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Residents of the Big Apple will find out who will be their next mayor this Tuesday, in a race that will decide who governs and defends the nation's largest city at a moment when the former president has threatened to deploy military troops to the city.

In this context, New York has witnessed a mayoral election that has matched two distinctly opposing Democrats against one another. The election has turned into an acrimonious showdown, marked by accusations of racism and Islamophobia, but it is the ideological divide between the two leading candidates that could have significant consequences for how the party performs in next year's midterm elections.

The Progressive Challenger

On the left side is Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist whose rapid ascent and grassroots campaign has brought international attention. On the establishment side is the former governor, the ex- Democratic New York governor now running as an independent – and benefiting from the backing of ultra-rich donors and big business.

With days to go, it is Mamdani, the former longshot who beat his opponent in the Democratic primary who is firmly installed as the frontrunner. Mamdani, who has campaigned on a agenda of affordability and promised to halt rent increases for about 2 million New Yorkers, has led his rival by double-digits across all surveys conducted in October, and it is very much the progressive's race to throw away.

A Bitter Contest

However, the former governor, who resigned as the state's leader in recent years amid accusations of sexual harassment, has stated clearly he will battle to the end, and not necessarily in an fair manner. He has criticized Mamdani's goals as unrealistic, and in recent days laughed as a broadcaster made anti-Muslim comments about Mamdani, who is Muslim. Two weeks ago, Cuomo was strongly criticized as racist after posting an artificial intelligence video that featured a slew of racist stereotypes and showed Mamdani freeing a convicts.

It's been a rather grubby end to an race that could be key to the direction that the Democratic party, struggling in its response to the former president's power moves, takes in the near future.

National Implications

Should the progressive secures a clear victory, the party establishment who have declined to support his bid will be compelled to address a platform that has appealed to voters' anger at inequality, inflation and the political elite. It would be hard for the Senate leader and the House leader not to adopt at least a portion of Mamdani's ambitious ideas about economic justice, 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 Cuomo, who had been predicted to sail to victory in the Democratic primary, complete a surprising comeback win, it could reinforce national Democrats' current model of cautious, uninspiring resistance – a tactic that has infuriated grassroots members. A NYC defeat of Mamdani's optimistic platform could convince party leaders that the best plan is to stick to the political center – even as surveys show the current iteration of the Democratic party is deeply unpopular nationwide.

Campaign Energy

Residents of New York appear to favor the Mamdani vision. Polls show that Mamdani supporters are much more excited about their choice than his opponent's supporters, something that has been apparent throughout the campaign. Mamdani's snappy videos on digital platforms, his hopeful outlook for the city and his willingness to actually get out and connect with voters in the metropolis has attracted an force of over fifty thousand volunteers, many of them youth or first-time voters.

Personal Attacks

However, Cuomo, 67, isn't giving up. And with the stakes against him, the former governor has turned to negative campaigning in recent weeks.

After spending months throwing basically everything at his opponent to see what might resonate, Cuomo has concentrated on targeting the candidate directly. He has called Mamdani, who was of Ugandan origin to Indian parents, an “extremist”, and appeared on conservative media for an discussion with a rightwing host, where the candidate claimed the city “will not survive” his opponent as mayor. It reached a nadir recently, when the former governor chuckled and said “that’s another problem” after a radio host said the candidate would “cheer” another terrorist incident.

Political Landscape

This strategy mirrors much of what the former president, who has deployed the military reserves to Washington DC and warned to do the same to New York, has said about Mamdani, and perhaps that shouldn’t come as a surprise. A set of wealthy residents, including some who contributed to the Republican in the last presidential race, have invested heavily into trying to get the independent elected, as other powerful voices have urged the Republican candidate to withdraw from the race.

Political Histories

As far as the his team, and his billionaire supporters, are concerned, it should not have reached to this point. When Mamdani, one of 150 New York state assembly members, started his campaign for mayor in last year, few had known him, and in reality, few even paid attention.

Cuomo, by contrast, eased his way into the race in this year and became the instant favorite. He was the political heavyweight who seemingly held every edge. The quintessential establishment figure, he had wed a Kennedy and worked in a Democratic presidency. He assumed office as the state's leader in 2011, seventeen years after his parent, the former governor, left office from the same position.

The progressive, who was voted in to the state legislature in recently, does not have the comparable background. But his dedication to providing no-cost transit and free childcare – along with the rent control promise – present a more positive vision of the city's direction than Cuomo’s dire warnings about “mayhem” and rising criminal activity, and his promise to hire more police officers.

Recent Challenges

Nevertheless, the candidate has faced difficulties in the final phase, after video emerged suggesting him implying the NYPD and the Israel Defense Forces were intertwined.

“We have to make clear that when the pressure of the police is on your throat, it’s been laced by the Israeli military,” Mamdani said in the clip, filmed at a Democratic Socialists of America gathering in recent years. Mamdani, a vocal opponent of the Israeli government who has said the nation is engaging in atrocities in Gaza, suggested he was questioning cooperative programs between the NYPD and IDF.

Emotional Response

With the election nearing, Mamdani seems to have gained sympathy and support, however, for his response to his opponent's increasing rhetoric.

The progressive 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 Muslim uncle advised to him that he did not have to disclose about his Muslim faith. It was a lesson, 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 step out from those shadows, then it is in those shadows that we must set aside our faith.”

Addressing the actions of his opponents, who has alleged Mamd