Zohran Mamdani makes history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor

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New York’s youth elected young leftist Zehran Mamdani as its next mayor on Tuesday and Democrats won two key state governor races as US voters gave President Donald Trump an early warning ahead of the 2026 midterms.

The clean sweeps in several ballots across the country since he returned to the White House will boost morale for Democrats as Trump attacks across the country, setting alarm bells ringing in Republican circles.

Mamdani’s victory came amid fierce attacks on his policies and Muslim heritage from President Donald Trump, the business elite and the conservative media.

Democratic victories in gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey suggest a shift in the political mood as the country looks to next year’s midterm elections when Congress will take control.

“Democrats are smoking Donald Trump and Republican extremists across the country,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, writing on X that “the Democratic Party is back.”

Mamdani, a state legislator from Queensborough, New York, appealed to voters by promising to tackle the rising cost of living by offering free city bus travel, child care and city-run grocery stores.

He focused on helping ordinary New Yorkers with housing costs, through his informal personal style, social media savvy and massive canvassing ground game.

“The next and last stop is City Hall,” Mamdani said in a video posted of X showing the subway train doors opening to the City Hall station.

The self-proclaimed socialist was virtually unknown before his upset victory to secure the Democratic nomination against former governor Andrew Cuomo, whom he upset again on Tuesday.

There was a party atmosphere at the one-story Brooklyn concert venue for supporters to watch his results, with the 34-year-old expected to speak on the night.

Trump made an eleventh-hour intervention in the race, calling Mamdani, who will become New York’s first Muslim mayor when he takes office in January, a “Jew hater.”

Republican candidate Curtis Silva, founder of the Guardian Angels Citizen Crime Patrol group, came in third after weeks of Cuomo insisting he bowed out to boost his chances.

“That’s typical of Andrew, he always blames other people for his failures,” Silva told AFP ahead of the results. “Of course he’s going to blame me.”

Prominent businessmen, including Bill Axman, attacked Mamdani and cashed in on his rivals, while conservative media outlets, including the New York Post, published blanket negative coverage.

Turnout was high in this year’s vote with 1.45 million people casting ballots by 3pm (2000 GMT) – more than the total number of voters in the 2021 race.

The Struggle Up

Mamdani’s improbable rise underscores the Democratic Party’s debate about the future of the centrist or left wing, with some key national figures offering only strong endorsements of Mamdani ahead of the vote.

“There is a civil war in the Democratic Party,” Cuomo said.

“You have a very radical left that runs socialists that are challenging what they call moderate Democrats. I´ma moderate Democrat,” he said after the vote.

Grant Rehr, a political science professor at Syracuse University, said this would leave Mayor Mamdani with an uphill battle “at the center of all these nasty political conflicts.” “

“Everybody has their knives out, and it’s a very difficult city to govern,” he told AFP.

Cuomo’s findings had a somber mood among some attendees at the party, with some predicting that Trump would immediately deploy the National Guard to the city.

Others blamed Silva for splitting the center-right vote.

In New Jersey, Democratic candidate Mickey Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot, defeated Republican Jack Citrelli, a Trump-backed businessman.

In the Virginia governor’s race, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger upset a Republican to defeat Virginia Lt. Governor Winsome Earl Sears.

Both sides have brought out the big guns, with former President Barack Obama rallying support for Spanberger and Sherrill.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but the future looks a little brighter,” Obama said in response to the win.