Copyright cbc
Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday, capping a stunning ascent for the 34-year-old state lawmaker, who was set to become the city's most liberal mayor in generations. "Over the past 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater," he said to his supporters in Brooklyn following his win. "Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it. The future is in our hands." In a victory for the Democratic party's progressive wing, Mamdani defeated former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani must now navigate the unending demands of America's biggest city and deliver on ambitious — skeptics say unrealistic — campaign promises. With the victory, the self-described democratic socialist will etch his place in history as the city's first Muslim mayor, the first of South Asian heritage and the first born in Africa. He will also become the city's youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on Jan. 1. "New York City, breathe this moment in," Mamdani said. "We are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn." He added, "Hope is alive... hope over tyranny. Hope over big money and small ideas. Hope over despair. We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible." Just after he was projected as the winner, Mamdani's account on the social media platform X posted a video of a subway train pulling up to City Hall station, with an announcement that said, "The next and last stop is City Hall." Mamdani's unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive, left-wing candidates instead of rallying behind centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party. He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of what they say is a more radical Democratic Party. Huge voter turnout More than two million people voted in New York City's mayoral election, according to the city's Board of Elections, the strongest turnout since 1969. The campaign laid bare the Democratic Party's generational and ideological divides as it seeks to rehabilitate its damaged brand. Mamdani managed to energize progressives to score a surprise victory in the Democratic primary over Cuomo — the once-powerful former governor — with a campaign that focused on lowering the cost of living in one of the country's most expensive cities. He generated national buzz and won endorsements from big-name progressives, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His campaign promises included raising taxes on the richest New Yorkers and using the money to make city buses free and provide free, universal child care. He has also promised to freeze rent for people living in about one million rent-regulated apartments. But not everyone embraced the 34-year-old assemblyman. Mamdani's past criticism of the city's police department and the Israeli government's military actions in Gaza — which he has called genocidal — have unnerved some centrists who see him as a potential setback in their effort to broaden the party's national appeal. Some Jewish leaders have also seized on his refusal to support Israel as a Jewish state, calling him a danger to Jews. While Mamdani has distanced himself from some of his past rhetoric on policing, some top New York Democrats remain concerned and have either been slow to endorse him or outright refused to. Trump has also threatened to take over the city if Mamdani wins, as well as arrest and deport the state assembly member, who was born in Uganda but is a U.S. citizen. Trump reluctantly endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the election, saying Mamdani would bring "disaster" to the city and encouraging Republican Curtis Sliwa backers to vote for Cuomo instead. But the former governer was unable to mount a successful political comeback four years after he resigned in the face of sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Ambitious agenda Mamdani, who was criticized throughout the campaign for his thin resume, will now have to begin staffing his incoming administration before taking office next year and game out how he plans to accomplish the ambitious but polarizing agenda that drove him to victory. Among the campaign's other promises are city-run grocery stores and a new Department of Community Safety that would send mental health-care workers to handle certain emergency calls rather than police officers. It is unclear how Mamdani will pay for such initiatives, given Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul's steadfast opposition to his calls to raise taxes on wealthy people. Other elections In other elections Tuesday, Democrats won in both states that were electing governors . Former representative Abigail Spanberger will become Virginia's next governor — and the first woman elected for the job — after running a campaign focused largely on the economy, public safety and health care. She actively distanced herself from some of the Democratic Party's far-left policies. In New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill shored up Democratic control of a state that has been reliably blue in presidential and Senate contests but had shown signs of shifting rightward in recent years. Sherrill, a former navy helicopter pilot and four-term member of Congress, defeated Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by Trump.
