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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their new city leader this election day, in a race that will decide who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a moment when Donald Trump has vowed to send military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The contest has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with accusations of racial bias and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

In the progressive corner is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the support of wealthy contributors and corporations.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has run on a agenda of economic justice and pledged to halt rent increases for about two million New Yorkers, has led Cuomo by double-digits across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's election to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, Cuomo, who resigned as the state's leader in 2021 amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in the final stretch laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a series of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani freeing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an race that could be key to the path that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to Trump's power moves, takes in the near future.

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have refused to endorse his campaign will be forced to reckon with a platform that has resonated with voters' frustration at economic disparity, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for Chuck Schumer and the House leader not to adopt at least some of the candidate's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not seen since the Vermont senator campaigned for the White House in 2016.

Conversely, should the former governor, who had been expected to win easily in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches victory, it could reinforce national Democrats' existing approach of considered, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York defeat of the progressive's progressive, positive message could convince party leaders that the best plan is to remain in the center – even as surveys show the present version of the party is widely disliked nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Voters in New York seem to prefer 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. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his optimistic vision for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand supporters, many of them youth or new participants.

Personal Attacks

However, the former governor, in his late sixties, isn't giving up. And with the risks stacked against him, the former governor has resorted to negative campaigning in the final days.

Following extensive throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, the independent has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an "radical", and popped up on Fox Business for an interview with a rightwing host, where the candidate asserted the city “will not survive” his opponent as city leader. It hit bottom last week, when Cuomo chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Campaign Dynamics

This strategy echoes much of what Trump, who has deployed the national guard to Washington DC and warned to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and perhaps that is expected. A group of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who contributed to Trump in the 2024 election, have pumped millions into trying to get Cuomo into office, as other powerful voices have urged Curtis Sliwa to drop out from the race.

Candidate Backgrounds

As far as the Cuomo camp, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this. When the assemblyman, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in October 2024, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by comparison, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who apparently held all the advantages. The quintessential political insider, he had married a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He became New York governor in 2011, seventeen years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the city's direction than his opponent's pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has encountered difficulties in recent days, after video emerged suggesting him suggesting the NYPD and the IDF were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” the candidate said in the recording, recorded at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. The progressive, a longtime critic of Israel who has said the country is committing genocide in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

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

The progressive responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an emotional video. In it, the candidate remembered how, when he first campaigned for the legislature, a family member advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his religion. It was a lesson, Mamdani said, that many local Muslims had been told “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those hidden spaces 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 faith.”

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