What the New York mayor’s race will reveal about the Democratic party

The political differences between the two main candidates could have major implications for next year's midterms

New Yorkers will find out the identity of their next mayor on Tuesday, in a race that will decide who will run, and defend, the US's largest city at a time when Donald Trump has threatened to send military troops there.

Against that backdrop, New York has seen a mayoral election that has pitted two very different Democrats against one another. The race has become an increasingly bitter face-off, laced with alleged racism and Islamophobia, but it is the political differences between the two main candidates that could have major implications for how the Democratic party performs in next year's midterm elections.