Zohran Mamdani is now Mayor-elect Mamdani. Now comes the hard part.
The youngest New York City mayor in more than a century will take office with massive expectations to deliver on his lofty campaign promises while managing the nation’s largest city with a famously impatient citizenry, all while some leaders of his own party refuse to get on board and Republican President Donald Trump threatens to punish the entire metropolis that elected him.
Mamdani, 34, secured a nine-point victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, cementing his meteoric rise from relatively unknown democratic socialist to the face of the Democratic Party’s new guard.
His supporters think other Democrats could learn a thing or two from his campaign.
"If we take on the affordability crisis with the urgency it demands and name the villains at the heart of creating this income inequality crisis, then anything is possible in our politics," said Morris Katz, the 26-year-old chief media adviser for Mamdani’s campaign.
Mamdani’s path to delivering on his promises runs from City Hall to Albany and Washington, D.C. He’ll need allies at the state and federal levels to help secure funding to make them a reality.
But Mamdani’s swift rise has highlighted an ongoing generational divide within New York’s Democratic Party that could complicate his ability to deliver.
The progressive wing of the party, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has embraced him and vowed to fight for his agenda. He has allies in Albany, including the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly. Some moderates endorsed him more reluctantly, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Other top Democrats, including state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs and Rep. Tom Suozzi, actively refused to endorse Mamdani, with Suozzi backing Cuomo instead. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer refused to tell reporters who he voted for in the race.
“Look, I voted and I look forward to working with the next mayor to help New York City,” Schumer said Tuesday afternoon.
Mamdani backers are hopeful his performance in Tuesday’s election could help them see the light.
He earned a majority of the vote in the three-way race that also included Curtis Sliwa. The Associated Press called the race a half hour after the polls closed.
“It's not a referendum," former Mayor Bill de Blasio said at Mamdani’s victory party. "It's one city. But it says Democrats are getting a great example of what we need to do going forward — talk about kitchen table issues, go out into the communities, listen to people, give them a reason to have some hope.”
The GOP sees Mamdani’s win differently, with party leaders making clear they intend to try to block his agenda. On Monday, Trump said he intended to withhold money from the five boroughs should Mamdani win.
“It is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home, because of the fact that, as a Communist, this once great City has ZERO chance of success, or even survival!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday.
Even before Tuesday, Republicans across the state had been using Mamdani as a lightning rod in their own races, taking any opportunity they could to tie their Democratic opponents to his socialist policies.
Mamdani supporters packed the Brooklyn Paramount where he was set to deliver a victory speech.
State Assemblymember Ari Brown, a Long Island Republican, pointed to Schumer’s non-endorsement as a sign Democrats are scared of Mamdani’s effects on their future electoral prospects.
“They’re all terrified,” he said. “Chuck Schumer couldn’t endorse anybody. I mean, crazy, right? Minority leader couldn’t say who he even voted for.”
Brown’s comments Tuesday night came at Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s victory party. A Trump ally, Blakeman, won re-election but said his mood was dampened by Mamdani’s win.
“He made a lot of promises,” Blakeman said. “Let’s see if he can keep his promises.”
Mamdani, meanwhile, has vowed to stand up to Trump head-on, even as the president threatens to send National Guard troops to the five boroughs, much like he did to Chicago and Portland.
He spoke directly to Trump in his victory speech Tuesday, taking direct aim at the president’s ongoing immigration crackdown while touting his own status as a Ugandan-born immigrant.
“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight — led by an immigrant,” Mamdani said.
Includes reporting by Jimmy Vielkind.
