Mamdani sweeps the New York elections with a promise of change against Trump

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT TO NEW YORK"This city belongs to him," Zohran Mamdani proclaimed triumphantly after securing a landslide victory in the New York City mayoral election. The left-wing Democrat, who waged a blistering campaign against the party establishment, has become mayor of the world's financial capital. With 91% of the vote counted, Mamdani garnered 50.4%, far ahead of his main rival, former Democratic Governor and independent candidate Andrew Cuomo, with 41.6%. Voter turnout was historically high, with the Democrat receiving over a million votes, more than all the other candidates combined. In his victory speech in Brooklyn, the socialist Democrat addressed Trump directly and vowed to counter the president's divisive policies from City Hall: "Donald Trump, I know you're watching. I have three words for you: Turn up the volume." The Republican responded with a defiant message on his Truth Social network: "AND SO IT ALL BEGINS."

It had been exactly forty minutes since the polls closed and the vote count was being projected on the screens in Room 9 Bob Note in Brooklyn, where the Democratic Socialists (DSA) had set up one of the parties to follow election night. Many held their beer or mixed drink in one hand while refreshing the vote count page with the other. Suddenly, a guy started shouting "He's won, he's won" while euphorically showing the live page of the New York TimesAt that moment, the loudspeakers announced the victory. Shouts and more shouts and many hugs, as if it were a New Year's Eve party.

The song of "Don't Stop BelievinJourney's song has started playing to celebrate the victory of the unlikely candidate who has turned the adverb despite On his mark. Despite being unknown a year ago, despite being a socialist in the financial capital of the world, despite being Muslim, despite his limited experience at 34, Mamdani becomes one of the youngest mayors which has had the most populous city in the United States in over a century.

A feeling of relief

Beyond the euphoria, there's a palpable sense of relief; there's still hope after the presidential debacle and nine months of Donald Trump in power. "My God, it feels like nine years," says Peter, one of the 100,000 volunteers who have been canvassing the streets of New York to spread the Democrat's campaign promises to every corner. "What a relief. It was worth it. I can't believe it, all that work for a year. And tomorrow a new chapter begins. And you know what the best part is? Now other Mamdanis will start popping up in other cities and states. We have to keep fighting to stop Trump."

At the DSA party, the feeling is that a movement is beginning that goes beyond Mamdani. Carr and Brendann, before the count had even started, were already arriving with Zohran's campaign bags, explaining that they had just joined. "Look, I spend $15 on the subscription to the New York Times“Why wouldn’t he do it for that?” Brendann jokes. Both are in their late twenties and feel that Mamdani is more than just a politician. “We must remember that politicians can always fail, but this is a movement, and we must keep fighting once he wins. His becoming mayor is not the end, but the beginning. And we know that those at the top, and especially Trump, won’t make it easy for him.”

The historic turnout, with more than two million people going to the polls, far surpasses the city’s 2001 mayoral election and further reinforces his meteoric rise, knowing he was already on another campaign trail, knowing he was using one argument more to further his base. The anticipation was not in vain: the contest between Mamdani, Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Silwa promised an outcome that could redefine the city’s power structures.

Mamdani's result, with the massive turnout in New York, also underscores the magnitude of the earthquake that He has been shaking up the Democratic Party establishment for months. The city's elections, as well as those in the states of Virginia and Jersey (where Democratic gubernatorial candidates also won), highlight the two possible courses of action to follow in the lead-up to the 2026 legislative elections. They also read as a small referendum on Trump's first nine monthswho had already threatened on election eve to cut off federal funding to New York if Mamdani wins. On Tuesday morning, Mamdani responded to the Republican: "I will treat his words as they deserve to be treated, which are the words of a president and do not necessarily represent the law of the land."

The young candidate, with a social media campaign that has revolutionized political communication, has echoed the analysis made by independent Senator Bernie Sanders regarding Kamala Harris's defeat in 2024. "It shouldn't surprise us too much that a Democratic party that has abandoned the working class discovers that the working class discovers that the working class discovers that the Democratic working class." Thus, Mamdani has been insisting daily on his battery of proposals to make New York a livable city again for the middle and working classes: freezing rents, providing free buses, and creating municipally owned supermarkets.

The result has been that many of his voters They said throughout the day that they felt excited and hopeful about their candidate again. That their problems were being heard. Now, since Mamdani won the party primaries, he has not only spoken to his potential voters but has also met with all those who disagree with him or detest him. In a city with a large Jewish community, Mamdani's rivals had labeled him anti-Semitic for his pro-Palestinian stance, but neither that false accusation nor all the money invested by real estate tycoons has been able to stop Mamdani.