NEW YORK — Voters were surging to the polls on Tuesday to elect a new mayor of New York as one of the city’s most closely watched elections in recent years draws to a close. By noon, more people had already voted in this race than in the entire last mayor’s race, and polls will remain open until 9 p.m.

The outcome has the potential to reshape the long-standing power structures in the city and to send a message nationally about the direction of the Democratic Party after its disastrous defeat in the presidential election last year. It comes amid a collision of local and national forces, including escalating deportation campaigns, increasing political polarization and economic angst over the cost of living.

The campaign has drawn tremendous interest from around the world, in part because t

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