New Yorkers have elected Zohran Mamdani, a young Muslim and Democratic "socialist" as mayor as American voters cast judgment for the first time on Donald Trump's tumultuous second presidency in nationwide local elections.
Mamdani defeated former state governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who was running as an independent after being beaten in the primary.
Curtis Sliwa, Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, finished third in the election.
"The next and last stop is City Hall," Mamdani said in a video posted to X after his victory was declared.
Mamdani, aged just 34, is a self-described socialist who was virtually unknown before his upset victory to secure the Democratic nomination.
He has been focusing on reducing living costs for ordinary New Yorkers, building support through his informal personal style and social-media-friendly clips of him walking the streets chatting with voters.
With the win, Mamdani, born in Uganda to Indian parents and raised in New York from the age of seven, becomes the Big Apple's first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
His victory came in the face of fierce attacks on his policies and Muslim heritage from President Donald Trump, business elites and conservative media.
Unabashedly playing the race card, Trump on Tuesday labelled Mamdani as a "Jew hater."
"Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!" the Republican president posted on his social media platform.
Prominent business people including Bill Ackman noisily attacked Mamdani and funneled cash to his rivals, while conservative media including The New York Post published blanket negative coverage.
Trump’s reaction
The race had centered on cost of living, crime and how each candidate would handle Trump, who has threatened to withhold federal funds from New York.
Mamdani focused his campaign on affordability.
His agenda includes a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments, free bus service, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores.
His policies also include hiking taxes on New York City's wealthiest and raising the corporation tax, driving worries among the finance community that the city's competitiveness will suffer.
Mamdani's improbable rise also highlights the Democratic Party's debate over a centrist or a leftist future.
Meanwhile, the Democratic party's victories in the governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey suggested a shift in political mood as the country looks to next year's midterm elections when control of Congress will be up for grabs.
Trump, however, attributed Republican losses in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia to his absence from ballot and ongoing federal government shutdown.
There was a grim mood among some attendees at Cuomo's results party with some attendees predicting Trump would immediately deploy the National Guard to the city.
Others blamed Sliwa for splitting the center-right vote.
In New Jersey, Democratic Party candidate Mikie Sherrill beat out a Trump-backed businessman and in Virginia, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger took back the governor's mansion from the Republicans.
Both sides wheeled out big guns, with former president Barack Obama rallying support for Spanberger and Sherrill. "We've still got plenty of work to do, but the future looks a little bit brighter," Obama said responding to the wins.
