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Residents of the Big Apple will learn who will be their next mayor this election day, in a race that will decide who runs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to deploy armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, laced with accusations of racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have major implications for how the Democratic party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought global notice. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is the progressive, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the party primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has made it clear he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt fashion. He has criticized Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

This represents a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has appealed to Americans' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

However, if Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising comeback victory, it could cement the party's current model of considered, uninspiring opposition – a strategy that has angered grassroots members. A New York defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message 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 widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. The candidate's engaging content on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has drawn an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

However, Cuomo, 67, isn't giving up. And with the stakes against him, the ex-leader has resorted to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on attacking the candidate personally. He has called Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have pressured Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in truth, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, 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 classic political insider, he had wed a political dynasty member and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – 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 vow to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced appearing to show him suggesting the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the clip, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America convention in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his response to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani addressed the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani remembered how, when he first ran for state assembly, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our faith.”

Addressing the actions of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd