Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor’s race, capping a stunning ascent

NEW YORK AP Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City on Tuesday capping a stunning ascent for the -year-old state lawmaker who was set to become the city s majority of liberal mayor in generations In a achievement for the Democratic party s progressive wing Mamdani defeated former Gov Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa Mamdani must now confront the unending demands of America s biggest city and deliver on ambitious skeptics say unrealistic campaign promises With the win the 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 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 The contest drove the biggest turnout in a mayoral race in more than years with more than million New Yorkers casting ballots according to the city s Board of Elections Mamdani s grassroots campaign centered on affordability and his charisma spoiled Cuomo s attempted political comeback The former governor who resigned four years ago following assertions of sexual harassment that he continues to deny was dogged by his past throughout the race and was criticized for running a negative campaign There s also the question of how he will deal with Trump who threatened to take over the city and to arrest and deport Mamdani if he won Mamdani was born in Uganda where he spent his early childhood but was raised in New York City and became a U S citizen in Mamdani must now start building for his 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 battle out how he plans to accomplish the ambitious but polarizing agenda that drove him to win Among the campaign s promises are free child care free city bus system city-run grocery stores and a new Department of Population Safety that would send mental physical condition care workers to handle certain urgency 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 His decisions around the leadership of the New York Police Department will also be closely watched Mamdani was a fierce critic of the department in calling for this rogue agency to be defunded and slamming it as racist anti-queer a major threat to society safety He has since apologized for those comments and has noted he will ask the current NYPD commissioner to stay on the job Mamdani s campaign was driven by his optimistic view of the city and his promises to improve the quality of life for its middle and lower classes But Cuomo Sliwa and other critics assailed him over his vehement criticism of Israel s military actions in Gaza Mamdani a longtime advocate of Palestinian rights has accused Israel of committing genocide and commented he would honor an arrest warrant the International Criminal Court issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu How Mamdani won over the city while Cuomo faltered Mamdani began his campaign as a relatively obscure state lawmaker little known even within New York City Going into the Democratic primary Cuomo was the presumed favorite with near-universal name recognition and deep political connections Cuomo s chances were buoyed further when incumbent Mayor Eric Adams bowed out of the primary while dealing with the fallout of his now-dismissed federal corruption circumstance But as the race progressed Mamdani s natural charm catchy social media videos and populist economic platform energized voters in the notoriously expensive city He also began drawing outside attention as his name ID grew Mamdani ultimately trounced Cuomo in the primary by about points The former governor relaunched his campaign as an independent candidate for the general ballot vowing to hit the streets with a more energetic approach However much of his campaign continued to focus on attacking opponents In the race s final stretch he claimed Mamdani s referendum would make Jews feel unsafe Meanwhile supporters packed Mamdani s rallies and he held whimsical events including a scavenger hunt and a area soccer tournament Cuomo also juxtaposed his deep experience in regime with Mamdani s less than five years in the state Legislature But the former governor also faced his own political baggage as his opponents dredged up the sexual harassment charges that led to his resignation as well as his decisions during the early days of the COVID- pandemic