A socialist in the mecca of capitalism. The first Muslim at the helm of the city of 9/11. The youngest in history in the midst of veterans. Zohran Mamdani, at 34 years old, with no experience leading an institution and without the formal support of his Party, the Democrats, won the mayoral election in New York City on Tuesday, the largest city in the United States. He did so decisively, with a whopping 50% of the votes in a day that saw over two million ballots cast, something unprecedented since the 1960s, to defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
At 9:39 PM, just over half an hour after the polls closed, the AP agency declared victory and the Paramount Theatre in Brooklyn, the venue for Mamdani's celebration, erupted in applause, cheers (some for Free Palestine), and hugs. At that moment, the candidate's social media account posted a video of the subway doors opening at City Hall station, near the city hall.
Mamdani was the favorite according to all polls and betting houses. Analysts almost took it for granted, but the impact has been immense. In the city and throughout the country. It is a municipal victory but a national shake-up that comes amid a deep debate over the soul of the Democratic Party. A party adrift, without an opposition strategy, without a clear leader not only for the 2028 presidential elections but also for the 2026 legislative elections. Divided between those advocating for centrism and those calling to move left and not shy away from direct confrontation with the White House and the Republicans. A party that tonight, for the first time in a long time, has smiled.
"Donald Trump, I know you are listening so I raise my voice (...) Today we breathe the air of a reborn city. Tonight New York has spoken clearly: hope is alive. Hope over tyranny, hope over the power of money and petty ideas, hope over despair. We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to believe that the impossible could become reality," declared the man of the night. "We won because we insisted that politics would no longer be something imposed on us. Now, it is something we do. Over the past twelve months, we have dared to aspire to something great. Tonight, against all odds, we have achieved it. The future is in our hands," he celebrated.
With victory assured, albeit with a small margin (even if all of Sliwa's votes were added, Cuomo would not have had enough), the focus was on whether he would reach the 50% mark, a psychological threshold for commentators, a symbol, they said, of a true mandate. With over 90% of the votes counted, Cuomo was trailing 50-41%. When his father, Mario, ran for mayor of the city under exactly the same circumstances, as an independent after also losing the Democratic primaries in 1977, he was defeated by Ed Koch by 50-41%, as recalled last night by NBC. And so it was.
"Expectations are very high, but we will meet them. New York is a city of immigrants, built by immigrants and from today, governed by immigrants (...) I am young, I am Muslim, and I am a democratic socialist, and I will not apologize for it," he retorted to applause from the audience packing the theater. A very young audience, with an average age of under 30, part of the over 100,000 New Yorkers who volunteered in the campaign. Supporters and members of the Socialist Party and the Workers' Party. Committed with every mention of a group they consider threatened: immigrants, transgender individuals, women, or minorities.
Since the beginning of the year, Trump has insulted Mamdani repeatedly and threatened to cut federal funds to a minimum. Just an hour after the results began to be known, the president reacted on social media, saying: "The absence of Trump on the ballots and the state shutdown are the two reasons why Republicans lost the elections tonight, according to the polls." A way to emphasize that he does not lose, it is others. And that the reason is the situation in Congress, something he will try to resolve today, after a meeting with all senators from his party at the White House.
The mayor says that realism is essential and accepting that a clash with Washington "is not a possibility, it is practically inevitable." And that yielding or hiding is not an option. "The president will not intimidate me", he asserted minutes after casting his vote. Already at the celebration party, euphoric, he challenged: "We can respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength they fear, not with the complacency they crave. After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that saw him born," he added amidst cheers.
Mamdani has achieved what seemed impossible. In just twelve months, he went from a complete unknown to a national celebrity. But if winning in the city of skyscrapers against seasoned veterans, politicians with powerful friends, and million-dollar budgets seems difficult, it will be even more challenging to fulfill his campaign promises. Proposals that require money he does not have, political support he lacks, and facing not only the president before whom leaders from around the world have bowed but also the leadership of his own party.
The night was very good for them. Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger won the elections in New Jersey and Virginia and will be governors. Jay Jones will also be the attorney general of Virginia. The brother of Vice President J.D. Vance was overwhelmingly defeated in his attempt to become mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mary Sheffield will be the first woman on the Detroit City Council and Corey O'Connor in Pittsburgh.