New York City on Tuesday defied history, the power of the billionaire donor class, and the Democratic Party’s Establishment to elect 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani as its mayor. Mr Mamdani, who defeated the former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, will be the first Muslim and the first South Asian mayor of America’s largest city. The self-described Democratic Socialist’s victory will reverberate throughout the United States of America, and possibly beyond. The US president, Donald Trump, has repeatedly taken on Mr Mamdani, described him as a communist, and threatened to cut funding for New York City if he were to win. That threat will now be on test, as will Mr Mamdani’s many bold promises that galvanised a wide coalition of supporters and won him more votes than any mayoral candidate in the city since the 1960s. It is one thing to run a radical campaign, painting mainstream politicians as compromised collaborators with the wealthy. But to deliver on his promises — from free buses to a rent freeze in many apartments to a tax increase for the rich — Mr Mamdani will need the legislative and the political support of a wide set of elected representatives. He will also need their support to truly stand up to Mr Trump in what could well emerge as a defining political battle of the next few years.
That looming face-off appears especially likely because Mr Mamdani managed to do something that few Democrats have been able to do since Mr Trump’s 2024 presidential win: inspire. Many Democratic Party stalwarts who had hesitated to endorse Mr Mamdani, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have now congratulated him. How Mr Mamdani performs once in office, and whether he is able to make the city more affordable without driving away wealth, will determine whether his plans will echo in other cities and whether he emerges as a national face for the party. America is diverse, and there is little evidence that socialist policies will resonate everywhere. But as much as the content of his campaign — many of his pledges have been made by others previously — it was Mr Mamdani’s style that other politicians will want to learn from. Confronted with better-known opponents, Islamophobic and racist attacks, and with only a fraction of his opponent’s donations, Mr Mamdani stayed smiling but firm. He did not flinch or bend as his campaign’s energy became a magnet for voters. On Tuesday, New York rewarded him for it.