Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race, shattering political and cultural barriers

New York City has chosen Zohran Mamdani as its next mayor, a result that marks a political earthquake in the United States’ largest city and a defining moment for progressive politics nationwide.

The 34-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s high-stakes election, securing a nine-point lead with 90 percent of votes counted, 1,033,471 to Cuomo’s 852,032. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa trailed far behind at 7 percent.

Mamdani’s win makes him the first Muslim, the first African-born, and the first South Asian to lead the city of 8.4 million people, a global capital of finance, culture, and politics.

“Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands,” Mamdani declared before a roaring crowd in Brooklyn. “New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change — a mandate for a city we can afford.”

Supporters cheered as Mamdani, wearing his trademark yellow beanie, described the movement behind him:

“I speak of Yemeni bodega owners and Mexican abuelas, Senegalese taxi drivers and Uzbek nurses, Trinidadian line cooks and Ethiopian aunties… to every New Yorker in Kensington and Midwood and Hunts Point. This city is your city.”

A mandate for affordability, not identity

While Mamdani’s victory is historic in its symbolism, his campaign was powered by a message of affordability, tackling housing, transport, and public services, rather than by identity politics. His cross-borough coalition of renters, young voters, and working-class immigrants became a political force that out-organised Cuomo’s well-funded machine.

The Democratic divide

Cuomo framed the race as a “civil war within the Democratic Party”, pitting moderates against the socialist left.

“You have an extreme radical left that is run by the socialists that is challenging, quote unquote, moderate Democrats,” Cuomo said before casting his ballot.

But after conceding late Tuesday night, he struck a resigned tone:

“Tonight was their night.”

Mamdani’s victory is already being read as a bellwether for the direction of national Democratic politics, signalling a generational and ideological shift toward grassroots-driven, redistribution-focused governance, and a challenge to the donor-dominated status quo embodied by Cuomo.

“I am young despite my best efforts to grow older,” Mamdani said with a grin. “I am Muslim, I am a democratic socialist and, most damning of all, I refuse to apologise for any of this.”