{"id":29245,"date":"2025-11-05T05:25:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T05:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/29245\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T05:25:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T05:25:15","slug":"zohran-mamdani-wins-nyc-mayors-race-capping-a-stunning-ascent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/29245\/","title":{"rendered":"Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Zohran Mamdani<\/a> was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent<\/a> for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who was set to become the city\u2019s most liberal mayor in generations.<\/p>\n

In a victory for the Democratic party\u2019s progressive wing<\/a>, Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the unending demands of America\u2019s biggest city and deliver on ambitious \u2014 skeptics say unrealistic \u2014 campaign promises.<\/p>\n

With the victory, the democratic socialist<\/a> will etch his place in history as the city\u2019s first Muslim mayor<\/a>, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become the city\u2019s youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on Jan. 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate. I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,\u201d Mamdani declared to a roaring crowd at his victory party. <\/p>\n

He cast his win as a victory for blue-collar workers struggling to get by. \u201cNew York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change,\u201d he said, vowing to \u201dwake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NextA voter completes their ballot at a voting site, in New York, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo\/Richard Drew)<\/p>\n

Photo: <\/p>\n

\"NextNew York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani votes at a voting site on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo\/Olga Fedorova)<\/p>\n

Photo: <\/p>\n

Previous<\/a>Next<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 2 million New Yorkers cast ballots in the contest, the largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city\u2019s Board of Elections. With roughly 90% of the votes counted, Mamdani held an approximately 9 percentage point lead over Cuomo.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump<\/a>, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of a more radical Democratic Party that is out of step with mainstream America. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to the city \u2014 and even take it over<\/a> \u2014 if Mamdani won.<\/p>\n

At his victory party in Brooklyn, Mamdani supporters cheered and embraced, some tearfully, after The Associated Press called the race. Campaign posters flew through the air, as one person hoisted the official flag of New York City and Bad Bunny played from the speakers.<\/p>\n

The mood was far more muted at Cuomo\u2019s watch party at a midtown Manhattan theater. In his concession speech, a defiant Cuomo called his campaign \u201ca caution flag that we are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road\u201d and noted that \u201calmost half of New Yorkers did not vote to support a government agenda that makes promises that we know cannot be met.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, he corrected his supporters when they began to boo at the mention of Mamdani\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, that is not right,\u201d he said, offering to help the incoming mayor in any way. \u201cTonight was their night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s grassroots campaign centered on affordability, and his charisma spoiled Cuomo\u2019s attempted political comeback. The former governor, who resigned<\/a> four years ago following allegations of sexual harassment that he continues to deny, was dogged by his past throughout the race and was criticized for running a negative campaign.<\/p>\n

Mamdani will also have to deal with Trump, who not only threatened retribution against the city<\/a>, but also suggested he might try to arrest and deport Mamdani if he won. Mamdani was born in Uganda<\/a>, where he spent his early childhood, but was raised in New York City and became a U.S. citizen in 2018.<\/p>\n

In his speech, Mamdani addressed Trump head on.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant,\u201d he said, adding that, \u201cIf anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump appeared to acknowledge Mamdani\u2019s challenges, posting \u201d\u2026AND SO IT BEGINS!\u201d on his Truth Social site.<\/p>\n

New mayor will pursue an ambitious agenda<\/p>\n

Mamdani, who was criticized throughout the campaign for his thin resume, will now have to begin staffing his incoming administration before taking office next year and game out how he plans to accomplish the ambitious but polarizing agenda that drove him to victory.<\/p>\n

Among the campaign\u2019s promises are free child care, free city bus service, city-run grocery stores and a new Department of Community Safety that would send mental health care workers to handle certain emergency calls rather than police officers. It is unclear how Mamdani will pay for such initiatives, given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s steadfast opposition to his calls to raise taxes on wealthy people.<\/p>\n

His decisions around the leadership of the New York Police Department will also be closely watched. Mamdani was a fierce critic of the department in 2020, calling for \u201cthis rogue agency\u201d to be defunded and slamming it as \u201cracist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.\u201d He has since apologized<\/a> for those comments and has said he will ask the current NYPD commissioner to stay on the job.<\/p>\n

Mamdani\u2019s campaign was driven by his optimistic view of the city and his promises to improve the quality of life for its middle and lower classes.<\/p>\n

Cuomo, Sliwa and other critics assailed him over his vehement criticism of Israel<\/a> \u2019s military actions in Gaza. Mamdani, a longtime advocate of Palestinian rights, has accused Israel of committing genocide and said he would honor an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

Mamdani won over the city while Cuomo faltered<\/p>\n

Mamdani began his campaign as a relatively obscure state lawmaker, little known even within New York City.<\/p>\n

Going into the Democratic primary, Cuomo was the presumed favorite, with near-universal name recognition and deep political connections. Cuomo\u2019s chances were buoyed further when incumbent Mayor Eric Adams bowed out of the primary while dealing with the fallout of his now-dismissed federal corruption case<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But as the race progressed, Mamdani\u2019s natural charm, catchy social media videos and populist economic platform energized voters in the notoriously expensive city. He also began drawing outside attention as his name ID grew.<\/p>\n

Mamdani ultimately trounced Cuomo in the primary by about 13 points. <\/p>\n

The former governor relaunched his campaign as an independent candidate<\/a> for the general election, vowing to hit the streets with a more energetic approach. However, much of his campaign continued to focus on attacking opponents. In the race\u2019s final stretch, he claimed Mamdani\u2019s election would make Jews feel unsafe.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, supporters packed Mamdani\u2019s rallies<\/a>, and he held whimsical events, including a scavenger hunt and a community soccer tournament.<\/p>\n

Cuomo also juxtaposed his deep experience in government with Mamdani\u2019s less than five years in the state Legislature. But the former governor also faced his own political baggage, as his opponents dredged up the sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation, as well as his decisions during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Sliwa, the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group, also had his moments \u2014 mostly in the form of funny quips<\/a> on the debate stage \u2014 but had difficulty gaining traction as a Republican in an overwhelmingly Democratic city.<\/p>\n

He conceded the race about a half hour after the polls closed, wishing Mamdani \u201cgood luck because if he does well, we do well.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he also issued a warning: \u201cIf you try to implement socialism, if you try to render our police weak and impotent, if you forsake the people\u2019s public safety, we will become the mayor-elect and his supporters\u2019 worst enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Philip Marcelo and Jake Offenhartz contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":["post-29245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-staten-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-staten-island","tag-staten-island-headlines","tag-staten-island-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}