Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayoral election in an extraordinary moment for city politics

Zohran Mamdani was elected Tuesday as New York City’s 111th mayor in a stunning political ascent, becoming the youngest person in more than a century and the first Muslim to hold the post.

He defeated Andrew M. Cuomo, a former governor and scion of a Democratic political dynasty who was once considered unbeatable in the race.

Mamdani was declared the winner at about 9:30 p.m. by The Associated Press. He also defeated Republican Curtis Sliwa.

At a raucous celebration at his election watch party in Brooklyn, Mamdani, referring to Cuomo, declared, "My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty."

He quoted the late socialist and political activist Eugene V. Debs, and issued an ode to the working man and woman, naming immigrants from Mexico, Yemen, Trinidad, Ethiopia and other nations.

"We are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn," Mamdani said, calling his election "a mandate for change" for "a city we can afford."

"Hope has arrived," he said. 

Mamdani took direct aim at President Donald Trump, who has denounced Mamdani as a "communist" and threatened to send troops to New York City if he became mayor.

"Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up," Mamdani said, as the crowd roared.

"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 added. "So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: to get through any of us, you will have to get through all of us."

Trump did not respond to Mamdani by name, but around 11:30 p.m. wrote on Truth Social, "...AND SO IT BEGINS!"

Supporters at Mamdani’s headquarters earlier had erupted in celebration when his victory was announced, singing, chanting, jumping, hugging and crying.

"He has a great vision, and he has a lot of empathy, and I think that people resonate with him on, like, a human level, which is tough for a lot of politicians," said Aneesh Agrawal, 26, a computer engineer at Meta who lives in the Hell’s Kitchen section of Manhattan.

Cuomo conceded the race Tuesday night but continued to insist Mamdani’s "promises" can’t be fulfilled.

"We support an economy of jobs, of opportunity, of entrepreneurship — that’s what New York is, and that’s what New York must remain," Cuomo said in midtown Manhattan. "We will not make the NYPD the enemy. ... And we have no tolerance of discrimination of any kind ... and we will not tolerate any behavior that fans the flames of antisemitism."

Capitalizing on catchy social media videos and anti-establishment sentiment, Mamdani, 34, went from being a virtual political unknown, polling around 1% in the race earlier this year, to the next leader of the nation’s largest city.

He rode to victory as he pledged to enact a left-leaning agenda intended to cut the cost of living on everything from rent to public buses.

The race attracted a huge numbers of voters. Turnout hit 2 million for the first time since 1969, the city's Board of Elections reported at 8:45 p.m.

Mamdani’s victory appeared to have national repercussions. Progressive Democrats were hoping a Mayor Mamdani would become an icon of their efforts to push the party to the left as it struggles to find a path forward after Trump’s election a year ago.

But more centrist Democrats feared Trump and other Republicans would turn Mamdani into a political punching bag, depicting him as a symbol of the party’s "out-of-touch" politics and "unachievable" promises like free city buses.

Republicans attacked Mamdani, a democratic socialist, minutes after his victory. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement: "Democrats in New York City have chosen a true extremist and Marxist, and the consequences will be felt across our entire nation. Zohran Mamdani’s election cements the Democrat Party's transformation to a radical, big-government socialist party."

Centrist Democrats such as U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) were cautious in response to Mamdani's win. She called Tuesday night for "common sense policies to bring down costs and keep people safe" and said she "remains extremely concerned with Zohran Mamdani’s policies, especially on taxes and public safety."

Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, at her election night watch party, suggested she wouldn’t allow Mamdani’s policies to seep over the Queens-Nassau border.

"We have a plan in place. What’s going to be good on one side of the street is not going to be good on the other side of the street," the Republican said. "It’s not coming out to Nassau County. I will prosecute misdemeanor crimes. I will prosecute prostitution."

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) warned Trump not to try to punish New York City over Mamdani's election.

"New York voters have fairly and freely chosen their next mayor, and the results of this election should not draw the ire of the president or the federal government," she said in a statement. "I stand ready to defend New York against any and all of the retaliation from the Trump administration."

Mamdani has tried to assure skeptics about his policies by announcing, for instance, that he would keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in her post.

Mamdani, who has been criticized for being opposed to Israel's existence as a Jewish state — he supports a state with equal rights for all — pledged his support for Jewish New Yorkers in his victory speech.

"We will build a City Hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism," he said.

In the audience, Jake Levin, 31, of Flatbush, wore a "Jews for Zohran" shirt.

"There’s a broad and powerful coalition of Jews who came together to support a candidate that was going to fight for all New Yorkers," Levin said. "Jews are multifaceted, Jews believe a lot of different things, and ultimately, Jews care about safety and solidarity."

Mamdani ran an insurgent campaign built around frustrations that the city has become unaffordable for all but the very rich. "I’m freezing ... your rent as the next mayor of New York City," he said in one social video that went viral, as he plunged into a frigid Atlantic Ocean at Coney Island on New Year’s Day in a business suit and tie.

His other short videos explained his proposals to make public buses fast and free, to provide free child care, and to open municipally run grocery stores. To pay for those services, he planned to seek to tax the city’s wealthiest residents and biggest corporations, he said.

His platform drew a force of 100,000 volunteers, largely younger adults, who knocked on doors across the city.

A state assemblyman representing Queens and a Uganda-born naturalized U.S. citizen who moved to the city at age 7 with his family, Mamdani turned 34 less than a month ago.

His upstart, youth-driven campaign stunned the political establishment in June with the primary defeat of Cuomo, whose campaign to become the Democratic nominee had near-universal name recognition, the support of billionaires, an early lead by double-digits in opinion polls, and, at the time, the backing of much of organized labor.