Zohran Mamdani’s history-making win within the NYC mayoral race on Tuesday was greeted with elation, help — and a few trepidation.
The trailblazing mayor-elect received reward from supporters who mentioned his victory mirrored his inspiring message of generational change and indefatigable marketing campaign deal with affordability.
“Our assignment is to elect the fiercest fighters for the working class,” mentioned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio. “In New York City, unquestionably, it is Zohran Mamdani… We have a future to fight for together.”
Gov. Hochul vowed to work intently with Mamdani after calling him on Election Evening.
“I’m looking forward to working together to make our city more affordable and livable,” Hochul tweeted. “Congratulations to him and to every New Yorker who made their voice heard in one of the city’s highest-turnout elections on record.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul poses for a photograph with (L-R) State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, State Senate, Deputy Majority Chief, Michael Gianaris, Costa Constantinides, Chief Government Officer, Selection Boys & Women Membership of Queens in Astoria, Zohran Mamdani, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards at they announce funding for increasing the Astoria’s Selection Boys and Women Membership to assist begin a $300 million growth undertaking Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025 in Queens, New York, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Each day Information)
Sen. Chuck Schumer, who refused to endorse Mamdani earlier than Election Day, congratulated the brand new mayor on “his well-earned and historic victory.”
“Mamdani uplift(ed) the values that make our city strong: equality of opportunity, fairness and an abiding concern for all New Yorkers,” Schumer mentioned in a press release.
With near-record turnout, Mamdani, 34, defeated ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a repeat of his Democratic main election win, with Republican Curtis Sliwa trailing far behind.
Zohran Mandani supporters cheer after he is declared the victor at Mamdani’s celebration social gathering Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Barry Williams/ New York Each day Information)
President Trump’s endorsement of Cuomo on the eve of Election Day could have harm greater than it helped with a metropolis citizens that disapproves of the president’s efficiency by a 70% to 30% margin, in line with exit polls.
Trump didn’t point out Mamdani in his first response after the upstart candidate’s win and denied that the outcomes throughout the nation quantity to a repudiation of him.
“Trump wasn’t on the ballot and the (government) shutdown were the two reasons Republicans lost,” he wrote on his Fact Social platform, quoting unnamed political analysts.
Ex-Mayor Invoice De Blasio praised Mamdani, who will develop into the Huge Apple’s first Muslim mayor, for returning “with humility” to flip locations that he misplaced within the main, like Latino neighborhoods within the Bronx and Black communities in Brooklyn and Queens.
“What a beautiful day for New York,” the previous mayor tweeted.
However critics sounded fearful concerning the affect a Mayor Mamdani would have on town.
Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, hit out at Mamdani’s “long, disturbing record on issues of deep concern to the Jewish community,” a reference to the mayor-elect’s fierce criticism of Israel and his refusal to disavow the “globalize the intifada” slogan.
“We will approach the next four years with resolve,” Greenblatt mentioned in a press release. “We expect the mayor of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world to stand unequivocally against antisemitism in all its varied forms.”
Andrew Cuomo supporters react to his loss to Zohran Mamdani at Cuomo’s election night time social gathering on the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Each day Information)
Even in deep-blue New York Metropolis, Mamdani didn’t have a simple time unifying the Democratic Get together management after he trounced Cuomo within the June main.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the Home Democratic chief, stayed on the fence for months, refusing to difficulty an endorsement of the social gathering’s commonplace bearer, even after assembly with the nominee together with different lawmakers and religion leaders in Jeffries’ central Brooklyn district.
Jeffries lastly backed Mamdani solely hours earlier than a self-proclaimed deadline of the start of early voting.
Schumer, the Senate minority chief, by no means endorsed Mamdani in any respect. A number of different native Congress members additionally sat out the race.
The state’s different prime Democrat, Gov. Hochul, did get behind Mamdani’s bid in the summertime, maybe seeking to solidify her personal help on the left forward of her reelection battle subsequent yr.
A handful of suburban Democratic lawmakers, like Lengthy Island’s Rep. Tom Suozzi and Rep. Lauren Gillen, even took the very uncommon step of claiming they wouldn’t vote for him.
Republicans had been chomping on the bit to make Mamdani the face of the Democratic Get together as subsequent yr’s essential midterm congressional elections loom.
Even earlier than voters headed to the polls, the Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee declared in a technique memo that “the Democratic Party has been hijacked by the radical left.”
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani votes at Frank Sinatra College of the Arts Excessive College in Queens, New York on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. (Barry Williams/ New York Each day Information)
However not all Democrats assume Mamdani will drag down the social gathering from coast to coast.
Basil Smikle, a Columbia College professor and Democratic strategist, acknowledged that New York Metropolis has a really completely different electoral roadmap than elsewhere, however insisted the keenness that Mamdani has delivered to the desk might play out elsewhere.
“What’s happening in New York is something that can be mapped across the country,” Smikle mentioned. “If this new coalition can solidify itself, not just in New York City but in Virginia and New Jersey, I do think that’s a way forward to Democrats in ’26 and ’28.”
Ex-Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat who as soon as represented a Lengthy Island swing district, mentioned he disagrees with a few of Mamdani’s insurance policies, however is bullish about his affect on nationwide politics.
