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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 protects the nation's most populous metropolis at a moment when the former president has threatened to send armed forces to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democratic figures against each other. The election has turned into an increasingly bitter face-off, marked by alleged racial bias and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two main candidates that could have major implications for how the party fares in next year's congressional races.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose meteoric rise and grassroots campaign has attracted international attention. On the establishment side is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and benefiting from the support of ultra-rich donors and big business.

As the election approaches, it is Mamdani, the one-time underdog who defeated his opponent in the party primary who is solidly positioned as the leading candidate. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a platform of economic justice and pledged to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led Cuomo by significant margins in every poll taken in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to lose.

A Bitter Contest

Yet, the former governor, who resigned as governor in recent years amid allegations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will fight to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed his opponent's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a radio host made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was widely condemned as bigoted after posting an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racist stereotypes and showed his opponent 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 reaction to the former president's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

National Implications

If Mamdani secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be forced to reckon with a platform that has appealed to voters' frustration at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and Hakeem Jeffries not to embrace at least some of Mamdani's progressive proposals about economic justice, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not witnessed since Bernie Sanders ran for president eight years ago.

Conversely, if the former governor, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the June primary, complete a remarkable comeback win, it could reinforce the party's existing approach of cautious, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has infuriated grassroots members. A New York defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could persuade Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to remain in the political center – even as polls show the present version of the party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Voter Enthusiasm

Voters in New York appear to favor the progressive agenda. Polls show that his backers are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent during the race. Mamdani's engaging content on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually venture out and meet people in the city has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, in his late sixties, continues to fight. And with the risks against him, the former governor has resorted to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at Mamdani to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking Mamdani personally. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to South Asian heritage, 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 hit bottom recently, when the former governor laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist attack.

Campaign Dynamics

The line of attack mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the national guard to the capital and threatened to take similar action to New York, has said about Mamdani, 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 invested heavily into trying to elect the independent elected, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to drop out from the race.

Political Histories

For the Cuomo camp, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty New York state assembly members, started his mayoral bid in last year, not many had heard of him, and in reality, barely anyone even paid attention.

Cuomo, by comparison, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the immediate frontrunner. He was the big beast who seemingly held every edge. The classic establishment figure, he had married a political dynasty member and served in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his father, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his commitment to providing free buses and affordable child services – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a more positive vision of the future than his opponent's dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced some challenges in recent days, after video surfaced appearing to show him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were connected.

“We have to make clear that when the boot of the police is on your neck, it’s been influenced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in the clip, 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 Gaza, indicated he was questioning joint training exercises between the NYPD and IDF.

Powerful Moment

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani responded to Cuomo’s 9/11 remarks in an emotional video. 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, Mamdani said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been told “again and again”: “That security could only be found in the margins of our city. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could express their full identities, and that if we were to step out from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must leave our beliefs.”

Addressing the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd