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New Yorkers will learn who will be their new city leader this election day, in a race that will decide who runs and protects the nation's largest city at a time when the former president has vowed to send military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has experienced a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democratic figures against one another. The election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, laced with accusations of racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main 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 progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has attracted international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the backing of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the former longshot who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has run on a platform of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has outpaced his rival by significant margins in every poll taken in the fall, and it is very much the younger man's election to lose.

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair fashion. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a slew of racial caricatures and showed his opponent releasing a group of criminals.

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

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with voters' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the political elite. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the newcomer has generated an excitement within the party perhaps not seen since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House in 2016.

However, should Cuomo, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, complete a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could reinforce the party's current model of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has infuriated the party base. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's progressive, positive message could persuade party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Residents of New York seem to prefer the Mamdani vision. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their candidate than Cuomo backers, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for New York and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or new participants.

Negative Tactics

However, the former governor, 67, continues to fight. And with the risks stacked against him, the ex-leader has turned to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

Following extensive launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking the candidate personally. He has called his rival, who was born in Uganda to South Asian heritage, an "radical", and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said Mamdani would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and threatened to take similar action to NYC, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo elected, as other influential figures have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are worried, it should not have reached to this point. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in truth, few even paid attention.

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 classic establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, Mamdani has faced difficulties in the final phase, 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 Israeli military,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a DSA convention in 2023. Mamdani, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, indicated he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

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

The progressive addressed Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first ran for the legislature, a family member suggested to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a realization, he said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the shadows of our community. That it is in those hidden spaces alone where Muslims could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those seclusion, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our faith.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd