Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning climb for the 34-year-old state lawmaker. Mamdani defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
With the victory, the democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of Indian and South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on January 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 damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this,” Mamdani declared to a roaring crowd at his victory party.
He cast his win as a victory 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.
US President Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to the city – and even take it over – if the Democratic candidate won.
Mamdani received 50.4 per cent of the votes, while Cuomo, running on an independent line after his loss to Mamdani in the primary, garnered 41.6 per cent with 98 per cent of the votes counted. Republican Curtis Sliwa, who had difficulty gaining traction in an overwhelmingly Democratic city, got 7.1 per cent.
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.
Fresh off winning New York’s mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani announced on Wednesday that a team including former city and federal officials – all women – would steer his transition to City Hall. He said he would “work every day to honour the trust that I now hold”.
“I and my team will build a City Hall capable of delivering on the promises of this campaign,” the mayor-elect said at a news conference, vowing that his administration would be both compassionate and capable.
He named political strategist Elana Leopold as executive director of the transition team. She will work with United Way of New York City President Grace Bonilla, former deputy mayor Melanie Hartzog, who was also a city budget official, former Federal Trade Commission chair Lina Khan, and former first deputy mayor Maria Torres-Springer.
Mamdani, who was accused throughout the campaign for his thin résumé, will now have to begin staffing his incoming administration and planning how to accomplish the ambitious but polarising agenda that drove him to victory.
Among the campaign’s promises are free child care, free city bus service, city-run grocery stores and a new Department of Community Safety that would expand on an existing city initiative that sends mental healthcare workers rather than police to handle certain emergency calls.
It is unclear how Mamdani will pay for such initiatives, given Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s steadfast opposition to his calls to raise taxes on wealthy people. On Wednesday, he touted his support from Hochul and other state leaders as “endorsements of an agenda of affordability”.
Mamdani had said at his news conference that “New Yorkers are facing twin crises in this moment: an authoritarian administration and an affordability crisis,” and that he would tackle both.
While saying he was committed to “Trump-proofing” the city – to protect poor residents against “the man who has the most power in this country,” as he explained – the mayor-elect also reiterated that he was interested in talking to the president about “ways that we can work together to serve New Yorkers”.
That could mean discussing the cost of living or the effect of cuts to the national food aid programmes known as SNAP amid the federal government shutdown, Mamdani suggested.
“I will not mince my words when it comes to President Trump … and I will also always do so while leaving a door open to have that conversation,” Mamdani added.
