Associated Press
 November 5, 2025

New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani votes at a voting site on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Olga Fedorova)

New York. Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker who is poised to become the city’s most liberal leader in generations.

In a victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. He must now confront the unrelenting demands of America’s largest city and deliver on an ambitious, critics say unrealistic, slate of campaign pledges.

With the win, the democratic socialist becomes the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage, and the first born in Africa. He will also be the youngest person to hold the office in more than a century when he is sworn in on Jan. 1.

Mamdani’s unlikely rise validates progressives who have pushed Democrats to embrace left-wing candidates rather than defaulting to centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters.

National Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have already cast him as a threat and the face of what they call a radicalized Democratic Party.

The race drew the highest turnout for a mayoral contest in more than 50 years, with more than 2 million New Yorkers voting, according to the city’s Board of Elections.

Mamdani’s affordability-focused, grassroots message, coupled with his personal charisma, spoiled Cuomo’s attempted comeback. The former governor, who resigned four years ago over sexual harassment allegations he continues to deny, was dogged by his past and hammered for running a relentlessly negative campaign.

A looming question is how Mamdani will deal with Trump, who threatened to “take over” the city and arrest and deport him if he won. Mamdani was born in Uganda and raised in New York City and became a US citizen in 2018.

Read More:

Zohran Mamdani Wins Democratic Ticket for New York City’s Mayoral Election

Mamdani now must build out an administration

Criticized throughout the race for his thin résumé, Mamdani must now staff his incoming administration and figure out how to execute the ambitious and polarizing agenda that powered his campaign.

Among his promises: free child care, free city bus service, city-run grocery stores, and a new Department of Community Safety that would dispatch mental health workers to certain emergency calls instead of police officers. It remains unclear how he would fund such programs given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s opposition to raising taxes on the wealthy.

His choices for the NYPD’s leadership will be closely monitored. Mamdani was a fierce critic of the department in 2020, calling it a “rogue agency” that should be defunded, remarks he has since apologized for. He has said he will ask the current NYPD commissioner to stay on.

Mamdani’s campaign was powered by optimism and his promise to improve life for middle- and lower-income New Yorkers.

But Cuomo, Sliwa, and other critics attacked him over his outspoken criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. A longtime advocate of Palestinian rights, Mamdani has accused Israel of committing genocide and has said he would honor an ICC arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

How Mamdani won while Cuomo faltered

Mamdani entered the race as a relatively obscure state legislator.

Going into the Democratic primary, Cuomo was the presumed favorite, with near-universal name recognition and deep political ties. His chances improved when Mayor Eric Adams exited the primary amid fallout from his now-dismissed federal corruption case.

But Mamdani’s charisma, viral social media videos, and populist economic message energized voters in an increasingly unaffordable city and his profile soared.

He ultimately routed Cuomo in the primary by about 13 points.

Cuomo relaunched as an independent for the general election, promising a more energetic campaign. But he largely kept attacking opponents and in the race’s final days claimed Mamdani’s election would make Jews feel unsafe.

Mamdani’s rallies, meanwhile, drew crowds  and he staged unconventional events, including a scavenger hunt and a community soccer tournament.

Cuomo stressed his experience and contrasted it with Mamdani’s less than five years in the Legislature. But his own baggage, sexual harassment allegations and controversial pandemic decisions, overshadowed the message.

Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, had moments of comic relief on the debate stage but struggled to gain traction as a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.

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