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Residents of the Big Apple will find out the identity of their next mayor this election day, in a contest that will determine who runs and defends the nation's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to send armed forces to the city.

Against that backdrop, New York has experienced a mayoral election that has pitted two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against one another. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter showdown, laced with accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main contenders that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose meteoric rise and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors and corporations.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated Cuomo in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and promised to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's race to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unachievable, and in recent days chuckled along as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

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

National Implications

If the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to Americans' anger at inequality, inflation and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries not to adopt at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about economic justice, given the newcomer has generated an enthusiasm within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

Conversely, should Cuomo, who had been predicted to win easily in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce the party's existing approach of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has angered grassroots members. A New York rejection of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers 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 digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for New York and his readiness to actually venture out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of more than 50,000 supporters, many of them young or first-time voters.

Negative Tactics

Yet, Cuomo, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in the final days.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on attacking Mamdani directly. He has called his rival, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, 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 reached a nadir recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to do the same to NYC, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, 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 urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, not many had known him, and in truth, few even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, entered smoothly into the contest in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who apparently held every edge. The classic political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

Mamdani, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – offer a more positive vision of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has faced difficulties in recent days, after video emerged appearing to show him implying the New York police department and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your throat, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the recording, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in 2023. The progressive, a vocal opponent of Israel who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was criticizing cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, the candidate 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 emotional video. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first ran for the legislature, a Muslim uncle suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a realization, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could embrace their true selves, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Speaking to the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd