At a glance
• Zohran Mamdani elected as New York’s first Muslim mayor, winning with 60.2% of the vote over former Governor Andrew Cuomo.
• Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, campaigned on countering President Trump’s policies—especially on immigration—and pledged bold social reforms like rent freezes and universal childcare.
• Tensions with President Trump loom, as Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds and attack Mamdani’s socialist agenda.
New York’s mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani immediately fired a message at President Donald Trump as America’s biggest city elected a charismatic young left-wing leader in a potentially seismic poll.
"Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!" Mr Mamdani, 34, a self-described democratic socialist, said during a Tuesday night speech to a raucous crowd of supporters shortly after being declared the victor.
NBC News projected Mr Mamrani - who described himself as “Trump’s worst nightmare” - had won with 60.2% of votes counted. His closest rival - the former state governor Andrew Cuomo - has conceded defeat.
Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday in the first major elections since Trump returned to power nine months ago, elevating a new generation of leaders and injecting fresh momentum into the beleaguered party ahead of next year's congressional elections.
Trump’s immediate response to Mr Mamdani’s challenge was brief. “…AND SO IT BEGINS!” he wrote on Truth Social.
The result was welcomed by London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who said New York has followed London in choosing hope over fear.
Sir Sadiq congratulated Mr Mamdani, who will become New York's youngest mayor in more than a century when he takes office on January 1, on what he called an "historic campaign".
He wrote on X: "New Yorkers faced a clear choice - between hope and fear - and just like we've seen in London - hope won."
Mr Mamdani’s election is notable for several reasons.
New York’s first Muslim mayor entered the race last year as a near-unknown, little funding and no institutional party support, but was able to overcome those obstacles to defeat former Governor Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Silwa remarkable.
Mr Mamdani made countering the 79-year-old Republican president's actions in the city -- especially on immigration -- a centerpiece of his campaign. The next three years will test his ability to go toe-to-toe with Trump, who wields the world's biggest bully pulpit and thrives on bare-knuckle politics.
New Yorkers faced a clear choice - between hope and fear - and just like we've seen in London - hope won.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) November 5, 2025
Huge congratulations to @ZohranKMamdani on his historic campaign.
"If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mr Mamdani told supporters. "And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power. This is not only how we stop Trump, it's how we stop the next one."
Trump has repeatedly turned the massive powers of the presidency on political rivals, and already before the election had threatened to possibly withhold billions of dollars in federal funding from New York City if Mr Mamdani was elected. This would follow previous funding cuts by the Trump administration in political moves targeting Democratic congressional leaders also from the city.
"If you have a communist running New York, all you're doing is wasting the money you're sending there," Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday, previewing how Republicans will use Mr Mamdani's embrace of a socialist agenda as a line of attack against the Democratic Party.
Mr Mamdani acknowledged his win poses a challenge implementing what he calls "the most ambitious agenda to tackle the cost-of-living crisis this city has seen” since the 1940s -- including a proposed rental freeze, universal childcare and other government actions targeting the private sector.
But, in the meantime, Mr Mamdani pledged to fight.
"So hear me, President Trump, when I say this: To get to any of us you will have to go through all of us," he added.
