Zoran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York on Tuesday, capping a stunning rise for the 34-year-old state lawmaker who was supposed to be the most liberal mayor in generations.
In the progressive Democratic Party’s victory, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the endless demands of America’s largest city and deliver on his ambitious (and skeptics say unrealistic) campaign promises.
The victory marks the democratic socialist’s place in history as the first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. He will also become the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on January 1.
“We have overthrown a political dynasty,” Mamdani said at a victory party. “I wish Mr. Andrew Cuomo all the best in his personal life, but let tonight be the last time I say his name. We turn the page on politics that abandons the many and gives answers only to the few.”
Mamdani’s chances of winning are slim, and Democrats have urged the party to field more progressive left-wing candidates rather than rally behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have left the party.
His victory came on a night of great success for Democrats in a race closely watched as a gauge of public sentiment against President Trump. California voters approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 50, a redistricting measure aimed at boosting Democrats’ chances in the midterm elections, with Democrats winning both gubernatorial races on the East Coast.
Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill has been elected governor of New Jersey over Republican Jack Ciatarelli, who was endorsed by President Trump.
Sherrill, a 53-year-old military veteran who represented New Jersey’s northern district for four terms in the House of Representatives, will be the state’s second female governor.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger (46) defeated Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle Sears in the Virginia gubernatorial election, making history as the first female leader of the Commonwealth.
Economic concerns were the top concern among voters as they cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election, according to preliminary results from an Associated Press voter poll.
The results of a large-scale survey of more than 17,000 voters in New Jersey, Virginia, California and New York City suggest that Americans are troubled by an economy that appears to be gripped by high prices and declining job opportunities.
Trump took a different view, writing on social media: “According to pollsters, the two reasons Republicans lost tonight’s election were ‘Trump’s absence from the polls and the government shutdown.’
More than 2 million New Yorkers voted in the mayor’s race, the largest turnout of its kind in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections.
Mr. Mamdani’s grassroots movement is focused on affordability, and his charisma has undermined Mr. Cuomo’s attempts to return to politics. The former governor continued to deny the sexual harassment allegations made four years ago, but was criticized for dwelling on the past and running a negative campaign throughout the campaign.
There are also questions about how the next mayor will deal with Trump and who will arrest and deport Mamdani if Trump wins. Mamdani was born in Uganda and spent his childhood there, but grew up in New York City and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.
Mamdani, who has been criticized for his weak resume during the campaign, will need to start staffing the next government before taking office next year and think strategically about how to deliver on the ambitious but polarizing agenda that won him victory.
Some of the campaign’s promises include free child care, free city bus service, city-run grocery stores, and the creation of a new community safety department that would deploy mental health workers rather than police officers to respond to certain emergency calls. It’s unclear how Mamdani would pay for these efforts, given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s staunch opposition to raising taxes on the wealthy.
His decisions regarding the leadership of the New York City Police Department will also be in the spotlight. Mamdani heavily criticized the department in 2020, calling for the defunding of “this corrupt agency” and calling it “racist, anti-gay and a serious threat to public safety.” He said he agreed with those comments and would ask the current NYPD chief to remain in office.
Mamdani’s campaign was driven by his optimistic view of the city and his promise to improve the quality of life for the middle and lower classes.
But Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Sliwa and other critics attacked him over his military actions in Gaza. Mamdani, a longtime defender of Palestinian rights, accused Israel of committing genocide and said he would respect the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Going into the Democratic primary, Cuomo was presumed to be the favorite due to his near-universal name recognition and deep political connections. Mr. Cuomo’s chances further increased after incumbent Mayor Eric Adams withdrew from the primary to deal with the fallout from his firing.
But as the campaign progressed, Mandani’s natural charm, catchy social media videos and populist economic platform energized voters in the notoriously expensive city. As its popularity increased, it began to attract attention from outside as well.
In New Jersey, Sherrill built his campaign around fighting back against Trump. She recently took advantage of the administration’s decision to abruptly freeze funding for a multibillion-dollar project to replace an aging rail tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York City under the Hudson River.
Spanberger will succeed outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and his victory in Virginia would overturn partisan control of the governor’s office.
“We have sent a message to every corner of the Commonwealth, we have sent a message to our neighbors and our fellow citizens across the United States,” Spanberger, a former CIA case officer, told supporters cheering him on in Richmond. “We sent a message to the entire world that in 2025, Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship. We chose commonwealth over chaos.”
Izaguirre and Colvin write for The Associated Press. Times staff writer Steve Crow and Associated Press writers Mike Catalini, Adriana Gomez Ricon, Olivia Diaz and Bill Barrow contributed to this report.
