Zohran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, will be New York City’s 111th mayor and the first Muslim to lead the country’s largest city, NBC News’ Decision Desk projects.
The 34-year-old state representative beat out former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
“For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands,” Mamdani told supporters at his headquarters in Brooklyn on Tuesday evening.
“And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater,” he continued. “Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it.”
Mamdani ran on a platform centered around affordability, promising to freeze the rent on rent-stabilized apartments, open city-owned grocery stores and provide fare-free buses and free child care.
His victory could further a reckoning within the national Democratic Party, which has wrestled with balancing its big-tent approach with the appeal of up-and-coming progressive political powerhouses such as Mamdani.
The state’s party establishment hesitated to embrace Mamdani even after he won the primary in June over Cuomo and others. While he was endorsed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, he never received formal support from either of New York’s Democratic senators, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. And a lukewarm endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries only came in the closing days of the campaign.
Cuomo’s entry into the mayoral race marked his return to politics after a four-year exile, following a 2021 report from the state’s attorney general that found he had harassed 11 women and presided over a “hostile work environment” while in Albany. He has denied those claims.
Tuesday’s results cap off a fiery campaign that transcended the city’s limits and captured national attention, including from President Donald Trump.
Despite their tumultuous history, the president reportedly pushed for current Mayor Eric Adams to drop his reelection bid in an effort to coalesce the field around Cuomo — and against Mamdani. (Adams eventually did precisely that.)
Trump frequently targeted Mamdani, calling him a “little communist mayor,” and vowing to punish the city by withholding federal funding if Mamdani were to be elected.
That vow came as the administration continues to send National Guard troops into Democratic-run cities as part of the president’s crime crackdown. Trump’s threat to do the same in New York became a major issue in the mayoral race. Cuomo and Mamdani both pitched themselves as better equipped to go toe-to-toe with the president.
Throughout the campaign, Mamdani attempted to paint Cuomo as an extension of Trump, highlighting the former governor’s wealthy donors, many of whom had also given to the president’s campaign. The state representative also ripped Cuomo for his handling of nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Mamdani attacked Cuomo’s record, the former governor hit back at the state representative for his political inexperience. The 67-year-old said Mamdani “never had a real job,” and questioned his qualifications to lead a city of nearly nine million people.
Cuomo also targeted Mamdani over his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza. Mamdani has repeatedly condemned the country’s handling of the war and said its conduct amounted to genocide.
During the Democratic primary, Mamdani came under fire after he did not distance himself from the use of the term “globalize the intifada,” which some Jewish people argue amounts to a call for violence. Mamdani, who said he never used the phrase himself, has since said he would “discourage this language.”
