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In a historic win, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani has been elected Mayor of New York City, defeating former Governor Andrew M Cuomo with 50.6% of the votes.
Mamdani led in four out of the five New York boroughs with the highest margin (23) in Queens. Cuomo led in Staten Island with a 33 point margin.
Polls closed at 9 pm EST on November 4.
At 34, Mamdani is now New York City’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, and also reportedly its second democratic socialist mayor and the youngest in more than a century.
The election for New York’s 111th mayor has been among the most bitterly fought contests in recent US history. It is the first major poll since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
The mayoral race came down to three key contenders — Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Cuomo ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primaries to Mamdani in June.
Cost of living and immigration have been among the key issues this election was fought over.
On November 3, Trump endorsed Cuomo over Sliwa, saying, “Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You must vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it. Mamdani is not!” Cuomo also received the backing of tech billionaire Elon Musk, who argued that votes for Sliwa would split the anti-Mamdani bloc.
Responding to Trump’s endorsement, Mamdani quipped, “Congratulations, Andrew Cuomo. I know how hard you worked for this.”
Earlier, Politico reported that Cuomo had quietly sought Trump’s support despite public denials.
Trump, meanwhile, threatened to withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani were to win. “If Communist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins... it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum required, to my beloved first home. I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad (sic),” he wrote.
Mamdani responded sharply: “It is a threat, not the law. Too often we treat whatever comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth as if it’s legal by virtue of who’s saying it. It’s time to stand up to the bullies who make these threats… The best way to respond to Donald Trump is to stand up and fight back.”
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Zohran Kwame Mamdani is the son of Gujarat-born academic Mahmoud Mamdani and Padma Bhushan–winning filmmaker Mira Nair. Born in Kampala, Uganda, he became a naturalised US citizen in 2018.
Identifying as a democratic socialist, Mamdani campaigned on an ambitious progressive platform of rent freezes, free bus rides, universal child care, increased public school funding, city-owned grocery stores, corporate tax hikes, and stronger LGBTQIA+ and immigrant protections.
He received endorsements from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who joined his “New York is Not for Sale” rally in October.
At the rally, Sanders said, “Do not underestimate our opponents. They have a lot of money. A year ago, very few people in New York knew about a 33-year-old assemblyman named Zohran Mamdani. He created an extraordinary grassroots movement.”
Mamdani has served since 2021 as a member of the New York State Assembly from the 36th district, covering Astoria, Ditmars–Steinway, and Astoria Heights.
Before his tenure as Assemblyman, he worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counsellor, helping low-income homeowners—largely people of colour—fight eviction orders in Queens. His official biography notes that this experience inspired him to enter public office.
At the beginning of Mamdani’s campaign, polls suggested he had only 1% support. Taking many by surprise, he went on to win the primaries, clinching 56% of the votes required to become the Democratic candidate.
His campaign has been described as grassroots-driven, powered largely by volunteers and small donations — a rarity in US politics, where super PACs dominate electoral funding.
In contrast, Cuomo was backed by New York’s wealthy landlords, developers, and at least two billionaires, among other donors. One analysis found that donations from real estate developers alone added up to USD 6 million.
Other reports show Boston-based building developer Suffolk Constructions donated USD 250,000. Vornado Realty Trust gave USD 150,000. Both reportedly had plans to expand in New York, which is facing a major housing crisis. DoorDash, a company similar to Indian delivery giants like Zepto or Swiggy, contributed USD 1 million.
In October, New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael R Bloomberg donated USD 1.5 million to Cuomo’s campaign, on top of the USD 8 million he had spent backing him in the primaries.
Cuomo’s donors even included Netflix cofounder Reed Hastings. Forbes reported that in total 26 billionaires and billion-dollar families have spent a total of over USD 22 million on opponents in an attempt to stop Mamdani.
Two months before the elections, Mamdani’s campaign hit the spending cap of USD 8 million, leading him to release a video requesting supporters to stop donations and volunteer their time instead. Speaking later on The Daily Show, Mamdani said his campaign had 90,000 volunteers who did door-to-door or phone canvassing.
“After the presidential election, there were obituaries written about the Democratic Party’s ability to motivate young voters. There’s a condescension we use in the language we use about young people. But what we found is that young people have been at the heart of believing that something could be more than this,” Mamdani told show host Jon Stewart.
During campaign debates, Mamdani repeatedly raised the 2021 sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, made by 13 women who had worked under him. “You [Cuomo] had spent more than USD 20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political. You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women,” Mamdani said.
He pointed out that Cuomo had tried to access the gynaecological records of one of these women. “She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak.”
Mamdani has been outspoken on Palestine, vowing that as mayor, he would honour the International Criminal Court’s 2024 arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli Prime Minister were to visit New York. His statement drew bipartisan backlash and accusations of anti-Semitism.
Yet, polls indicate strong support among Jewish voters. A Zenith Research poll gave Mamdani a 17-point lead over Cuomo, while another found 52% of Jewish voters under 50 supported him. He has also been endorsed by Jewish groups including, Bend the Arc, Jewish Voice for Peace Action (JVP Action), and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ).
Mamdani has drawn attention for his criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he has accused of the “mass slaughter of Muslims” during the 2002 Gujarat riots. He has called Modi a “war criminal”, comparing him to Netanyahu, and has been an outspoken critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the Ayodhya Ram Temple movement, making him a frequent target of Hindu nationalist groups in the US.