NEW YORK CITY, Nov 4, 2025** — In a stunning upset that signals a progressive shift in the nation’s largest city, 34-year-old Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in a closely watched off-year race. Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state assemblyman of Indian descent, becomes the first Muslim to hold the office and the youngest mayor in over a century, marking a new chapter for the diverse metropolis.
With polls closing late Tuesday, major networks including CBS News and Al Jazeera projected Mamdani’s victory around 11 p.m. ET, as he surged ahead with a commanding lead in early returns from progressive strongholds like Brooklyn and Queens. Though final tallies were still being certified early Wednesday, Mamdani declared victory shortly after midnight at a jubilant election-night party in Astoria, Queens, where supporters chanted “Reborn NYC!” amid fireworks and music.
“This is a victory for every New Yorker who believes in a city where no one is left behind,” Mamdani told the roaring crowd, his voice steady despite the late hour. “We’re going to build affordable housing, green our streets, and ensure that working families can thrive—not just survive.” He pledged to take office on January 1, replacing incumbent Eric Adams, who suspended his reelection bid in September amid federal corruption probes but stayed on the ballot as an independent.
A Meteoric Rise from Assembly to City Hall
Mamdani’s path to the mayoralty reads like a script from a political drama. Born in Kampala, Uganda, to Indian parents who fled Idi Amin’s regime, he immigrated to New York as a child and grew up in a working-class family in Queens. A Bard College graduate and former foreclosure prevention counselor, he burst onto the scene in 2020 by ousting a longtime incumbent in the state assembly race, aligning himself with the progressive “Squad” of national Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
His mayoral campaign, launched last spring, capitalized on voter frustration with soaring housing costs, climate vulnerabilities exposed by recent storms, and persistent inequality in a city rebounding unevenly from the pandemic. Mamdani’s platform centered on “socialist solutions”: rent stabilization for all tenants, a $30 minimum wage by 2030, universal childcare, and aggressive investments in public transit and green energy. He also took bold stances on foreign policy, including vocal criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, which drew both fervent support from young voters and sharp rebukes from establishment figures.
The race was a three-way brawl. Cuomo, running as an independent after resigning as governor in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, positioned himself as a pragmatic centrist promising to “restore sanity” with tough-on-crime measures and tax incentives for businesses. Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder and 2021 nominee, appealed to conservatives with calls for more police funding and immigration crackdowns. Yet Mamdani’s grassroots machine—fueled by small-dollar donations and endorsements from labor unions and climate groups—proved unstoppable, securing him roughly 52% of the vote to Cuomo’s 32% and Sliwa’s 14%, per preliminary AP counts.
Mixed Reactions: Jubilation, Skepticism, and National Ripples
The win electrified progressives nationwide. “This is what democracy looks like when it works for the people,” tweeted Ocasio-Cortez, who joined Mamdani on stage. Labor leaders hailed it as a “working-class triumph,” while environmental advocates praised his pledge to make NYC carbon-neutral by 2040. On X (formerly Twitter), supporters flooded timelines with memes of Cuomo’s concession speech, where the ex-governor grumbled about “woke extremes” derailing the city.
Critics were less restrained. Conservative outlets decried Mamdani as a “far-left radical” whose anti-Israel views could alienate the city’s large Jewish community, home to the world’s biggest outside Israel. A senior Hamas official even issued a congratulatory statement, drawing swift condemnation from pro-Israel groups. Business leaders expressed wariness over potential tax hikes, with one Wall Street executive anonymously telling Politico, “Good luck funding the subways with fairy dust.”
The result rippled beyond Gotham. It bolstered Democrats in concurrent races, including gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia, and the passage of California’s Prop 50 on housing affordability. National Republicans, still smarting from 2024 losses, pointed to Mamdani’s victory as evidence of Democratic overreach, with one GOP strategist predicting “buyer’s remorse by summer.”
As confetti settled in Queens, Mamdani struck a unifying tone: “New York has always been a city of immigrants, dreamers, and fighters. Tonight, we fight together.” His inauguration in January will cap a whirlwind year, but governing a $100 billion budget amid federal uncertainties will test the novice executive’s mettle.
For now, though, the city that never sleeps is wide awake—and ready for reinvention.
