NEW YORK CITY — Socialist Zohran Mamdani will be New York City’s next mayor, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday night.
Mamdani will be New York’s next mayor after receiving 50.4% of the vote with 75% of ballots counted so far. The Associated Press called the race at 9:34 p.m. Close to 9 p.m., New York City voters came out in such force to vote that the city saw the highest turnout since 1969, with more than 2 million ballots cast by that time.
With the win, Mamdani becomes the city’s first Muslim mayor and one of its youngest mayors ever.
Mamdani rode his youth movement and social media savvy to the finish line after launching his campaign last year as an unknown in national politics. Now, he’ll be a household name in the Democratic Party.
The 34-year-old will now have a chance to implement his hallmark campaign promises: freezing rent, making childcare free, and instituting government-run grocery stores. Republicans and centrist Democrats had gone to great lengths to defeat him, with some Republicans in the waning moments of the race endorsing Cuomo to drum up last-minute support.
Cuomo’s failure to take the helm of the nation’s largest city flattens any hopes he had toward a political comeback. His prior scandals, including sexual harassment claims he has denied, proved too much for the former governor to win in the Democratic primary or as an independent in the general election.
Sliwa, who had an uphill climb in the deep blue stronghold and was never backed by Trump, drew little support.
MAMDANI LEADS THE NYC MAYORAL PACK AHEAD OF OTHER KEY PLAYERS CUOMO AND SLIWA
New York City’s choice of a socialist focused on affordability after several years of public safety hawk Mayor Eric Adams signals a leftward shift in the city’s politics. But the city’s choice of Mamdani could also be a credit to the candidate himself, who tried to moderate his stances after winning the primary and charmed business leaders and reluctant Democratic power players.
President Donald Trump has threatened to cut off funding to the city and send the National Guard if Mamdani won the race. Mamdani has said he would resist the president’s efforts.
