Mamdani tells New Yorkers ‘the future is in our hands', wishing Cuomo ‘the best in private life'
In his victory speech, Mamdani declared: “The future is in our hands.”
“For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands, fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handle bars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power,” Mamdani said. “And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater. Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it.
Mamdani celebrated his victory over Andrew Cuomo, the three-term former governor and son of a governor.
“We have toppled a political dynasty,” Mamdani said. “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.”
Key events
Mamdani: ‘In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light'
In a defiant speech, Mamdani vowed to change to city hall – and the country.
“In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light,” he said.
Acknowledging concerns about his age and experience, Mamdani expressed only confidence: “When we enter city hall in 58 days, expectations will be high. We will meet them.”
“Our greatness will be anything but abstract,” he roared, concluding his remarks in Brooklyn. “It will be felt by every rent-stabilized tenant who wakes up on the first of every month knowing the amount they’re going to pay hasn’t soared since the month before. It will be felt by each grandparent who can afford to stay in the home they have worked for and whose grandchildren live nearby because the cost of child care didn’t send them to Long Island. It will be felt by the single mother who is safe on her commute and whose bus runs fast enough that she doesn’t have to rush school drop off to make it to work on time. And it will be felt when New Yorkers open their newspapers in the morning and read headlines of success, not scandal. Most of all, it will be felt by each New Yorker when the city they love finally loves them back.”
Zohran Mamdani is delivering a tour de force, pulling from the American socialist Eugene Debs and the former governor Mario Cuomo, the father of Andrew Cuomo, who defeated twice to become New York City’s mayor elect. He declared a “new age” and implored Democrats to break from the conventions of the past.
“No longer will we have to open a history book for proof that Democrats can dare to be great,” he said.
Of his own meteoric rise, he said that following conventional political wisdom would have discouraged him from ever running in the first place.
“The conventional wisdom would tell you that I am far from the perfect candidate,” he said. “I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a Democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”
Mamdani presented his “brave new course” for the nation’s largest city as a map for how to defeat the forces of “oligarchy and authoritarianism” pulsing through the country.
“After all, if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” he said, offering a message to the president: “Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up.”
Mamdani vowed to make New York a place that welcomes and celebrates its diversity.
“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 has fired 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,” he said.
He then added: “We will build a city hall that stands steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers and does not waver in the fight against the scourge of antisemitism, where the more than 1 million Muslims know that they belong, not just in the five boroughs of this city, but in the halls of power.
“No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election.”
Speaking in Brooklyn, Mamdani declared a “new age” of political change.
“From now, may our only regret be that this day took so long to come,” he said.
He promised a “bold vision” of “what we will achieve, rather than a list of excuses for what we are too timid to attempt”. He swept through his agenda, promising to tackle the cost of living by freezing the rent, making buses “fast and free” and delivering universal childcare across the city.
“We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible,” Mamdani said, “and we won because we insisted that no longer would politics be something that is done to us. Now, it is something that we do.”
Mamdani recounted the many voters who he met along the campaign and throughout his political life: the organizer who can’t afford to live in New York, the woman he met on a city bus who told him “I used to love New York, but now it’s just where I live” and the taxi driver whom he joined in a hunger strike outside city hall.
He dedicated his victory to making the city more affordable for them.
“Thanks to all of those who sacrifice so much, we are breathing in the air of a city that has been reborn,” he said.
He thanked the more than 100,000 people who volunteered for his campaign. “You eroded the cynicism that has come to define our politics,” he said.
Mamdani tells New Yorkers ‘the future is in our hands', wishing Cuomo ‘the best in private life'
In his victory speech, Mamdani declared: “The future is in our hands.”
“For as long as we can remember, the working people of New York have been told by the wealthy and the well-connected that power does not belong in their hands, fingers bruised from lifting boxes on the warehouse floor, palms calloused from delivery bike handle bars, knuckles scarred with kitchen burns. These are not hands that have been allowed to hold power,” Mamdani said. “And yet, over the last 12 months, you have dared to reach for something greater. Tonight, against all odds, we have grasped it.
Mamdani celebrated his victory over Andrew Cuomo, the three-term former governor and son of a governor.
“We have toppled a political dynasty,” Mamdani said. “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.”
Zohran Mamdani has taken the stage in Brooklyn. “Thank you my friends,” the historymaking mayor elect began his remarks. “The sun may have set over our city this evening but as Eugene Debs once said, ‘I can see the dawn of a better day for humanity.’”
Jenna Amatulli
Less than an hour after Mamdani was announced the winner, the New York Post, owned by the conservative media titan Rupert Murdoch, unveiled its Wednesday morning cover.
Alongside text that says “On your Marx, get set, Zo!” and “The Red Apple” with the R backwards, there’s an edited image of Mamdani on the body of a communist caricature holding a hammer and sickle.
From coast to coast, this has been an extraordinary night for Democrats. The party, leaderless and adrift since losing again to Trump last year, are starting to see a path out of the political wilderness. In New York, Mamdani’s optimistic campaign energized progressives and expanded the electorate, while Gavin Newsom’s Prop 50 may help Democrats pick up five seats and offset Republican gains elsewhere.
Sherrill and Spanberger show a different path forward, a pragmatic model of leadership that can succeed in less liberal parts of the country.
But Democrats also notched less high profile but equally consequential wins in Georgia and Pennsylvania, while initiatives to strengthen gun control and tax the wealthy to pay for food stamps and free school lunches prevailed.
Many challenges still remain, but Democrats for tonight can celebrate their return to power in several key position across the country.
Jubilant supporters of Zohran Mamdani were joined by Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and New York City comptroller Brad Lander.
Here are some images of the celebrations happening in New York City tonight:
California voters approve new House maps
California voters approve a new congressional map designed to boost Democrats in 2026, aiming to counter a brazen redistricting effort led by Donald Trump to shore up Republicans’ fragile House majority next year.
From the scene: Cuomo's atypical concession speech
Adam Gabbatt
at Andrew Cuomo’s watch party
There were loud cheers as Andrew Cuomo came onto the stage to concede to Zohran Mamdani, followed by a chant of “Cuomo! Cuomo!”
Typically concession speeches involve thanking the winner and graciously bowing out. This was not that.
Cuomo tried to cast his second-place as a success, telling the crowd: “This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic party, the future of this city and the future of this country.” He said more than 50% of New Yorkers had not voted for Mamdani’s agenda, and claimed his own campaign, which seen him dabble in Islamophobia, was about “unity”.
Cuomo then trotted out some misinterpretations of Mamdani’s political positions, warning: “We are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road.”
“We will not make the NYPD the enemy,” Cuomo said. “We will not tolerate any behavior that fans the flames of antisemitism,” he added, returning to a familiar theme from his campaign.
After Cuomo spent 10 minutes slagging Mamdani off, it was hardly surprising that there were lusty boos when the former governor finally mentioned his opponent.
But Cuomo appeared surprised, and suddenly became contrite. “No, that is not right,” he said. “We’re better than that.” And with that, Cuomo was gone.
Polls close in California
Polls have closed in California, where voters were deciding on one statewide ballot measure: whether to authorize the state to adopt new Congressional maps that would favor Democrats to help offset an unprecedented effort by Donald Trump to gerrymander seats in Republican-led states.
The ballot initiative is expected to pass, but Democrats will be watching closely for the margin as the weigh support for moving forward with redistricting in other states.
As he speaks, Cuomo is casting himself as the outsider, under-estimated by press and the city itself.
“Feel proud – proud because we accomplish the two important New York characteristics: we got up off the mat after the primary, and we made it a real race when the media had already commenced the coronation,” said the three-term governor who let a sizable lead against Mamdani in the Democratic primary slip away.
When Cuomo mentioned Mamdani by name, his crowd broke out in jeers and boos.
“That is not right and that is not us,” Cuomo said, quieting them. The final stretch of the general election turned ugly, with Mamdani accusing his opponent of trafficking in hate and Islamophobia after the former-governor laughed along with a conservative radio host who said Mamdani would celebrate another September 11-style terrorist attack on New York City.
On Tuesday, Cuomo offered his help.
“Tonight was their night, and as they start to transition to government, we will all help any way we can,” he said.
Anna Betts
at Zohran Mamdani’s watch party
As the screens showed Andrew Cuomo giving his speech, the crowd here began booing. People are booing loudly at the former governor who is on screen.
Cuomo gives speech after losing New York mayoral election
Andrew Cuomo has taken the stage in New York City. He begins by thanking his campaign staff, and city’s mayor, Eric Adams, for withdrawing from the race to make it “more competitive.” He also thanks former mayor Mike Bloomberg and the unions who supported his mayoral campaign.
“This campaign was the right fight to wage and I am proud of what we did,” Cuomo said.
He added: “This campaign was to contest the philosophies that are shaping the Democratic party, the future of this city and the future of this country.”
