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Zohran Mamdani Elected New York City’s First Muslim Mayor After Highest Turnout in Decades

The progressive lawmaker faces funding tests with federal pushback looming before his January 1 swearing-in.

Overview

  • AP projected Mamdani the winner with about 50.4% to Andrew Cuomo’s 41.6%, with Curtis Sliwa near 7% and more than two million ballots cast, the highest mayoral turnout since 1969.
  • At 34, he will be the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century and its first Asian American and Muslim leader.
  • He ran on an affordability agenda featuring a temporary rent freeze, fare-free buses, expanded childcare and a city-run grocery pilot funded by higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations.
  • President Donald Trump attacked him as a “communist,” threatened to restrict federal aid and deploy National Guard troops, and Republican figures urged reviews of his citizenship and naturalization.
  • Mamdani’s bid drew late backing from Hakeem Jeffries and Gov. Kathy Hochul along with support from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he signaled continuity on public safety by saying he would keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and apologizing for past remarks about the police.