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Residents of the Big Apple will discover the identity of their new city leader this election day, in a contest that will determine who governs and defends the country's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, marked by accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat Cuomo in the Democratic 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 significant margins across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

This represents a rather grubby conclusion to an election that could be critical to the direction that the party, floundering in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should the progressive wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse 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 Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the party arguably not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been predicted to win easily in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could cement national Democrats' existing approach of cautious, lackluster opposition – a strategy 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 polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. The candidate's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the city has drawn an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting Mamdani personally. He has labelled his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo claimed New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent elected, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When the assemblyman, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, launched his mayoral bid in last year, few had heard of him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and served in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, the former governor, stepped down from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a more positive vision of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, Mamdani has faced some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in 2023. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, indicated he was criticizing cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member suggested 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 safety could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, 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 behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd