(AFP) – New York Democrats were choosing Tuesday between an upstart 33-year-old Muslim socialist and a political veteran vying to come back from a sex harassment scandal as mayoral candidate to lead the left-leaning city.The party’s primary contest has featured a cast of a dozen seeking to lead the biggest US city, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans three to one.As voters cast ballots in a smothering heatwave, polls showed surprise challenger Zohran Mamdani and former state governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, at the top of the heap.With the Democrats reeling nationally from Donald Trump’s election last year, the high-profile city race has done little to calm party nerves.Cuomo stepped down as New York governor four years ago after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. He has also been accused of mismanaging the state’s response to the Covid pandemic.Staunchly pro-Israel Cuomo has led for most of the race, with massive name recognition as the son of another New York governor, as well as backing from powerful centrist figures including former president Bill Clinton.Mamdani, meanwhile, is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America — the kind of niche, leftist affiliation that might work in the Big Apple but many analysts say the Democratic Party needs to discard to come back from the broader political wilderness.The fact that Mamdani speaks out for Palestinians and has accused Israel of “genocide” also makes him a prime target for Trump. His supporters include two other favorite Trump foils — fiery leftist Senator Bernie Sanders and congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”I see it as a referendum of the Democratic Party, whether we lean more towards the centrist candidate, who’s maybe from a different generation of politicians and people in society, or a younger, left-leaning, more ambitious, idealistic party,” voter Nicholas Zantal, 31, said.It was a contest unfolding under blazing heat, with thermometers topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit (nearly 38 degrees Celsius).- Big ideas, low experience -Currently a New York state assemblyman representing the borough of Queens, Mamdani stands out for his energetic campaigning style and eye-catching policy proposals that include freezing rent for many New Yorkers, providing free bus service, and universal childcare.And in a wildly expensive city, where a three-bedroom apartment can easily cost $6,000 a month, he has surged from behind.”Tomorrow is ours if we want it,” Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and is of Indian descent, said late Monday in a social media post. “We are on the cusp of toppling a political dynasty, and delivering a New York everyone can afford.”Voter Eamon Harkin, 48, said prices were his “number one issue.””What’s at stake is primarily the affordability of New York,” he said.But Sheryl Stein, who works in tourism marketing, was skeptical.”I like youth,” she said. But Mamdani having “no experience and no proven track record to run the largest city in this country and one of the largest in the world, is pretty scary.”Cuomo is trying to capitalize on those concerns, telling supporters Monday that “this is not a job for a novice.””We need someone who knows what they’re doing on day one, because your lives depend on it.”Results from the primary may take time to finalize.The contest is ranked-choice, with voters asked to select five candidates in order of preference, and potentially neither Cuomo nor Mamdani getting the required more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid elimination rounds.Whoever gets the Democratic Party nomination will face several contenders in November — including the current, scandal-plagued mayor, Eric Adams, who is a Democrat but will run again as an independent. – Andréa BAMBINO
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