Zohran Mamdani becomes New York City’s first Muslim mayor after meteroic rise to power
Mamdani emerged victorious over Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s general election.
NEW YORK (Agencies) Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who is set to become the city’s most liberal mayor in generations.
In a victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. He must now navigate the unending demands of America’s largest city and deliver on ambitious — critics say unrealistic — campaign promises.
Democratic Assembly member Mamdani has twice defeated Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations, in New York City’s mayoral race.
With the victory, the democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first of 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 1st.
Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive, left-wing candidates instead of rallying behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party.
He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of what they say is a more radical Democratic Party.
The contest drove the highest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, with more than two million New Yorkers casting ballots, according to the city’s Board of Elections.
Mayor-elect Mamdani, in the meanwhile, received congratulatory messages from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
Mamdani to Trump: ‘Turn the volume up’
Mamdani wasted no time calling out President Donald Trump, formally kicking off the battle that will likely define relations between the 34-year-old mayor and the president whose celebrity is tied to the city.
“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!” Mamdani, a Democrat, said during a Tuesday night speech to a raucous crowd of supporters shortly after being declared the victor.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani told supporters. “And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it’s how we stop the next one.”
Trump has repeatedly turned the massive powers of the presidency on political rivals, and already before the election had threatened to possibly withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from New York City if Mamdani, a democratic socialist, was elected. This would follow previous funding cuts by the Trump administration in political moves targeting Democratic congressional leaders also from the city.
“If you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” Trump told CBS‘ 60 Minutes on Sunday, previewing how Republicans will use Mamdani’s embrace of a socialist agenda as a line of attack against the Democratic Party.
“So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us you will have to go through all of us,” Mamdani added.
