Zohran Mamdani storms to victory in New York to become city’s first democratic socialist mayor

Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City after a political earthquake that would see a 34-year-old democratic socialist take charge of America’s largest city.

Mamdani, who will be the Big Apple’s first Muslim mayor, defeated former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa in a race that has become a major flashpoint in national politics.

The race was called almost immediately, with polls closing at 9 p.m.; votes reached the highest level for the mayoral race since 1969; More than two million people had voted before the shutdown.

Uganda-born Mamdani’s rise from little-known councilman to New York City’s elected mayor has shocked the establishment, as well as leaving many worried about what his socialist policies mean for the city’s future.

The young council member celebrated his victory with a video posted on social media showing the metro door opening at the ‘City Hall’ station.

President Donald Trump has branded Mamdani a ‘communist’ and threatened to cut federal funding to the city if she is elected following her support from longtime rival Cuomo. The president stated that the ‘pollsters’ blamed him for not being on the ballot and for his election being closed due to his loss.

In a poll conducted by JL Partners for the Daily Mail, nine per cent of New Yorkers said they would ‘definitely’ leave the city, which now has a population of 8.5 million, if Mamdani won.

Making matters worse for the Big Apple, surveys also found that 25 per cent, or 2.12 million people, would ‘consider’ leaving.

Mamdani tapped into left-wing populist rhetoric and turned out young voters

The poll revealed widespread alarm over the possibility of Mamdani taking over City Hall and highlighted the huge economic impact of her victory.

If anyone close to that number left New York, it would collapse the city’s economy and send shockwaves through the rest of the country.

When asked what shape they thought the city would take after Mamdani’s four-year rule, those who did not vote for him preferred words such as ‘disaster’, ‘hell’, ‘chaos’, ‘destroyed’ and ‘pit’.

Meanwhile, Mamdani voters said they believed it would be ‘affordable’, ‘improved’, ‘hopeful’ and ‘transformed’.

Most importantly, the survey found that 7 percent of those earning over $250,000 would definitely leave New York City under the rule of a ‘Mayor Mamdani.’

In New York, the top 1 percent of income tax earners pay about half of the city’s income tax.

With the departure of a significant portion of it, the city’s finances will collapse and there will be less money to pay for Mamdani’s policies, which include subsidizing various parts of the city’s economy.

Mamdani’s victory also raises the question of how he would relate to the city’s most famous former resident, Donald Trump, under the rule of a socialist leader.

Mamdani easily defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (pictured)

Many people are concerned about Mamdani’s plans, with some even making plans to escape New York after her victory.

Trump backed his longtime rival Cuomo as a last-ditch effort to prevent socialist Zohran Mamdani from winning the New York City mayoral election.

The president has previously hinted that he would prefer a ‘bad Democrat’ like Cuomo to defeat Mamdani, who Trump has called a ‘communist,’ but a Truth Social post on Monday night was his most overt support for the former governor.

He began his speech by threatening to withhold federal funding from The Big Apple under 34-year-old Mamdani.

‘If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City Mayoral Election, I am unlikely to contribute Federal Funds beyond the minimum required to my beloved first home, because as a Communist, the chance of success, or even survival, of my once-great City is ZERO!’

Trump said that a New York under Mamdani would be a “total economic and social disaster” and claimed that socialist principles “have been tested for over a thousand years and have never once succeeded.”

The president is instead opting to support Cuomo, who he says “has had success” during Trump’s first term despite the pair’s long-running feud.

Trump also described the vote for Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa as “a vote for Mamdani” and stated that the Guardian Angels founder “looks much better without the beret.”

‘Whether or not you personally like Andrew Cuomo, you really have no choice. You should vote for him and hope he does a great job. ‘He can do this, not Mamdani!’

Supporters of Zohran Mamdani outside the LaGuardia Community College Performing Arts Center

Republican Curtis Sliwa (pictured) finished third

The president threatened to deny federal funds from New York after host Norah O’Donnell said on CBS’ 60 Minutes that Mamdani had been described as a left-wing version of Trump.

‘Well, I guess I’m a much better looking person than him, aren’t I?’ Trump said about Mamdani.

O’Donnell pointed out that Mamdani, like Trump, was described as “charismatic” and someone who broke the old rules.

“As president, it will be difficult for me to give a lot of money to New York,” Trump said. ‘Because if a Communist runs New York, all you’ll do is waste the money you send there.’

Trump admitted he doesn’t like Cuomo but would prefer the disgraced former governor win the election.

“If it’s going to be between a bad Democrat and a Communist, honestly, I’m always going to pick the bad Democrat,” Trump said.

The president compared Mamdani to his predecessor, Bill de Blasio, whom Trump described as the “worst mayor in history.”

Trump dismissed Cuomo’s promise that if leftist Mamdani won, Trump would be the city’s real mayor, calling it ‘crazy’.

Donald Trump (pictured) backed Cuomo and refused to back Sliwa, hoping to stop Mamdani, whom he called ‘Communist’

The president compared Mamdani to his predecessor Bill de Blasio, whom Trump called the ‘worst mayor in history’

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks to media as Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s first predictions

The Daily Mail has reached out to a White House spokesperson for comment on Mamdani’s victory.

Mamdani moved to New York from her native Uganda at the age of seven.

His father is an academic and his mother is a filmmaker. As a child, he attended a private school in Manhattan, where tuition now costs $66,000 a year.

Mamdani’s husband, 27-year-old artist Rama Duwaji, also became an unlikely star overnight.

Critics of the 33-year-old left-wing candidate even accused him of ‘hiding his wife from NYC’ during his primary against former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

But Duwaji was all smiles as she celebrated her husband’s victory in the primaries, writing on Instagram that she ‘couldn’t be more proud’ of him as he shocked his established rival.

Mamdani, who met her husband on the dating app Hinge, addressed Duwaji affectionately in front of the crowd and said ‘Rama, thank you’ while kissing his hand.

The prospective future First Lady of the Big Apple says she’s ‘Damascus’ in her Instagram bio, but a Mamdani campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that she was actually born in Texas.

He is known for his illustrations and animations, many of which are pro-Palestinian in theme and critical of Israel and the Trump administration.

Despite a highly privileged upbringing, Mamdani successfully appeals to working-class voters and young adults who find New York increasingly expensive with the promise of lowering their costs.

His policy platform includes freezing rent increases, free bus services, fully funded daycare for under-5s, municipally owned grocery stores and increasing the minimum wage to $30 an hour.

He wants to finance these policies, which will cost billions of dollars, by increasing taxes on the rich and companies.

There will be a 2 percent increase for New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year, and the top corporate tax rate will also increase from 7.25 percent to 11.5 percent.

Critics say this would lead to companies and high-income individuals leaving New York, which would reduce the city’s tax revenue and leave Mamdani unable to pay his policies.