Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani has won the mayoral election for the nation’s largest city Tuesday night, beating out former mayor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani took home 50.4 percent of the vote against Cuomo’s 41.6 percent and Sliwa’s 7.1 percent, with an estimated 90 percent of the vote counted, according to the New York Times.
The 34-year-old Mamadani, a Ugandan immigrant of Indian origin, previously served as a member of the New York State Assembly for his district in Queens. As a dark-horse candidate in the Democratic primary, he won a convincing upset against Cuomo, forcing the former governor into a run as an independent. The race was initially a four-way contest, with then-mayor Eric Adams running as an independent like Cuomo against Mamadani and Sliwa; Adams dropped out at the end of September after it became apparent that he could not compete with the front-runners.
Mamdani ran an upbeat, optimistic campaign that emphasized his youth, immigrant origin, and above all his commitment to deploy New York City’s resources to bring down the cost of living for its inhabitants. His campaign promise to “freeze the rent” on rent-stabilized housing in NYC touched a chord with inhabitants suffering from the city’s chronically high housing costs; he also proposed a program of affordable housing construction and opening grocery stores owned and operated by New York’s municipal government to bring down food prices.
Mamdani’s background as a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, along with his history of having embraced controversial political positions in the past, such as defunding the police, raised hackles on the right and precipitated a strong reaction from Republicans and conservative political commentators. HHis comments critical of Israel and its war in Gaza, in contrast, provoked concern from members of the establishment Democratic Party, and high-profile figures like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) declined to endorse his bid. In contrast, he obtained strong backing from the populist wing of the Democratic Party, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“We will make this city one that working people can love and live in again,” Mamdani said in his victory speech Tuesday night, reiterating his campaign promises to enact a rent freeze, make buses fast and free, and provide free universal childcare. “We are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn… in this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light!”
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