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New Yorkers will find out the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will decide who governs and protects the nation's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy armed forces to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an acrimonious showdown, laced with alleged racism and Islamophobia, 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 congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the young progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of affordability and promised to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a series of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby end to an election that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the fresh face has created an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a surprising comeback win, it could reinforce the party's current model of considered, lackluster resistance – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on social media, his optimistic vision for the city and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has drawn an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has resorted to ugly messaging in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has narrowed his focus on targeting the candidate personally. He has called Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo claimed the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should never have come to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in last year, few had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in 2011, 17 years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after video surfaced appearing to show him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to tell people about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must leave our faith.”

Addressing the behavior of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd