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Residents of the Big Apple will learn the identity of their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will determine who governs and protects the country's most populous metropolis at a time when the former president has vowed to send military troops to the urban center.

Against that backdrop, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against each other. The election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, laced with alleged racism and anti-Muslim sentiment, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the Democratic party performs in next year's congressional races.

The Rising Progressive

On the left side is the democratic socialist, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought global notice. Representing the old guard is the former governor, the former Democratic New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the backing of wealthy contributors and corporations.

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

The Controversial Campaign

However, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will fight to the finish, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized his opponent's objectives as unrealistic, and in the final stretch chuckled along as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Recently, the independent was widely condemned as racist after sharing an AI-generated ad that featured a series of racial caricatures and showed Mamdani releasing a group of criminals.

It's been a particularly ugly end to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, floundering in its response to Trump's authoritarian grabs, adopts in the coming years.

National Implications

Should the progressive secures a clear victory, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a message that has appealed to Americans' anger at inequality, soaring price rises and the establishment. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least a portion of Mamdani's progressive proposals about affordability, given the fresh face has generated an enthusiasm 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 predicted to win easily in the Democratic primary, achieve a surprising comeback victory, it could reinforce the party's current model of cautious, lackluster resistance – a strategy that has angered the party base. A New York rejection of Mamdani's optimistic platform could persuade party leaders that the wisest course is to stick to the center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Campaign Energy

Residents of the city appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their candidate than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his readiness to actually get out and meet people in the metropolis has attracted an army of more than 50,000 volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the risks against him, the former governor 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 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 Cuomo asserted New York “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It reached a nadir last week, 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 mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to the capital and threatened to do the same to New York, has said about the progressive, and maybe that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of billionaire New Yorkers, including some who donated to the Republican in the last presidential race, have pumped millions into trying to elect the independent into office, as other powerful voices have pressured the Republican candidate to drop out from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should never have come to this. When Mamdani, one of one hundred fifty state legislators, launched his mayoral bid in October 2024, not many had heard of him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

The former governor, by contrast, entered smoothly into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic establishment figure, he had married a Kennedy and worked in Bill Clinton’s administration. He assumed office as New York governor in over a decade ago, 17 years after his father, Mario Cuomo, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the same political heritage. But his dedication to providing free buses and free childcare – along with the freeze-the-rent pledge – offer a more positive vision of the city's direction than Cuomo’s pessimistic predictions about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his vow to hire more police officers.

Campaign Controversies

Nevertheless, Mamdani has faced difficulties in recent days, after video emerged suggesting him suggesting the New York police department and the IDF 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 recording, recorded at a DSA gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and Israeli forces.

Emotional Response

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his reaction to Cuomo’s increasing rhetoric.

Mamdani addressed the independent's 9/11 remarks in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled 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, he said, that many Muslim New Yorkers had been taught “again and again”: “That safety could only be found in the margins of our community. That it is in those shadows alone where followers of Islam could express their true selves, and that if we were to emerge from those shadows, then it is in those silence that we must set aside our beliefs.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has claimed Mamd