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New Yorkers will learn the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a race that will decide who governs and defends the country's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has become an increasingly bitter face-off, marked by alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main 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 the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has outpaced his rival by double-digits across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, the former governor, who stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a radio host made anti-Muslim comments about the candidate, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If Mamdani wins convincingly, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has generated an enthusiasm within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president in 2016.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, achieve a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has infuriated the party base. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for New York and his willingness to actually get out and meet people in the city has drawn an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate claimed the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions 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 his team, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should never have come to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

The former governor, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – offer a brighter outlook of the future than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced difficulties in the final phase, after footage emerged suggesting him implying the NYPD and the IDF were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in Gaza, indicated he was criticizing cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani appears to have won sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s escalating attacks.

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those seclusion, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our faith.”

Addressing the behavior of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd