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Democratic Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani has twice defeated Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations, in New York City’s mayoral race. 

Mamdani emerged victorious over Cuomo, who ran as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary in June, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in Tuesday’s general election, Decision Desk HQ projects. 

“My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,” Mamdani said in his victory speech. “I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few. New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change, a mandate for a city we can afford and a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that.”  

Mamdani, a 34-year-old self-described democratic socialist, saw a meteoric rise in the past year from a little-known state assemblymember from Queens to the next mayor of New York. 

His victory caps off an extraordinary mayoral campaign season marked by the embattled incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropping out of the race and New York City voters twice rejecting Cuomo’s attempt at a political comeback four years after his resignation as governor following sexual misconduct allegations. 

Mamdani ran a progressive, populist campaign centered on making New York City more affordable, tapping into voter concerns about the cost of living. He proposed offering free universal child care, opening city-run grocery stores, rolling out free bus service and freezing rents on rent-stabilized units.   

Mamdani’s focus on costs, plus his optimistic campaign message and digital savvy, mobilized Democratic voters. Mamdani built a formidable volunteer base and electoral coalition powered in large part by young voters, who turned out in droves to deliver a major upset for Mamdani over Cuomo in the June ranked-choice Democratic primary. 

Mamdani also earned the support of high-profile progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. While some prominent New York political figures were more skeptical of Mamdani, he and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul united over expanding access to child care, one of the biggest contributors to rising costs of living and a top priority for both.  

Mamdani will be New York’s youngest mayor in over a century and the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor. Mamdani’s identities became a focal point in the final days of the race amid a spate of what Mamdani said were Islamophobic comments from his rivals. 

In his victory speech, Mamdani said, “We will refuse to allow those who traffic in division and hate to pit us against one in this moment of political darkness.”

“New York will be the light,” he added. “Here, we believe in standing up for those we love, whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump is firing from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall. Your struggle is ours too.”

The New York City mayor’s race was also a high-profile repudiation of a powerful man accused of sexual misconduct.

One year ago, President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election after being found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the writer and advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s reelection was seen as marking a political and cultural backlash to the #MeToo movement. 

But in New York City, voters rejected Cuomo — a fellow New Yorker and Queens native — who left office following a bombshell 165-page report overseen by the New York attorney general’s office that found he had sexually harassed 11 women, including some state employees. 

Those findings were echoed by similar investigations conducted by the Department of Justice and the New York State Assembly. At the time, Cuomo apologized while denying the most serious allegations against him. In the years since and during his mayoral campaign, Cuomo and his allies have cast doubt on his accusers’ credibility and painted him as the victim of politically motivated investigations. 

While Cuomo’s past scandals were not the most important issue in the race, Mamdani highlighted them when his opponent criticized Mamdani’s relative lack of governing experience.

“What I don’t have in experience, I make up for in integrity, and what you don’t have in integrity, you could never make up for in experience,” Mamdani told Cuomo in an October 16 debate.