In a victory for the Democratic party's far-left wing, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the unending demands of America’s biggest city and deliver on ambitious — skeptics say unrealistic — campaign promises.
With his commanding win, the democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city's first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become New York's youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on Jan. 1.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most dam---- of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdani declared to a roaring crowd at his victory party.
He cast his win as a boon for blue-collar workers struggling to get by. “New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,” he said, vowing to ”wake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before.”
More than 2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the contest, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. With roughly 90% of the votes counted, Mamdani held an approximately 9 percentage point lead over Cuomo.
Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive candidates instead of rallying behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party.
In his speech, Mamdani addressed Trump head on.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant," he said, adding that, "If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.”
Trump appeared to acknowledge Mamdani’s challenges, posting ”…AND SO IT BEGINS!” on his Truth Social site.
In New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill was elected governor, raising hopes for Democrats and highlighting Republican vulnerabilities after there had been signs of a rightward shift in recent years in what has been a reliably blue state.
Democrats also had a big night in Virginia. Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger won Virginia’s election for governor. Also Democrat Ghazala F. Hashmi won the lieutenant governor's race, becoming the first Muslim woman to win a statewide office in the U.S. And in a night of firsts, Democratic challenger Jay Jones defeated Republican Jason Miyares to become the state's first black attorney general and complete a Democratic sweep of the commonwealth's statewide posts. Democrats also retained control of the state legislature.
