In a historic victory, 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani was projected to become New York City’s 111th mayor on Tuesday night — the first Muslim candidate ever elected to the highest office in America’s largest city.
ABC and NBC called the NYC Mayor’s Race for Mamdani just after 9:35 p.m., with roughly 75% of the vote counted. With almost all precincts now reported, Mamdani had slightly over 50% of the vote (1,012,850) over independent former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who nabbed 41.6% (837,398), according to unofficial results from the city Board of Elections. This election had a historic turnout, with more than 2 million votes cast — the highest number in a mayoral election since 1969.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who remained in the race until the very end despite immense pressure from Cuomo and others to drop out, came in third place with 7.16% (144,123).
Mamdani will take office as mayor on New Year’s Day, succeeding Eric Adams, who bowed out of the general election amid low poll numbers in late September and had recently endorsed Cuomo. The mayor-to-be, currently a Queens Assembly member, will also be the second-youngest mayor in the city’s history; Hugh Grant, who served between 1889 and 1892, was the youngest in history, having entered office at just 31 years of age.
Before a raucous crowd at the Brooklyn Paramount theater in Downtown Brooklyn, Mayor-elect Mamdani thanked those who turned out to vote for him as well as his campaign team for making what was an unlikely victory only a year ago a reality now.
“On Jan. 1, I will be sworn in as the mayor of New York City and that is because of you, so before I say anything else, I must say this: thank you,” he said. “I will wake each morning with a singular purpose, to make this city better for you than it was the day before.”
The crowd in the packed 2,700-person venue included some of Mamdani’s most high-profile supporters such as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx), city Comptroller Brad Lander, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The nine-point victory and slight majority support in the three-person field were enough for Mamdani to claim a mandate in his victory speech for his ambitious economic agenda aimed at increasing affordability in the city — one that, he said, would rival that of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia during the Great Depression.
“New York, tonight, you have delivered a mandate for change. A mandate for a new kind of politics. A mandate for a city you can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that,” Mamdani said.
The mayor-elect also took aim at President Trump, who has frequently labeled him a “communist” and has threatened to defund New York City’s government should Mamdani win the election.
“So Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up,” Mamdani said. “Hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us, you will have to get through all of us.”
Cuomo conceded just before 11 p.m. at his own Election Night party at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan. In Cuomo’s speech, he congratulated Mamdani, but also sought to highlight that nearly half of those who casted ballots voted against the mayor-elect’s agenda, which he described as making “promises that we know cannot be met.”
“We support an economy of jobs, of opportunity, of entrepreneurship,” Cuomo told his supporters. “That’s what New York is, and that’s what New York must remain.”
From obscurity to City Hall
Over the past year, the democratic socialist rose from being a little-known state lawmaker, to building a juggernaut campaign that pulled off an upset win in the June Democratic primary, going on to be elected the next mayor on Nov. 4.
Mamdani was carried to victory by an affordability-focused campaign that included ambitious proposals such as making city bus service free, freezing rent increases for stabilized tenants, and implementing no-cost universal child care.
He excited a new swath of the electorate in the Democratic primary and appears to have done the same in the general election with more than 2 million New Yorkers coming out to the polls to cast ballots.
His campaign was propelled by an army of over 100,000 volunteers and a powerful small-dollar fundraising operation.
“Because of you, we will make this city one that working people can love and live in again,” Mamdani told his supporters on Tuesday night. “With every door knocked, every petition signature earned and every hard earned conversation, you eroded the cynicism that has come to define our politics.”
But Mamdani’s campaign has hardly been without controversy.
He has drawn widespread skepticism over whether he can actually deliver on his key policy proposals, two of which require approval and funding from the state. In particular, he has faced scrutiny over his plan to bankroll his agenda by raising taxes on millionaires and corporations — something Hochul has said she has little appetite for.
Additionally, Mamdani was criticized by his opponents throughout the campaign for his thin resume, connection to the Democratic Socialists of America, and fierce criticism of the Israeli government. While Mamdani has stated his commitment to fighting antisemitism in the city, many Jewish leaders have said his statements about Israel will make Jewish New Yorkers less safe.
Toward the end of the campaign, Mamdani accused his rivals of fomenting Islamophobia, leading him to deliver an emotional speech on how anti-Muslim hate has impacted his life late last month.
Even so, Mamdani maintained a polling lead throughout the general election and grew his coalition to include many elected officials, labor unions, and other organizations that supported Cuomo in the primary.
Additionally, he managed to win the support of moderate Democrats skeptical of his expensive policy platform, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Now Mamdani will have to face the difficult challenge of delivering on lowering costs for New Yorkers. He is likely to face significant hurdles to accomplishing that with Hochul and the state legislature.
He will also have to contend with President Trump, who has threatened to withhold federal funds from the city if Mamdani is mayor and even told New Yorkers to vote for Cuomo instead on the night before Election Day.
The election began with several Democratic challengers, including Mamdani, lining up to take on Mayor Adams — a moderate — from the left.
Adams was then severely politically wounded when he was hit with federal criminal charges last fall and by the Trump Justice Department’s move to dismiss his case in what many perceived to be a quid pro quo. Shortly after that, Adams bowed out of the Democratic primary and announced he would run as an independent in the general election.
Around the same time, Cuomo launched his own primary bid and dominated the crowded Democratic field for much of that leg of the race. He garnered a formidable stable of establishment supporters and raised millions of dollars.
However, Cuomo ended up losing to Mamdani in that ranked-choice contest by nearly 13%.
Since then, the dynamic switched and Mamdani has led the general election field from anywhere between six and 15 points in most polls, with Cuomo trailing behind in second place. Mamdani’s consistent lead sparked a scramble among moderates to consolidate his four opponents behind the strongest among them.
That push led attorney Jim Walden, who was running as an independent, and eventually Mayor Adams, to suspend their campaigns and endorse Cuomo. Sliwa, however, never bowed to the pressure to end his campaign, staying in until the very end.
