Democratic Socialist and Democratic Nominee Zohran Mamdani has won the 2025 New York City Mayoral Race, surpassing former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo by over 150,000 votes and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa by over 800,000 votes. He will become the City’s “youngest mayor since 1892, its first Muslim mayor, and its first mayor born in Africa,” according to BBC News. 

This outcome didn’t come as a surprise to many, given Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary. “The polls pretty consistently expected a Mamdani win,” shared Virginia Dillon, Head of Poly’s History Department. As BBC News noted prior to Election Day, “Opinion polls suggest Mamdani…is ahead of Cuomo, who is running as an Independent after Mamdani bested him in the Democratic primary. The Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, trails behind.” 

Mamdani was born in 1991 in Kampala, Uganda and immigrated to New York when he was seven. He initially “worked as a housing counsellor, helping low-income homeowners in Queens fight eviction,” according to BBC News. Mamdani then joined the New York State Assembly in 2021. 

As a self-described Democratic Socialist, Mamdani also centered his campaign around bettering the lives of the working class. He presented himself “as a candidate of the people,” described BBC News. Mamdani’s promise to improve economic conditions was also “really central to his platform,” Dillon remarked. This is apparent in his aims to instate fare-free modes of transportation and low-cost grocery stores that are funded by the City, according to his website. 

After his victory was projected, Mamdani spoke to a crowd of supporters, emphasizing that his leadership would give the working class more power and representation. Mamdani also warned President Donald Trump, saying, “if any city could show the nation how to defeat Trump, it was the ‘city that gave rise to him,” according to the Guardian. 

Mamdani concluded his speech with a message to the crowd: “New York, this power, is yours. This city belongs to you.”