Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Queens assemblyman and self-described democratic socialist, was elected New York City’s first Muslim mayor on Tuesday, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa after a campaign centered on the city’s cost-of-living crisis and an expanded coalition of renters, union workers, and
immigrant communities. With 91% of votes counted at 12:48 a.m. Wednesday, Mamdani led with 50.4% to Cuomo’s 41.6% and Sliwa’s 7.1%, capping a general-election sprint that followed his upset win in the Democratic primary and reflected months of organizing across neighborhoods from northern Manhattan to southeast Brooklyn and the Bronx.
In a jubilant victory speech, the mayor-elect promised “the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis … since the days of Fiorello La Guardia,” pledging to “freeze the rents for more than 2 million rent-stabilized tenants,” make buses “fast and free,” and deliver “universal child care.” Addressing a sea of immigrant and working class supporters,“Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas, Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses, Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties”, he declared, “This democracy is yours too,” adding, “Let us speak now with clarity and conviction … about what this new age will deliver,” and “I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.”
Cuomo conceded, thanking “a phenomenal team,” saying he was “blessed to have the people in this room,” and vowing to hold the incoming administration accountable. Sliwa, who trailed badly throughout the night, carried fewer votes than many Republicans had hoped, as conservative enclaves fractured between the former governor and the GOP nominee.
A coalition built around affordability and years of organizing
Mamdani’s path to City Hall started in tenant fights and mutual-aid networks in Queens. His campaign emphasized rent freezes, fare-free buses, expanded child care, and shifting some police functions to mental-health responders. That message resonated with younger renters, service-sector union households, and immigrant small-business owners who have watched housing costs and basic expenses jump in recent years.
While progressive branding helped distinguish him from rivals, what mattered more, aides and allies said, was the breadth of outreach. The campaign spoke to voters in multiple languages, increased presence around transit hubs and night-shift workplaces, and drew on earlier citywide fights such as taxi-driver debt relief, where Mamdani had taken part in hunger-strike support actions, to make the case that his promises were not abstract. Turnout surged in many precincts compared with the last mayoral race, reflecting an expanded electorate that included first-time voters and people who had sat out municipal contests for years.
A historic first, and a city wrestling with identity and security debates
New York, home to hundreds of thousands of Muslim residents of diverse backgrounds, had never elected a Muslim mayor. The milestone stands against a complicated backdrop: post- 9/11 policing and surveillance controversies, periodic spikes in anti-Muslim bigotry, and persistent debates about public safety and foreign policy. Mamdani’s critics attacked him over his statements on Israel and Gaza, and he faced late-campaign slurs and ads that his team condemned as naked bigotry. Supporters argued that his emphasis on affordability and civil rights addressed the lived experience of many communities that keep the city running yet struggle to remain in it.
During the race, Mamdani condemned “the appalling rise in antisemitic violence.” However, his criticism of Israel’s government, including his use of the terms “apartheid” and “genocide” to describe its treatment of Palestinians, remains a source of tension. On Oct. 8, 2023, one day after Hamas launched an incursion into Israel and carried out mass atrocities, he released a statement that mourned the loss of life on both sides, singled out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for criticism, and said that “the path toward justice and lasting peace can only begin by ending the occupation and dismantling apartheid.” His stance energized progressives and drew heavy spending against him by pro-Israel groups. The controversy shaped parts of the general election, with sharp statements from both his detractors and institutional Jewish groups, even as other Jewish organizations on the left applauded his victory.
Reactions from national Democrats
National Democratic figures saluted the win.
Former President Barack Obama congratulated Democratic victors across the country, without mentioning Mamdani by name. The former president posted on X that “when we come together around strong, forward-looking leaders who care about the issues that matter, we can win.”
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also avoided mentioning Mamdani by name, and instead praised participation levels,“More people voted in New York City’s election this year than they have in 50 years. … Congratulations to the next mayor of the greatest city in the world.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hailed Mamdani’s “well-earned & historic victory,” recalling that they had “worked together … on historic debt relief for taxi drivers,” and said he looks forward “to building on that partnership to keep NYC strong, fair, more affordable& thriving.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, called the result “one of the great political upsets in modern American history,” writing, “Yes. We CAN create a government that represents working people and not the 1%.”
GOP criticism and warnings of business flight
Republican leaders blasted the outcome.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the win “cements the Democrat Party’s transformation to a radical, big-government socialist party,” accusing Democrats of backing “dangerous policies, including defunding the police, seizing private property, and massive tax increases,” and warning they would “co-own” the consequences in 2026.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis predicted a new wave of out-migration, asserting, “He hates the NYPD,” and warning that the effects on public safety would “make the de Blasio years look like the golden ages.”
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters declared, “Democrats have officially handed New York City over to a self-proclaimed communist” (although Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist, not a communist) and argued that Mamdani’s plans would “push businesses out, drain taxpayers dry.” Gruters and President Donald Trump have both criticized the agenda, including rent freezes and free child care.
Business leaders and developers, some of whom backed outside groups targeting Mamdani, have signaled they will lobby hard against measures they say would chill investment. The mayor-elect’s allies counter that an affordability program funded in part by higher taxes on the wealthiest and more efficient public-service delivery will make New York more competitive in the long run by stabilizing housing and improving transit reliability.
Community responses: caution, relief, and a promise to engage. Reactions from civic and religious organizations reflected both pride and apprehension. The Council on American-Islamic Relations called the win “a historic turning point for American Muslim political engagement” and “a historic rebuke of both Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism in politics,” urging Americans to celebrate that people of “all races, faiths and backgrounds can make history.”
In a joint statement, AJC New York, UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey, and the New York Board of Rabbis said, “New Yorkers have spoken, electing Zohran Mamdani as the next mayor of New York City,” but warned “the mayor- elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest conviction and most cherished values,” pledging to “hold all elected officials, including Mayor-elect Mamdani, fully accountable.”
Some progressive Jewish organizations celebrated the outcome. Jews for Racial and Economic Justice posted on X: “Mazel Tov @ZohranKMamdani, Mazel Tov NYC.”
The map of a win
Early precinct data indicate that Mamdani’s base combined large margins in affluent, highly educated parts of Brooklyn and northern Manhattan with strong showings in mixed, working-class areas of the Bronx and Queens. Cuomo dominated in many Orthodox neighborhoods and won substantial shares in centrist Jewish areas of Manhattan and Riverdale. Preliminary estimates suggest Mamdani received roughly 15–20% of the Jewish vote, concentrating his support among younger, more progressive precincts. Among Muslim voters, organizers reported record turnout, with mosque-based get-out-the-vote operations visible across Astoria, Bay Ridge, and the Bronx.
The numbers reflect a reconfigured Democratic coalition in New York City, one in which younger voters, renters, and immigrant small-business families aligned around an economic message with clear programmatic specifics. The mayor-elect’s camp pointed to policies that aim at measurable outcomes: a rent freeze for stabilized units, bus-lane expansion, and off-board fare collection to speed service, and child-care subsidies designed to lower costs for
families while pulling more parents into the workforce.
A test for City Hall: translating promises into budgets
City Hall will confront immediate questions about how to fund and implement the incoming agenda. A rent freeze for stabilized apartments can be set through the Rent Guidelines Board, where the mayor appoints members, but budget trade-offs will dominate discussions over fare-free buses and universal child care. Expect clashes over revenue options, including higher taxes on high-income earners and changes to property tax structures. Agencies will have to align service expansions with staffing realities and contract negotiations.
On public safety, Mamdani favors shifting some nonviolent response functions to mental-health professionals and investing in youth programs. Police unions and many neighborhood groups will press the administration to show results on shootings and thefts. The mayor-elect has said his approach is about allocating personnel and expertise to match the reality of 911 calls, not about abandoning enforcement. Whether the Council and Albany back his changes, especially if they involve new revenue, will shape the pace and durability of reforms.
Foreign policy views in a local government
Though mayors do not set national foreign policy, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict loomed over the campaign. Mamdani’s language on Israel hardened opposition from pro-Israel groups and some donors, while energizing a progressive base. Jewish institutions with deep civic footprints have promised to engage the new mayor while challenging positions they see as hostile to their values and security. Progressive Jewish organizations, by contrast, framed the election as proof that New Yorkers want elected officials to speak plainly about human rights and civil liberties, while condemning antisemitic attacks without equivocation.
The mayor-elect has said the administration will work with all communities. In his victory remarks, he reached for a tone of shared civic purpose and promised a City Hall that is accessible to people who often feel unheard by government.
The money war, and why it fell short
Outside spending defined parts of the race. Super PACs spent heavily against Mamdani, including groups funded by wealthy New Yorkers who cited concerns about public safety, taxes, and economic growth. Ads parsed his foreign-policy statements and questioned whether a democratic socialist could manage the nation’s largest municipal budget. Late spots veered into personal smears that his campaign labeled bigoted. The spending barrage
did not derail his momentum, in part because the campaign treated the ad war as a case study in oligarchic politics clashing with kitchen-table economics, turning attacks into a rallying cry for renters and service-sector workers.
Cuomo’s bid, boosted by name recognition and deep donor networks, nearly consolidated the anti-Mamdani vote, including in many Republican-leaning precincts where he outperformed the GOP nominee. It wasn’t enough to offset the coalition that Mamdani assembled in neighborhoods that have grown younger and denser, with many residents reliant on transit and rent-regulated housing.
What comes next
Transition teams are expected to focus first on housing, transit, and early-childhood policy, areas where executive action and budget choices can quickly set a new direction. Expect the administration to move forward on rent-stabilization policy, bus-priority enforcement, and child-care pilots tied to community-based providers. Business groups will push for guardrails, they say, that are essential to keeping jobs in the five boroughs; labor unions
and tenant organizations will seek to lock in gains before the next budget cycle.
Institutional stakeholders, from the major hospital systems to the public-university network, will test the administration’s capacity to manage large, complex systems under fiscal constraints. The political calendar will not give the new mayor much time: budget negotiations will arrive quickly, and the city’s economic indicators, office occupancy, tax receipts, and retail recovery will shape how much room he has to maneuver.
A city takes stock
For many New Yorkers, the election was a referendum on who the city is for and who gets to decide its future. The outcome suggests a demand for concrete relief from high costs and a willingness to try a different governing approach. It also surfaces enduring divides, over policing, education, foreign policy, and the role of private capital in public life, that will not vanish with a single vote.
Mamdani’s supporters heard in his speech a promise that the government can be made to work for them in tangible ways. Skeptics saw risks to safety, fiscal stability, and the city’s status as a magnet for business and talent. The next year will reveal whether the mayor-elect can turn campaign poetry into budget prose, keep a broad coalition intact, and show measurable improvements in daily life.
For now, the history books record the basics. New York chose a 34-year-old assemblyman, the son of immigrants, to lead City Hall on a program of rent relief, better buses, and child care. The people he singled out, bodega owners, abuelas, taxi drivers, nurses, line cooks, and aunties, will be the first to judge whether the promises become reality. And the many institutions that challenged him during the race have already signaled that they plan to hold him to account, even as they line up, like everyone else, to see what the new administration does on Day One.