UPDATED with latest: Zohran Mamdani was projected to be elected the next mayor of New York on Tuesday, easily defeating challengers Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa in one of the most contentious races in recent memory in the city.
Speaking to supporters in Brooklyn, Mamdani at first quoted Eugene Debs before telling the crowd, “New York tonight, you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a new kind of politics, a mandate for a city we can afford, and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.”
Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, had drawn heavy opposition over assertions that his plans would send companies and high-income earners fleeing the city. But Mamdani, a political unknown when he entered the race, waged a next-generation campaign across media platforms with a unrelenting focus on affordability.
In his speech, Mamdani pledged to deliver the “most ambitious” agenda focus on affordability since Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, with a program of rent stabilization, free bus service and universal child care.
President Donald Trump endorsed Cuomo late in the race, calling Mamdani a communist and threatening to withhold federal funds from the city. Mamdani, though, capitalized on Trump’s support for Cuomo, citing it as proof that the former New York governor would be “the puppet that they want right here in New York City.”
In his victory speech, Mamdani vowed to take on the president.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” he said. “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. So Donald Trump, since I know you are watching, I have four words for you: Turn the volume up.”
It was unclear if Trump was watching, but during Mamdani’s speech he posted on Truth Social, “…AND SO IT BEGINS!”
Mamdani tried to moderate his positions in the waning weeks of the campaign, appearing on Fox News and apologizing to police officers for once labeling the NYPD as racist, wicked and corrupt. He also said that he would retain the New York police commissioner, Jessica Tisch.
Mamdani, a Muslim, has faced questions throughout the campaign for his past comments on Gaza and Israel. When Fox News’ Martha MacCallum pressed him on Gaza, he tried to shift the topic back to affordability.
“But you won’t say that Hamas should lay down their arms and give up leadership in Gaza?” asked MacCallum.
Mamdani responded: “I don’t really have opinions about the future of Hamas and Israel, beyond the question of justice and safety and the fact that anything has to abide by international law. And that applies to Hamas, that applies to the Israeli military, applies to anyone you could ask me about.”
Mamdani’s election likely will be used by Republicans to claim that the Democratic party has shifted leftward, putting the onus on the 34-year-old new mayor to show that he can implement a well-run and efficient municipal government. Just minutes after the race was called, the National Republican Campaign Committee, positioning itself for next year’s midterms, issued a statement saying that the Democratic party “has surrendered to radical socialist Zohran Mamdani.”
On Fox News, Sean Hannity announced the network’s call of the race for Mamdani saying, “Not really a surprise. I don’t know why people are waking up in the last two and a half weeks. I think they should have woke up after the primary where he handily defeated Andrew Cuomo.” He blamed Cuomo for running a “lackluster” campaign.
Hannity said that “my phone is blowing up” from friends who are “depressed and scared” over Mamdani’s win.
NewsNation, relying on data from Decision Desk HQ, was the first to call races across the board. After Mamdani was projected the winner, anchor Chris Cuomo said of his brother’s defeat, “Of course, I wanted my brother to win. I believe in my brother. I think he’s a tremendous operator within government, but he’s not what Democrats want right now in their party, and Democrats win in New York City.”