Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral election

Thursday, 6 November 2025 06:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Zohran Mamdani

BBC - Zohran Mamdani, 34, has won New York City’s race for mayor in a contest that rallied young voters and sparked debate about the future direction of the US Democratic Party.

Ugandan-born Mamdani, a Democrat, beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, to become the youngest person in over a century to lead the largest city in the US.

“My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,” the self-described democratic socialist told the crowd during a victory speech.

Democrats also won governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, while in California voters backed a proposition to redraw the congressional electoral map ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Mamdani made affordability the central message of his campaign, pledging to expand social programmes paid for by new taxes on high earners and corporations.

In New York, he was a relatively unknown member of the state assembly until his campaign gained online momentum a few months ago, propelling him to victory in the Democratic primary contest over the summer.

Mamdani has become the first South Asian and Muslim to lead the city. In his victory speech, he spoke of a “new age”.

“For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands,” Mamdani said.

“The future is in our hands,” he said, pledging to create a government that works “for everyone”.

Mamdani’s campaign has drawn significant national attention, including from US President Donald Trump, who in the days before the vote threatened to withhold federal funds from New York if Mamdani won.

The president calls Mamdani a communist - a label that Mamdani rejects.

There are questions over how Mamdani will pay for his ambitious social agenda and critics have questioned how a politician with no executive experience will handle a hostile Trump administration.

On Tuesday night, Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson criticised the “consequences” of New York City’s choice on social media platform X. “Zohran Mamdani’s election cements the Democrat Party’s transformation to a radical, big-government socialist party,” he wrote.

The president also posted on social media, blaming the shutdown, and his not appearing on the ballot, for Republican losses Tuesday night.