Democrat Zohran Mamdani sweeps to victory in New York City mayoral election and lays down challenge to Trump – live | Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani triumphs on a strong night for Democrats
It was an encouraging evening for the American left, with Democratic victories in three key elections sending a warning signal to Trump ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The main points to remember:
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Zohran Mamdani is the elected mayor of New York City with a resounding victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo. With more than 97% of votes counted, the 34-year-old received more votes — at least 1.03 million — than all other candidates combined, including Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
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Democrats also won two key state gubernatorial elections, with Abigail Spanberger triumphant in Virginia and Mike Sherrill in New Jersey.
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California adopted Proposition 50, a measure that will temporarily redistrict the state in hopes of countering Republican efforts to do the same in Texas. The new maps could help Democrats win five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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President Donald Trump distanced himself from the losses, suggesting on social media that Republican defeats were due to the government shutdown and the fact that his own name was not on the ballot.
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As Mamdani delivered his victory speech, the president also issued a cryptic missive: “AND SO IT BEGINS!
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Mamdani directly challenged Trump in his victory speech in Brooklyn, promising to use his role to counter his divisive policies. “Donald Trump, since I know you are watching, I have four words for you: increase the volume.»
Key events
Let’s take a look at the distribution of votes in New York’s boroughs:
Mamdani managed to build a broad coalition of supporters across multiple bases, from working-class immigrants to young liberal voters. Across the city, they turned out in droves — and that surge triumphed over Cuomo’s base that was bolstered by Republican voters.
Trump’s reaction throughout the night
Even though yesterday’s elections were local – at the state and mayoral level – the US president weighed in, particularly targeting Mamdani’s campaign for mayor of New York.
Trump unleashed some last-minute invectives – urging people to vote for disgraced former New York governor Cuomo instead of Mamdani and calling the 34-year-old left-wing Muslim a “Jew-hater.”
And as the results poured in last night, also showing victories for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in two states, Trump took shots at Truth Social.
He blamed the Republican defeat on anonymous “pollsters,” suggesting the factors were the current government shutdown and the absence of his own drawing power.
“TRUMP WAS NOT ON THE BALLOT, AND THE SHUTDOWN, WERE TWO REASONS WHY REPUBLICANS LOSED THE ELECTION TONIGHT,” according to pollsters.
And then, as Mamdani attacked Trump’s divisive policies in his victory speech, Trump posted another line on Truth Social:
“…AND SO IT BEGINS!” »
‘Absolutely thrilled’: New Yorkers celebrate with cheers, tears and DSA chants
Mamdani will be New York’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in over a century – but not its first immigrant mayor, nor its first mayor to champion socialist ideals. New Yorkers celebrated his monumental election with official and unofficial parties spread across all five boroughs.
My colleagues Sam Wolfson, Alaina Demopoulos and Saam Niami were present on different stages:
At a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) party in Brooklyn, supporters erupted shortly after the race was called at 9:30 p.m. The DJ immediately started playing I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas. This evening was a good, good night for those in the room, who burst into tears, hugs and twerks.
“It just shows that our politics are not radical, that New Yorkers actually think what we believe is reasonable, and maybe the rest of the country is ready for some common-sense, democratic socialism,” said Will, 40, a Department of Health employee who has been a DSA member for years.
With the dance floor in full swing, Ellie, a 28-year-old bartender from Bed-Stuy, said she felt “absolutely elated.”
This is the first time we have had hope in so long.
These are the people who fought for Mamdani when he was at 1%, who celebrated his socialist principles while others said they disqualified him.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people lined the sidewalk outside another DSA watch party, cheering and waving signs and, in the case of one woman, a cardboard cutout of Mamdani.
The crowd was a real mix: black, white, brown, young and old, partygoers, butch lesbians, bridge and tunnel kids who didn’t even get to vote in the election but still felt the repercussions.
Amber Pease, 25, lives in Nassau County, Long Island. Her inability to vote did not stop her from volunteering for Zohran’s campaign. She wants to find a job and move to the city soon.
“I was waiting to see a good progressive candidate, and to have one so close to home, it gives me a lot of hope.”
Mamdani sealed a remarkable victory but the real challenge remains
Adam Gabbatt
After more than a year of promises regarding rent freezes and free childcare, Zohran Mamdani wakes up Wednesday with a daunting task ahead of him: making these things a reality for New York City.
The 34-year-old democratic socialist led New York’s most ambitious mayoral campaign in years, attracting hundreds of thousands of supporters with bold promises to make America’s largest city affordable.
It was a campaign that made Mamdani a global sensation and invigorated many New Yorkers like never before, attracting nearly 100,000 volunteers. Mamdani has rejuvenated the left beyond the borders of New York, encouraging other progressives to run for office across the United States, and could further influence the Democratic Party ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The other side of the coin, however, is clear: the people of New York had impossibly high hopes, and now Mamdani must deliver on those promises.
“I think for New Yorkers, this is a small light in what has been a time of overwhelming darkness,” said Oussama Andrabidirector of communications at progressive Justice Democrats organization.
“A local victory” which offers resistance to Washington
Mamdani’s victory for New York City mayor caps a meteoric and improbable rise from anonymous lawmaker to one of the country’s most visible Democratic figures. He is a left-wing figure followed internationally.
When the race was announced in his favor last night, the enthusiasm was palpable across New York.
It is a “local victory” which offers a way to “resist and push back” the political establishment in Washington, Ben Parisi, 40, told AFP.
The mood, he added, was in stark contrast to Trump’s victory last year.
Mamdani triumphs on a strong night for Democrats
It was an encouraging evening for the American left, with Democratic victories in three key elections sending a warning signal to Trump ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The main points to remember:
-
Zohran Mamdani is the elected mayor of New York City with a resounding victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo. With more than 97% of votes counted, the 34-year-old received more votes — at least 1.03 million — than all other candidates combined, including Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
-
Democrats also won two key state gubernatorial elections, with Abigail Spanberger triumphant in Virginia and Mike Sherrill in New Jersey.
-
California adopted Proposition 50, a measure that will temporarily redistrict the state in hopes of countering Republican efforts to do the same in Texas. The new maps could help Democrats win five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
-
President Donald Trump distanced himself from the losses, suggesting on social media that Republican defeats were due to the government shutdown and the fact that his own name was not on the ballot.
-
As Mamdani delivered his victory speech, the president also issued a cryptic missive: “AND SO IT BEGINS!
-
Mamdani directly challenged Trump in his victory speech in Brooklyn, promising to use his role to counter his divisive policies. “Donald Trump, since I know you are watching, I have four words for you: increase the volume.»
The dawn of a left-wing mayor
Hello, it’s the dawn of a new era in New York where many are celebrating democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s decisive mayoral victory.
Mamdani is the city’s first Muslim mayor and, at 34, the youngest to hold the position in more than a century.
In an exultant speech at his victory party last night, Mamdani took it directly to Trump, saying he knew the Republican president was watching.
“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it’s the city that gave birth to him. And if there’s a way to terrify a despot, it’s by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.”
“In this time of political darkness, New York will be the light.”
Let’s go.
