Well, it’s that time again. Yes, it’s getting cold and winter is coming soon, but the freezing temperatures and fall breeze also bring in the one thing that gets people talking, and that is election season.

Now, it isn’t the national election this time around, but the highly touted midterm elections. Since 2016, these upcoming elections in November have been the ones that political scientists and news stations have been gearing up to cover. These are the ones that will define the next two years of the Trump presidency, and potentially define the next two years of Pace.

The race that will arguably impact Pace the most, the New York gubernatorial race, has gained national attention. While the Republican nominee for New York State (NYS) governor, Marcus Molinaro, has already been selected, the Democratic nominee has yet to be decided.

However, a Democratic nominee will be declared during New York’s primaries, occurring this Thursday. While most polls show incumbent governor Andrew Cuomo with a significant lead over challenger Cynthia Nixon, a Cuomo victory is no guarantee considering New Yorkers have not shied away from voting for underdogs this election year.

Governor Cuomo was largely passed on to be the Democratic nominee once he announced his campaign for reelection as he had no credible challengers on May 23, making him the presumptive nominee for the party. However, by late June and early July, Nixon, former actress turned activist -with her most famous work being the HBO series Sex and the City- gained statewide attention from leftists in the party, leading her to earn enough petitioned votes to run as a challenger to Cuomo and force a primary to occur.

Ever since the primary began, the road has not been easy for either nominee. Despite Cuomo’s experience serving in the position for over eight years, and becoming a well-known face in the Democratic Party, he has been bogged down with questions about the recent scandals he’s involved in, including the certain appointees who seemed to donate to him and his campaign soon after they were selected to their desired positions.

Nixon is a refreshing face in the Democratic Party and despite being a new face to the political realm, she is well-known in the acting world and has built a platform to run on during the primary campaign. Although, being a new face is not always good in politics, as she has faced allegations of being too naive and having too little experience in politics to be able to even garner the office of NYS Governor.

Allegations of corruption against Cuomo, criticism of Nixon’s inexperience, and issues such as legalization of marijuana and who is best fit to combat the Trump Administration are all important factors for Pace students to ponder when they cast their vote on Thursday.

While this race, along with the ones occurring in November, might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things, they cannot be understated. This election cycle is of utmost importance from the multiple implications that it holds, and the overall significance of students exercising their right to vote.

Tyler Kalahar, Program Coordinator at the Center for Community Action and Research, explained how important voting and this election is for Pace students.

“It is important for everyone to vote in all elections,” Kalahar said. “Political policies in every branch of government affect every person. Local policy can set minimum wage and influence affordable rent. State governments set tuition and healthcare.”

Kalahar is completely right. Every single race, whether contested or uncontested, serves as a barometer for politicians to gauge interest in certain policies and executive actions that could be taken in the future, while also determining which policies would be set in place.

This election’s stakes are high and it cannot be downplayed. This is not only true for the gubernatorial race, but also the NYS Senate race in our district (40^th Senate District) with Senator Terrence Murphy running for reelection, and Representative Nita Lowly running for reelection in our congressional district (17^th Congressional District).

Thus, my final word for all of you is to go vote this upcoming Thursday in the Democratic primary. Pick who you want to run for the party and then, get ready to vote for your candidate come November 7th. Be a part of one of the biggest days in politics and the one people have been waiting for, for over two years.