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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a contest that will determine who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has vowed to deploy military troops to the urban center.

In this context, New York has witnessed a race for mayor that has matched two very different Democratic figures against each other. The contest has become an acrimonious face-off, marked by 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

In the progressive corner is Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old progressive candidate whose rapid ascent and people-powered movement has brought international attention. Representing the old guard is Andrew Cuomo, the ex- New York governor now campaigning independently – and enjoying the support of wealthy contributors and big business.

With days to go, it is the progressive, the former longshot who defeated his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the leading candidate. The candidate, who has campaigned on a agenda of economic justice and promised to freeze rent for about two million city residents, has led his rival by significant margins across all surveys taken in October, and it is very much the younger man's race to throw away.

The Controversial Campaign

However, the former governor, who stepped down as the state's leader in recent years amid allegations of misconduct, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an above-the-belt manner. He has trashed Mamdani's objectives as unachievable, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani, who is a Muslim. Two weeks ago, the independent was widely condemned as racist after posting an AI-generated ad that included a series of racial caricatures and showed his opponent freeing a group of criminals.

This represents a rather grubby conclusion to an race that could be critical to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its reaction to Trump's authoritarian grabs, takes in the near future.

Broader Consequences

Should Mamdani wins convincingly, the establishment party leaders who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a platform that has resonated with Americans' frustration at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be difficult for the Senate leader and the House leader not to embrace at least some of the candidate's ambitious ideas about affordability, given the newcomer has created an excitement within the Democratic ranks arguably not witnessed since Bernie Sanders campaigned for the White House eight years ago.

However, should Cuomo, who had been expected to sail to victory in the June primary, achieve a remarkable riches-to-rags-to-riches win, it could cement the party's current model of considered, uninspiring opposition – a tactic that has angered the party base. A New York defeat of the progressive's optimistic platform could convince Schumer and Jeffries that the best plan is to stick to the center – even as polls show the present version of the Democratic party is widely disliked across the country.

Campaign Energy

Voters in the city seem to prefer the progressive agenda. Surveys show that his backers are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been evident throughout the campaign. The candidate's snappy videos on social media, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an army of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them young or new participants.

Personal Attacks

Yet, the former governor, 67, isn't giving up. And with the stakes stacked against him, the former governor has turned to ugly messaging in the final days.

After spending months launching various attacks at his opponent to see what might stick, Cuomo has narrowed his focus on attacking the candidate directly. He has labelled Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on Fox Business for an interview with Maria Bartiromo, where the candidate claimed the city “will not survive” Mamdani as mayor. It hit bottom recently, when Cuomo laughed along and said “that’s another problem” after a broadcaster said the candidate would “cheer” another 9/11-style attack.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what Trump, who has sent the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to take similar action to New York, has said about Mamdani, and maybe that is expected. 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 influential figures have pressured the Republican candidate to withdraw from the contest.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his wealthy backers, are worried, it should not have reached to this. When Mamdani, one of 150 state legislators, started his campaign for mayor in last year, not many had known him, and in reality, few even noticed.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the big beast who seemingly held all the advantages. The classic political insider, he had wed a Kennedy and worked in a Democratic presidency. He became the state's leader in over a decade ago, seventeen years after his father, Mario Cuomo, stepped down from the identical role.

The progressive, who was elected to the New York state assembly in 2020, does not have the same political heritage. But his commitment to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a brighter outlook of the future than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and unfettered crime, and his vow to increase police presence.

Recent Challenges

Still, the candidate has faced some challenges in recent days, after video surfaced suggesting him implying 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 throat, it’s been laced by the IDF,” the candidate said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. The progressive, a longtime critic of the Israeli government who has said the country is engaging in atrocities in the Palestinian territory, suggested he was questioning joint training exercises between the city police and IDF.

Powerful Moment

As the race closes, the candidate seems to have gained empathy and backing, however, for his reaction to his opponent's escalating attacks.

Mamdani responded to the independent's terrorism comments in an heartfelt recording. In it, the candidate recalled how, when he first campaigned for state assembly, a family member advised 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 city. 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 silence that we must leave our beliefs.”

Speaking to the behavior of Cuomo and Sliwa, who has claimed Mamd