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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this election day, in a race that will determine who runs and defends the country's largest city at a moment when the former president has vowed to send military troops to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The election has turned into an acrimonious face-off, laced with alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have significant consequences for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and corporations.

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

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has made it clear he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Recently, Cuomo was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an election that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's power moves, adopts in the coming years.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a message that has resonated with voters' anger at economic disparity, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the fresh face has generated an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders ran for president in 2016.

Conversely, if Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has infuriated the party base. A NYC rejection of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that Mamdani supporters are far more enthusiastic about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them young or new participants.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the stakes stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might stick, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said Mamdani would “cheer” another 9/11-style incident.

Political Landscape

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has sent the national guard to the capital and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to Trump in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other influential figures have urged Curtis Sliwa to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in truth, barely anyone even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the identical role.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has encountered some challenges in the final phase, after footage surfaced suggesting him implying the NYPD 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 recording, filmed at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's escalating attacks.

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

Speaking to the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has alleged Mamd