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New Yorkers will learn the identity of 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 Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against each other. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, marked by accusations of racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the political differences between the two leading contenders that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat Cuomo in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by significant margins across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's election to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid accusations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about the candidate, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after sharing an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

This represents a particularly ugly end to an election that could be critical to the path that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to Trump's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the near future.

Broader Consequences

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a message that has resonated with Americans' frustration at economic disparity, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks perhaps not witnessed since the Vermont senator ran for president eight years ago.

However, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a surprising riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's existing approach of considered, lackluster opposition – a strategy that has angered the party base. A New York defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the wisest course is to remain in the center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are far more enthusiastic about their choice than Cuomo backers, something that has been evident during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on social media, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has drawn an force of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking the candidate directly. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with Maria Bartiromo, where Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It reached a nadir recently, 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 echoes much of what the former president, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to NYC, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that is expected. A group of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to elect Cuomo elected, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, launched his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in reality, barely anyone even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the political heavyweight who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was voted in to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Campaign Controversies

Still, the candidate has faced difficulties in recent days, after video emerged suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

The progressive responded to Cuomo’s terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, Mamdani recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, he said, that many local Muslims had been taught “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where Muslims could embrace their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd