesday AEDT). Results are expected to come in quickly, but declaring a winner could take days if it's a tight race.
Who are the candidates?
The front-runner is Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist.
Born in Uganda, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and, if elected, would be New York's first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
He has proposed ambitious left-wing policies, including freezing rents for nearly a million apartments and making the city's buses free.
His campaign has drawn both admiration and animosity from both sides of the political aisle.
First elected to the New York State Assembly in 2020, little was known about the Democratic candidate ahead of the election.
Polling in second place is Andrew Cuomo, 67, a former Democrat who lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primaries and re-entered the race as an independent.
He has received US$20 million ($30 million) in political donations from backers traditionally seen as donating to Republican candidates.
Trump has reluctantly backed him over Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
"We need a city with lower rents, safer streets, where buying your first home is once again possible, where childcare won't bankrupt you," Cuomo said.
Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace as New York governor four years ago after sexual harassment allegations emerged. Source: Getty / Alexi J. Rosenfeld
Calls for his resignation came after an investigation found he had sexually harassed at least 10 women, most of whom worked for him at the time.
He denies any wrongdoing and prosecutors say, despite the credibility of the allegations, they could not pursue criminal charges without further evidence.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is the leader of the Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime-prevention group that gained notoriety for its patrols of the city subway system.
Known for his red beret, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa is the founder of the Guardian Angels, famous for citizen anti-crime patrols of the NYC subways during the gritty 1980s. Source: Getty / Stephanie Keith
Regularly seen donning a red beret, Sliwa has more recently been a local political candidate, a radio show host, and a media personality.
Despite being a Republican, Sliwa does not identify as part of the Make America Great Again movement aligned with Trump.
He faced calls from several prominent Republicans to drop out of the race, amid concerns he would split the moderate-conservative vote and boost Mamdani's chance at winning.
What has Trump said?
A day after endorsing Cuomo, Trump said on Tuesday that any Jewish New Yorker who voted for Mamdani, a critic of the Israeli government who would be the city's first Muslim mayor, was a "stupid person."
Trump has previously threatened to cut federal funding if Mamdani were elected, also labelling him a "communist" and hinting that he might deploy the national guard if he became mayor.
Other races across the country
Voters are also heading to the ballot box in other states.
In California, voters will decide whether to give Democrats the power to redraw the state's congressional map, expanding a national battle over redistricting that could determine which party controls the US House of Representatives after next year's midterm elections.
California's ballot measure proposition 50, which would install a new Democratic-backed congressional map that aims to flip five Republican seats in response to a similar move by Texas, is also widely expected to pass.
Voters in Virginia and New Jersey are also choosing their governors, with polls closing on Tuesday evening local time (Wednesday morning AEDT).
Democrats will be watching Tuesday's results carefully, with the party locked out of power in Washington and struggling to find consensus on the best way to oppose Trump, a Republican, and find a path out of the political wilderness.
While Tuesday's results will offer some insight into the mood of US voters, the midterm elections are a year away, an eternity in politics.
— With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
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