Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race
Zohran Mamdani will be the 111th mayor of New York City, after defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and making history as the city’s first Muslim mayor and, at 34, its youngest in more than a century.
His victory marks a stunning rise for from little-known state lawmaker to leader of the nation’s biggest city. Mamdani has held a steady lead in the race since he pulled of a shock upset over Cuomo, the former three-term governor, in June’s Democratic primary.
Current mayor Eric Adams, who had campaigned for a second term as an independent, dropped out of the race in September.
Key events
Jenna Amatulli
Less than an hour after Mamdani was announced the winner, the New York Post, which is owned by conservative media titan Rupert Murdoch, unveiled their Wednesday morning cover.
Alongside text that says “On your Marx, get set, Zo!” and “The Red Apple” with the R backwards, there’s an edited image of Mamdani on the body of a Communist caricature holding a hammer and sickle.
From coast to coast, this has been an extraordinary night for Democrats. The party, leaderless and adrift since losing again to Trump last year, are starting to see a path out of the political wilderness. In New York, Mamdani’s optimistic campaign energized progressives and expanded the electorate, while Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 may help Democrats pick up five seats and off set Republican gains elsewhere.
Sherrill and Spanberger show a different path forward, a pragmatic model of leadership that can succeed in less liberal parts of the country.
But Democrats also notched less high profile but equally consequential wins in Georgia and Pennsylvania, while initiatives to strengthen gun control and tax the wealthy to pay for food stamps and free school lunches prevailed.
Many challenges still remain, but Democrats for tonight can celebrate their return to power in several key position across the country.
Jubilant supporters of Zohran Mamdani were joined by Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City comptroller Brad Lander.
Here are some images of the celebrations happening in New York City tonight:
California voters approve new House maps
California voters approve a new congressional map designed to boost Democrats in 2026, aiming to counter a brazen redistricting effort led by Donald Trump to shore up Republicans’ fragile House majority next year.
From the scene: Cuomo’s atypical concession speech
Adam Gabbatt
at Andrew Cuomo’s watch party
There were loud cheers as Andrew Cuomo came onto the stage to concede to Zohran Mamdani, followed by a chant of “Cuomo! Cuomo!”
Typically concession speeches involve thanking the winner and graciously bowing out. This was not that.
Cuomo tried to cast his second-place as a success, telling the crowd: “This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic party, the future of this city and the future of this country.” He said more than 50% of New Yorkers had not voted for Mamdani’s agenda, and claimed his own campaign, which seen him dabble in Islamophobia, was about “unity”.
Cuomo then trotted out some misinterpretations of Mamdani’s political positions, warning: “We are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road.”
“We will not make the NYPD the enemy,” Cuomo said. “We will not tolerate any behavior that fans the flames of antisemitism,” he added, returning to a familiar theme from his campaign.
After Cuomo spent 10 minutes slagging Mamdani off, it was hardly surprising that there were lusty boos when the former governor finally mentioned his opponent.
But Cuomo appeared surprised, and suddenly became contrite. “No, that is not right,” he said. “We’re better than that.” And with that, Cuomo was gone.
Polls close in California
Polls have closed in California, where voters were deciding on one statewide ballot measure: whether to authorize the state to adopt new Congressional maps that would favor Democrats to help offset an unprecedented effort by Donald Trump to gerrymander seats in Republican-led states.
The ballot initiative is expected to pass, but Democrats will be watching closely for the margin as the weigh support for moving forward with redistricting in other states.
As he speaks, Cuomo is casting himself as the outsider, under-estimated by press and the city itself.
“Feel proud – proud because we accomplish the two important New York characteristics: we got up off the mat after the primary, and we made it a real race when the media had already commenced the coronation,” said the three-term governor who let a sizable lead against Mamdani in the Democratic primary slip away.
When Cuomo mentioned Mamdani by name, his crowd broke out in jeers and boos.
“That is not right and that is not us,” Cuomo said, quieting them. The final stretch of the general election turned ugly, with Mamdani accusing his opponent of trafficking in hate and Islamophobia after the former-governor laughed along with a conservative radio host who said Mamdani would celebrate another September 11-style terrorist attack on New York City.
On Tuesday, Cuomo offered his help.
“Tonight was their night, and as they start to transition to government, we will all help any way we can,” he said.
Anna Betts
at Zohran Mamdani’s watch party
As the screens showed Andrew Cuomo giving his speech, the crowd here began booing. People are booing loudly at the former governor who is on screen.
Cuomo gives speech after losing New York mayoral election
Andrew Cuomo has taken the stage in New York City. He begins by thanking his campaign staff, and city’s mayor, Eric Adams, for withdrawing from the race to make it “more competitive.” He also thanks former mayor Mike Bloomberg and the unions who supported his mayoral campaign.
“This campaign was the right fight to wage and I am proud of what we did,” Cuomo said.
He added: “This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic party, the future of this city and the future of this country.”
Voters in Maine have approved a ballot measure that would make it easier for family members to petition a court to restrict a potentially dangerous person’s access to guns, known as a red flag law.
The voted comes two years after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, when an army reservist opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill in Lewiston, killing 18 people and wounding several more.
Meanwhile in Colorado, the Associated Press projects that voters there approved a tax increase on wealthy households to pay for free breakfast and lunch for all public school children and bolster the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (Snap).
Anna Betts
at Zohran Mamdani’s watch party
The DJ is now playing Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield. The crowd is dancing and singing along. It’s truly turning into a party over here.
Former New York mayor Bill de Blasio is here and speaking with supporters at the venue. New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is here speaking with members of the press.
Kathy Culter, a 27-year-old volunteer, said that she feels “amazing” tonight.
“I’ve been volunteering since January. This is 10 months in the making, blood, sweat and tears,” she said. “I’ve been up since 5am this morning, I did the Brooklyn Bridge walk yesterday with Zohran. It’s incredible to see this level of support, and to have been out all day and constantly getting people coming up to me so excited and excited about the future for New York, I think is really amazing.”
The screen just showed a post on social media from the White House that said “Trump is your president”.
The crowd erupted in boos.
Zohran Mamdani passes 1m votes as voter turnout surges in New York
Will Craft
Zohran Mamdani, in the highest turnout election since 1969, has surpassed 1 million votes.
His vote total is currently larger than the votes for Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa combined and he is leading in every borough except Staten Island, where Cuomo has 56 percent of the vote.
Eric Adams, the outgoing mayor, won in 2021 with only 750,000 votes.
Trump distances himself from major Republican losses on election night
It’s 10.30pm in Washington, and Donald Trump is truthing. Evidently piqued by Democrats clean sweep – from Virginia to New Jersey to Pennsylvania to Georgia to his beloved New York City – and the analysis that it’s his presidency and handling of the economy that helped fuel their wins, Trump offered some of his own punditry.
“‘TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,’ according to Pollsters,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
He also offered a bit of counter programming, plugging his new CBS interview. “JUST OUT: The 60 Minutes interview of Donald J. Trump, on CBS, Sunday night, was the highest rated 60 Minutes IN YEARS!,” he said.
More on that interview here:
Alaina Demopoulos
reporting from Ridgewood, Queens
TV Eye, a bar and music venue in Ridgewood, Queens – the heart of the so-called “Commie Corridor”, where young, politically engaged residents showed up en masse for Mamdani in the primary – was packed by 8pm. Matt Street, an actor and bartender who lives in nearby Bushwick, smoked outside while his friends tried to get a drink at the slammed bar. Street, 27, canvassed for Mamdani and said affordability was his biggest concern.
“Everyone knows that’s been a problem for, like, 60 years, but no one has done anything about it,” Street said. “Every one of my friends is in a place where they’re spending over $1,000 for a shitty room.”
Street missed out on voting for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary because he was too young. Nearly a decade later, he said he thought Mamdani’s ascent feels similar to Sanders’s.
“The city feels brighter and people are smiling more. It’s overwhelmingly hopeful in a way that a lot of stuff in our lifetime hasn’t been,” he said.
Jenna Amatulli
Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, told the New York Times at Mamdani’s victory party that his win was about “the sleeping giant” — which she defined as people who had not previously been involved in politics but came out to vote for a young, exciting candidate.
“Tonight is about an enthusiasm and excitement I have not seen since Barack Obama. Tonight is about a turnout we have not seen since the 1960s. It’s about hope and inspiration but more importantly it’s about expanding the base of voters who care about politics and care about each other,” she told the Times.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, celebrated Mamdani’s historic victory.
With his defeat of Cuomo on Tuesday night, the 34-year-old Democratic socialist, who campaigned openly advocated for Palestinian rights, will be the first Muslim mayor of New York City.
Cair and Cair-NY also said that New York’s election of a Muslim mayor who openly advocated for Palestinian human rights is a “major turning point” for Muslim political engagement and a “historic rebuke” of both anti-Muslim hate and anti-Palestinian politics.
“The election of New York City’s first Muslim mayor represents a historic turning point for American Muslim political engagement. Mayor-Elect Mamdani’s ability to win while openly advocating for Palestinian human rights and experiencing a barrage of anti-Muslim hate also marks a historic rebuke of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism in politics,” the group said in a statement.
It added: “Regardless of whether anyone agrees with Mayor-Elect Mamdani’s stances on various policies issues, all Americans should celebrate our nation for once again showing that America is a place where people of all races, faiths and backgrounds can make history.”
Anna Betts
at Zohran Mamdani’s watch party
As people here wait for Mamdani, the crowd is dancing, cheering and hugging one another. Drinks are flowing and the crowd is in full celebration mode.
Adam Gabbatt
at Cuomo’s election night party in Manhattan
Anthony T Jones, who voted for Cuomo, was in disbelief, literally, as Mamdani was announced winner.
“I feel wonderful. I think hope is still alive,” he said, as the words “Zohran Mamdani wins race for mayor” rolled across the TV screen. Informed by the Guardian that every major news organization had announced Mamdani as the winner, Jones rallied quickly.
“I’m not disappointed at all. No, because Cuomo ran a great campaign,” he said. Jones added of Cuomo, who is 67: “He’s still a young man.”
This was the first time Jones, 59, had not voted for a Democrat – Cuomo is running as an independent.
“It goes back to experience, right? And from what I understand, Mamdani never had a real job. He’s a great talker, right? He knows how to dance. He’s done that very well. I just don’t think that he’s going to be good for our city.”
Adam Gabbatt
at Andrew Cuomo’s watch party
I just spoke to a very angry woman called Felice.
“I feel excited to be moving to Long Beach, because there’s no fucking way I’m staying in the city,” Felice said. “I already have a real estate broker. I already got approval for a loan. I already picked out four places I’m gonna go see on Monday.”
Felice, who was drinking wine, added that the city of New Yorkers had voted for Mamdani because: “There’s a lot of transplants and young people and foreigners who voted, who bought his bullshit.”
Felice is a born and raised New Yorker. She said she is a teacher.
