(AFP) – New Yorkers elected leftist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor, while Democrats won two key state governor races, sending an early warning signal to Republican President Donald Trump ahead of the 2026 midterms. The clean sweep among several ballots nationwide on Tuesday has boosted morale among Democrats bruised by Trump’s return to the White House and has set alarm bells ringing among Republican circles.
Mamdani, 34, is the city’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest to serve in more than a century. The Democratic socialist’s victory came in the face of fierce attacks on his policies and his Muslim heritage from business elites, conservative media commentators, and Trump himself. “If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said in a victory speech to supporters. “In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light.”
Mamdani’s win, as well as the Democratic Party’s victories in the governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, suggest a shift in the political mood across the United States as it looks to next year’s midterm elections when control of Congress will be up for grabs. In another significant win for Democrats, voters in California also approved a proposition to redraw electoral districts in a bid to neutralize gerrymandering efforts ordered by Trump in other states.
Trump refused to take any blame for Tuesday’s results and tried to make an eleventh-hour intervention in the race, calling Mamdani a “Jew hater.” In a post on his Truth Social network, he also cited anonymous “pollsters” suggesting that the Republican defeats were down to the government shutdown and the fact that his own name wasn’t on the ballot.
– ‘Next stop City Hall’ –
Mamdani, a state lawmaker for New York’s Queens borough, appealed to voters by pledging to tackle the soaring cost of living, offering free city bus travel, childcare, and city-run grocery stores. He focused on living costs facing ordinary New Yorkers, building support through his informal personal style, social media savvy, and a massive canvassing ground game. “The next and last stop is City Hall,” Mamdani said in a video posted to X after his victory was declared.
Mamdani was virtually unknown before his upset victory to secure the Democratic nomination over former governor Andrew Cuomo, whom he trounced again on Tuesday. When the race was called in his favor, excitement was palpable across the city. It was a “local victory” that offered a means of “resisting and pushing back” against the political establishment in Washington, Ben Parisi, 40, told AFP, adding that the night stood in stark contrast to Republican Trump’s victory a year ago.
Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels citizen crime patrol group, came in third after weeks of Cuomo insisting he bow out to increase his chances. Disappointed and “heartbroken” Cuomo supporters booed as the results rolled in, saying Mamdani’s victory is “not right.” Many blamed Sliwa for splitting the center-right vote while others questioned their safety in the city. “As a Jew in New York, it’s terrifying to think that we’re going to have a mayor who hates us,” Cuomo supporter Elise, 74, said.
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. Turnout was high in this year’s vote, with 2.06 million ballots, or 98 percent of votes cast, counted by 12:31 am Wednesday – more than the total number of voters in the 2021 race.
– Uphill struggle –
Mamdani’s improbable rise highlights the Democratic Party’s debate over a centrist or a leftist future, with some leading national figures offering only tepid endorsements of Mamdani ahead of voting. Syracuse University political science professor Grant Reeher said ahead of the result that Mayor Mamdani would face an uphill battle. “Everybody’s got their knives out, and it’s a very difficult city to govern,” he told AFP.
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 in response to the wins.
– Gregory WALTON
© 2024 AFP
