University of Kwazulu-Natal

How A Mamdani Win Could Change New York City And The Democratic Party

Bonisiwe Shabane
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how a mamdani win could change new york city and the democratic party

More than 730,000 New Yorkers have already cast ballots ahead of Tuesday's mayoral election. It’s a race with big stakes for the city and beyond. Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani has vaulted from a relatively unknown state legislator to the frontrunner to lead the largest city in the country. William Brangham reports on what his potential victory means for New York and the Democratic Party. Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

More than 730,000 New Yorkers have already cast ballots ahead of tomorrow's mayoral election, more than four times the number that voted early four years ago. It's a race with big stakes for the city and beyond. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has vaulted from a relatively unknown state legislator to the front-runner to lead the largest city in the country. William Brangham reports on what his potential victory means for New York City and the larger Democratic Party. Zohran Mamdani sailed to victory over Andrew Cuomo in a nationally watched New York City mayor's race that ignited a voting surge and already is churning politics for next year's elections for governor and... The 34-year-old state assemblyman led Cuomo by a decisive margin of nearly 9 points in the three-way race, with Republican Curtis Sliwa trailing far behind.

It was Mamdani's second victory this year over the better-known former governor, who ran as an independent after Mamdani scored a stunning upset against him and other Democrats in a primary in June. "New York, tonight you have delivered a mandate for change," Mamdani told a roaring crowd in his victory speech. "A mandate for a new kind of politics. A mandate for a city we can afford. And a mandate for a government that delivers exactly that." Mamdani led Cuomo by 50.4% to 41.6% as of 11 p.m.

with 90% of the votes counted, with Sliwa at 7.1%, according to an Associated Press tally. Mamdani's commanding win thrilled progressives, and won plaudits from more centrist Democrats who had shied away from backing him but saw the appeal of his affordability message. It also fired up Republicans, who blasted the incoming mayor as an extremist whose politics they will wield as a cudgel against other Democrats in next year's elections. Updated on: November 4, 2025 / 11:56 PM EST / CBS News Washington — Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's victory on Tuesday in the New York City mayoral race is already fanning the debate about the future of the Democratic Party and what his sudden political stardom... "We hope this is demonstrating a very powerful way forward," said Ashik Siddique, a national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America.

"This election proves that democratic socialist ideas are very popular." Mamdani ran on promises to confront economic inequality and cost-of-living issues, vowing rent freezes for residents of rent-stabilized units, affordable housing construction, free — and faster — bus service, free childcare, city-owned grocery stores... His victory is the biggest win for progressives since Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated 10-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in 2018. But history suggests his success isn't likely to translate to a progressive sweep nationwide.

Facing a mountain of opposition from major Democrats warning against going too far to the left, Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old New York state legislator, pulled off one of the more incredible upsets in U.S. history by defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is now being heralded by the activist left and other prominent progressives as the type of youthful and bold candidate the party needs to pull... "It's a wake-up call for the Democratic Party establishment, should they choose to listen," Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told USA TODAY. "It's voters saying very clearly what they want and offering a direction for how the Democratic Party can start to win again."

President Donald Trump and his supporters are listening and watching, too. They appear to be salivating at the idea of branding the entire Democratic Party with Mamdani's views ahead of the 2026 midterms, when the GOP will be fighting against political headwinds and history suggesting... Watch: Joy precedes scrutiny, reports Nada Tawfik from inside Mamdani's victory party Zohran Mamdani, 34, has won New York City's race for mayor in a contest that rallied young voters and sparked debate about the future direction of the US Democratic Party. Ugandan-born Mamdani, a Democrat, beat former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, running as an independent, to become the youngest person in over a century to lead the largest city in the US. "My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty," the self-described democratic socialist told the crowd during a victory speech.

Democrats also won governor races in Virginia and New Jersey, while in California voters backed a proposition to redraw the congressional electoral map ahead of next year's midterm elections.

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