Sharon Zhang: Zohran Mamdani Wins Decisive Victory in NYC, Triumphing Over Billionaire Onslaught

Mamdani’s win is a historic victory for the left over a powerful, moneyed coalition of forces that aimed to defeat him.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, marking a historic win for the left over a high-powered, moneyed coalition of establishment forces that came together in hopes of defeating him.

The race was called by the Associated Press just 34 minutes after polls closed on Tuesday night, with Mamdani nine points ahead of the next runner up, disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with 75 percent of the vote counted. More than 2 million people voted before polls closed on Tuesday night — a level of turnout the city’s mayoral election has not seen since 1969. 

Mamdani, slated to be inaugurated on January 1, is one of just a handful of self-proclaimed socialists to win the mayoral election in New York City. He is also the first Muslim person to ever win the seat for the largest city in the U.S. 

A wide variety of factors contributed to Mamdani’s win.

His affordability platform consistently polled well as he made promises to tackle the rising cost of living in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S. At a time when other politicians embraced the establishment’s predominantly pro-Israel political stance, Mamdani carved out an anti-genocide, pro-human rights position more in line with popular American opinion on the issue.

His team’s savvy social media strategy was notable, highlighting Mamdani’s strengths as a charismatic speaker as well as his simple, repeatable policy proposals. He also received the backing of some of the country’s most popular politicians, like fellow democratic socialists Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York).

But the success of the Mamdani campaign went far beyond what traditional campaign metrics typically measure. In fact, a traditional campaign likely couldn’t achieve the things the Mamdani campaign did — like go from polling at 1 percent in February to pulling out a significant win against an established politician, much less scoring such a victory while billionaires, Republicans, and plenty of mainstream Democrats banded against him.

To the contrary, analysts have noted that a major facet of Mamdani’s appeal is his bucking of the establishment. During the campaign, he rejected Democrats’ tried-and-failed methods of electioneering, tacking to the left on issues like trans rights and Palestine, at a time when the party’s popularity is dropping lower than ever. Mamdani’s platform mobilized a huge number of supporters, with the campaign saying it surpassed 3 million doors knocked by Election Day. 

All the while, the Mamdani campaign weathered attacks from all angles — including persistent racism and Islamophobia leveraged against him from Democrats and Republicans alike. 

Major outlets from the New York Post to the New York Times ran hit pieces on subjects like his racial identity and, countless times, his stance on Palestinian and human rights. The Trump administration, including the president himself, threw its weight behind Cuomo, and congressional Republicans are pushing to deport him. Democratic leaders — including New York’s own Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — broke with party tradition and refused to endorse him. Billionaires and other deep-pocketed donors gave $40 million to pro-Cuomo, anti-Mamdani super PACs.

Mamdani confronted these challenges head on, often in ways that subverted typical campaign practices. When Cuomo was endorsed by Trump, his campaign touted it in a tongue-in-cheek post on social media, saying, “Congratulations, @AndrewCuomo. I know how hard you worked for this.” 

As Cuomo levied Islamophobic attacks against Mamdani in the final weeks of the campaign, Mamdani embraced his identity. He directly addressedMuslim New Yorkers in the wake of hateful rhetoric from his competitors and current Mayor Eric Adams, noting that he pledged to fight for the safety and security of all New Yorkers. Many Muslims said that these words spoke deeply to the community, which has faced violent hatred, especially after 9/11. 

“The dream of every Muslim is simply to be treated the same as any other New Yorker,” Mamdani said. “And yet, for too long, we have been told to ask for less than that and to be satisfied with whatever little we receive. No more.”

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First published in Truthout. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). You are free to share and republish under the terms of the license.

SHARON ZHANG is a news writer at Truthout covering politics, climate and labor. Before coming to Truthout, Sharon had written stories for Pacific Standard, The New Republic, and more. She has a master’s degree in environmental studies. She can be found on Twitter and Bluesky.