Overview
- The Associated Press called the race for Mamdani with 50.4% of the vote, defeating Independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa to become the city’s first Muslim mayor and its youngest in over a century.
- His victory speech quoted Jawaharlal Nehru, declared the end of a political dynasty, and included a pointed challenge to President Trump on taxes.
- A clip of Bollywood’s “Dhoom Machale” playing as Mamdani left the stage with wife Rama Duwaji and mother Mira Nair went viral, turning the celebration into a global cultural moment.
- Duwaji, 28, is set to be the city’s youngest first lady; the Syrian-American artist quietly shaped the campaign’s branding and wore a top by Palestinian-Jordanian designer Zeid Hijazi on election night.
- Mamdani’s platform centers on affordability measures such as rent freezes, expanded affordable housing, faster free buses, universal childcare, and higher taxes on the wealthy, with his swearing-in scheduled for January 1, 2026.