Postcolonial scholar Mahmood Mamdani says Palestinian rights helped motivate his son Zohran’s run for New York City mayor. He says Zohran didn’t expect to win, but entered the race “to make a point” and trounced his rivals because he refused to compromise on causes “near and dear” to him.
Published On 22 Nov 202522 Nov 2025
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In early November, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York City mayoral election in a landslide, a victory that sent shockwaves across United States politics and galvanised the country’s political left.
It was a dramatic turnaround for a campaign that – less than a year earlier – had been polling at 1 percent support.
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Among those who were most surprised was Zohran’s own father, Mahmood Mamdani.
“He surprised me and his mother,” Mahmood told Al Jazeera Mushaber reporter Allaa Azzam in an interview this week. “We wouldn’t expect him to become mayor of New York City. We never thought about it.”
But Mahmood, an anthropology professor and postcolonial scholar at Columbia University, framed his son’s electoral success as evidence of a shifting political landscape.
Zohran, for instance, campaigned heavily on questions of affordability and refused to back away from his criticisms of Israel’s abuses against Palestinians, long considered a taboo subject in US politics.
He is the first Muslim person to become mayor of the country’s largest city by population, as well as its first mayor of South Asian descent.
“There were certain things that were near and dear to him,” Mahmood explained. “Social justice was one of them. The rights of Palestinians was another.”
“These two issues he has stuck by. He’s not been willing to trade them, to compromise them, to minimise them.”
The son of Mahmood and Indian American director Mira Nair, Zohran first emerged as the frontrunner in the mayoral race in June, when his dark-horse campaign dominated the Democratic Party primary.
He earned 56 percent of the final tally, besting former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
When Cuomo ran as an independent in the November 4 election, Zohran once again beat him by a wide margin, with more than 50 percent of the vote to Cuomo’s 41 percent.
Mahmood told Al Jazeera that, while his son’s sudden political ascent came as a surprise, his resilience did not.
“It didn’t surprise us, with his grit and determination,” he said of the election. “I don’t think he joined the race thinking that he was going to win it. I think he joined the race wanting to make a point.”
He traced back some of Zohran’s electoral finesse to his upbringing. Zohran, Mahmood explained, was not raised in a typical US nuclear family but instead shared his home with three generations of family members.
Living with a diverse age range allowed Zohran to expand his understanding and build his people skills, according to Mahmood.
“He grew up with love and patience. He learned to be very patient with people who are slower, people who were not necessarily what his generation was,” Mahmood said.
“He was very different from the American kids around here who hardly ever see their grandparents.”
Mahmood also credited his son’s victory to a shifting political landscape, one where voters are fed up with the status quo.
“There’s a mood of change. The young voted like they never voted before,” Mahmood said.
“Sections of the population which had been completely thrown into the sidelines – Muslims, recent immigrants whether Muslim or not – he gave them enormous confidence. They came out and they voted. They mobilised.”
Local media outlets in New York reported that turnout for November’s mayoral race was the highest in more than 50 years. More than two million voters cast a ballot in the closely watched race.
Mahmood cast his son’s upcoming tenure as mayor as a test of whether that voter faith would be rewarded.
“America is marked by low levels of electoral participation, and they’ve always claimed that this is because most people are satisfied with the system,” Mahmood said.
“But now the levels of political participation are increasing. And most people, it’s not just that they are not satisfied, but they no longer believe – or they begin to believe that maybe the electoral system is a way to change things. Zohran’s mayoral term will tell us whether it is or it is not.”
Mahmood was frank that his son faces an uphill battle as mayor. He described politics as a sphere dominated by the influence of moneyed powers.
“ I am not sure he knows that world well,” Mahmood said of his son. “He’s a fast learner, and he will learn it.”
He noted that significant resources were mobilised during the mayoral election to blunt Zohran’s campaign.
“ He’s taking on powerful forces. He’s being opposed by powerful forces. They failed during the campaign,” Mahmood said. That defeat, he added, “exposed the failure of money” as a defining force in the race.
Mahmood also addressed the role of Zohran’s advocacy on the campaign trail.
Though faced with criticism from his mayoral rivals, Mamdani has refused to retreat from his stance that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide.
That position, though widely affirmed by rights groups and experts, including at the United Nations, is relatively rare in mainstream US politics, where opposition to Israel is a political third rail.
Still, voters appear to be shifting on the question of US support for Israel.
A March poll from the Pew Research Center found that the percentage of US respondents with an unfavourable view of Israel has increased from 42 percent in 2022 to 53 percent in 2025.
While unfavourable views were most pronounced among Democratic voters, they have also increased among conservatives, especially those under the age of 50.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 69,500 Palestinians since its start in October 2023, and there has been continued outrage over widespread Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank as well.
Mahmood said the undeniable human rights abuses are causing a shift in public perception – and not just in the US.
“The real consequence of Gaza is not limited to Gaza. It is global,” said Mahmood. “Gaza has brought us a new phase in world history.”
“There will never be a return to a period when the world believes that what Israel is doing is defending itself.”
New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani attended Friday prayers at a mosque in Puerto Rico, where he was welcomed with cheers and shared a message inspired by Malcolm X about equality and justice.
Published On 9 Nov 20259 Nov 2025
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NEW DELHI — Indians lit up social media on Wednesday to celebrate Zohran Mamdani’s election win as New York City mayor after he thanked his Indian-born parents, quoted a historic speech by India’s first prime minister and turned the victory rally into a Bollywood-style street party.
“We are proud of him. He has done a great job,” Mamdani’s maternal uncle Vikram Nair told the Associated Press. He said he was flooded with requests from friends and families to throw celebratory parties.
“We will plan it soon,” he said, adding that the family would love to have Mamdani take part.
The 34-year-old, Ugandan-born Mamdani is set to be New York’s youngest mayor in more than a century — and the first Muslim one — when he takes office on Jan. 1.
At a boisterous victory rally late Tuesday, Mamdani addressed supporters with a speech inspired by Jawaharlal Nehru’s iconic “Tryst with Destiny” address, delivered on the eve of India’s independence in 1947.
“Standing before you, I think of the words of Jawaharlal Nehru: ‘A moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance.’ Tonight, we have stepped out from the old into the new,” Mamdani said.
The title track of 2004 Bollywood blockbuster “Dhoom” played as Mamdani concluded his speech, flanked by his parents and wife Rama Duwaji.
Mamdani’s mother, Mira Nair, is an award-winning Indian filmmaker whose credits include “Monsoon Wedding,” “The Namesake” and “Mississippi Masala” and whose work has been nominated for an Academy Award. His father, Mahmood Mamdani, is an anthropology professor at Columbia University.
After his victory, Nair shared Bollywood film maker Zoya Akhtar’s Instagram story that was captioned “Zohran you beauty,” with heart emojis.
Winking references to his Indian heritage figured in Mamdani’s buzzy campaign videos, with many social media posts using dialogues from classic Bollywood movies.
While there was no official Indian government reaction to Mamdani’s win, Shashi Tharoor, a senior leader of the opposition Congress party, hailed his “spectacular victory,” calling it “wonderfully apt!” in his post on social media.
Mamdani’s multi-racial outreach and embrace of his Indian and Muslim identity won him support, but his past remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom he publicly called a “war criminal,” had many expressing concern and anger.
Rights groups have accused Modi’s government of widespread attacks and discrimination against India’s Muslims and other minorities. As chief minister of the state of Gujarat, Modi was accused of not acting to stop communal violence during 2002 anti-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead. An investigation approved by the Indian Supreme Court later absolved him.
Not everyone in India was enthused Wednesday by Mamdani’s historic win, which made headlines.
“It’s that season again, when India’s self-proclaimed urban intelligentsia will obsess over Zohran Mamdani’s New York mayoral win, yet have no clue who their own city’s mayor is!,” Indian lawmaker Milind Deora wrote on social media.
Roy writes for the Associated Press.
Nov. 4 (UPI) — As voters across the country headed to the polls Tuesday, Democrats running in high-profile races are on track to be sent to governor’s mansions in New Jersey and Virginia and the mayor’s office in New York City.
New York City
Zohran Mamdani was poised Tuesday night to be the next mayor of New York City, besting former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a race that was closely watched nationwide, including by President Donald Trump.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old state lawmaker who ran as a democratic socialist, was projected to win the mayoral contest against Cuomo, who ran as an independent and with the last-minute backing of Trump, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the volunteer Guardian Angels crime prevention organization.
According to preliminary results from the city’s board of elections, Mamdani held 50.3% of the vote, representing more than 972,000 ballots cast. Cuomo was in second with 41.6% and Sliwa at third with 7.1%.
Mamdani claimed victory in a short video posted to X of a subway car coming to a stop at City Hall.
The race was largely a rematch of June’s Democratic primary where Mamdani beat Cuomo for the party’s nomination in a contest that was seen as a fight between the party’s progressive and establishment wings.
Mamdani’s platform included implementing a rent freeze, making bus transit free, offering free childcare for children aged 6 weeks to 5 years and raising the corporate tax rate while taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers at a flat 2%.
Cuomo ran on his extensive experience as a former governor of the state and prioritized improving public safety, including surging subway transit police. In contrast to Mamdani, Cuomo presented himself as a business-friendly centrist who could work with Trump, who injected himself late into the race.
Trump, who endorsed Cuomo Monday, has repeatedly called Mamdani a “communist” and said if he wins, “it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing federal funds, other than the very minimum required, to my beloved first home.”
Virginia
Former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, claimed victory Tuesday night over Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears to become the commonwealth’s 75th governor and first woman to hold its highest office.
Speaking to supporters during an election night watch party in Richmond, Spanberger vowed to serve all Virginians, including those who did not vote for her.
“And that means I will listen to you, work for you and with you,” she said.
“That is the approach I have taken throughout my entire career. I have worked with anyone and everyone regardless of political party to deliver results to the people that I serve. And that is because I believe in this idea that there is so much more that unites us as Virginians and as Americans than divides us,” she said.
“And I know — I know in my heart — we can unite for Virginia’s future and we can set an example for the rest of the nation.”
According to preliminary state results, Spanberger received 56.3% of the vote share for 1.2 million ballots compared to Earle-Sears’ 43.2%, or roughly 968,100 votes, with 107 out of 133 localities reporting.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, was among the first to comment on Spanberger’s victory, telling Virginians that she “won’t let you down.”
“Tonight, Virginians came together to send a resounding message that folks are ready to stand up for our freedoms and fight for our future,” he said in a statement on X.
“In the face of all the chaos from Washington and the attacks on our democracy, Abigail Spanberger brought people together around a vision for a better, more affordable future for Virginia.”
Polls closed at 7 p.m. EST.
She will replace Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was barred by Virginia’s unusual constitutional limit on governors being elected to consecutive terms.
Democrats are hoping a win by Spanberger will further cement Virginia’s blue state status ahead of next year’s midterm elections, ABC News reported.
“It is only in Virginia and New Jersey that we have statewide elections where we can prove to the rest of the country — when given, when we have an opportunity to make a change at home in our state, we will take it,” Spanberger said at a recent campaign rally.
“We know the stakes of this election, and we know what we are for. We are for a governor focused relentlessly on lower costs on housing, healthcare and energy.”
Trump, meanwhile, did not officially endorse Earle-Sears, but on Monday he urged Virginia Republicans to show up to the polls, according to The Washington Post.
“Get out and vote for these unbelievably great Republican candidates up and down the line,” he said in a telephone call with supporters.
If elected, Earle-Sears would have been the first Black woman to serve as governor in any state.
New Jersey
In New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat, claimed victory in a race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli, who ran in his third bid for governor.
Sherrill, speaking to supporters in East Brunswick, said her opponent conceded defeat.
“This was a tough fight and this is a tough state, but I know you, New Jersey, and I love you,” she said during her victory speech.
“I fought for you, I’ve spoken with thousands of you over the last year. I know your struggles, your hopes, I know your dreams. So serving you is worth any tough fight I have to take on and I’m incredibly honored to be your next governor.”
The traditionally blue state had a larger share of red voters than typical in the 2024 election, and Trump lost the state by 6 points, down significantly from the nearly 16 points he lost by in 2020.
Trump endorsed Ciattarelli, but didn’t campaign for him in person. Trump did take part in a telephone rally on Monday night, MSNBC reported. He also put his weight behind the Republican in multiple Truth Social posts, including one geared toward Lakewood, N.J.’s Orthodox Jewish population on Sunday.
“Your votes in this Election will save New Jersey, a State that is near and dear to my heart,” Trump wrote, saying they “will rue the day” they voted for Sherrill.
Hours into voting Tuesday, officials shut down polling stations throughout New Jersey and moved voting to new election sites after receiving bomb threats via email. Law enforcement said the threats involving polling places in Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic Counties were not credible.
Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, campaigned in support of Sherrill, speaking at a rally in Newark on Saturday.
“If you meet this moment, if you believe change can happen, you will not just elect Mikie Sherrill as your next governor, you will not just put New Jersey on a brighter path, you will set a glorious example for this nation,” he said, according to the New Jersey Monitor.
Ballot measures
On the West Coast, Californians voted for what could be the most consequential ballot measure this year as they decide whether to adopt a new congressional map that is designed to give Democrats an edge in the midterm election. Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed the redistricting in retaliation to a new electoral map in Texas that favors Republicans.
Proposition 50 would redraw the congressional map to make five districts more Democratic-leaning, potentially neutralizing the effects of the new Texas map. Democrats across the country, including Obama, have supported Newsom’s plan as a way to counter Republican gerrymandering in predominantly red states.
“We have a chance at least to create a level playing field in the upcoming midterm elections,” Obama told Prop 50 supporters on a campaign call.
California Republicans, however, accused Democrats, themselves, of gerrymandering, with U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley calling it a “plague on democracy,” according to ABC News.
“I think it takes power away from voters, undermines the fairness of elections and degrades representative government,” he said.
Other key races
Pennsylvania voters will vote on whether to retain three Democratic justices on the state supreme court for new 10-year terms. The court’s 5-2 Democratic majority could be at stake.
Voters in the Houston area will vote in a special election to fill the U.S. House seat for Texas’ 18th Congressional District. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee died in 2024 and the winner of the seat in the 2024 general election, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, died three months into office.
Tuesday’s race is a primary, which will eventually go into a runoff.
Results expected shortly after polling stations close at 9pm on Tuesday (02:00 GMT on Wednesday).
Published On 5 Nov 20255 Nov 2025
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On Tuesday, voters in the largest city of the United States, New York, will choose a new mayor in a race that has stirred debate across the country and drawn global interest.
Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assembly democratic socialist who surprised many with his June win in the Democratic Party’s primary, is facing former Governor Andrew Cuomo, now running as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination. Republican Curtis Sliwa is among the other candidates in the race.
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Here is what we know:
Voters on both coasts of the US will cast ballots in a series of elections: gubernatorial contests in New Jersey and Virginia, the New York City mayoral race, and a vote in California on a redistricting measure.
But of these electoral battles, it is the New York mayoral vote that has grabbed the most attention .
The three leading candidates are Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo, and Curtis Sliwa.
The Democratic nominee is running on a platform focused on affordability, calling for rent freezes, universal childcare, cheaper public transport, and a raise in the hourly minimum wage to $30. An immigrant, Muslim, and democratic socialist, his popularity has surged during the campaign, with nearly 370,000 early ballots already cast, and appealing strongly to young voters.
Mamdani, whose parents have Indian roots, was born in Uganda. If elected, he will be the city’s first Muslim mayor, the first to be born in Africa, and the first of South Asian descent.
Cuomo served as New York state’s governor from 2011 to 2021 and resigned after a state inquiry confirmed sexual harassment allegations by 13 women. He lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani (56 percent to 44 percent), but stayed in the race as an independent.
At 71, Sliwa has resisted pressure to withdraw from the race amid concerns he could split the anti-Mamdani vote. Known for his trademark red beret, he rose to prominence as the leader of the Guardian Angels, a volunteer crime-fighting group that became famous for its patrols of the New York subway system.
The latest RealClearPolitics average shows Democratic nominee Mamdani leading the mayoral race with 46.1 percent , giving him a 14.3-point edge over Cuomo (31.8 percent ) and a 29.8-point lead over Sliwa (16.3 percent ).
US President Donald Trump and businessman Elon Musk backed Cuomo late on Monday. Whether that high-profile, last-minute support will shift voter sentiment remains uncertain.
Polling stations across the city will open on November 4 at 6am local time (11:00 GMT) and voting will continue till 9pm (02:00 GMT on November 5).
Early voting took place from October 25 to November 2.
In New York, mayoral races are usually called quickly.
This time, however, with two candidates vying for the support of the city’s mostly Democratic voters, it may take longer to determine the outcome.
The 2021 mayoral race ended quickly – Democrat Eric Adams was declared the winner soon after the polls closed.
Being the US’s most diverse city, known around the world for its business and culture, makes picking a new mayor an especially important occasion.
New York’s election campaigns have mirrored the bigger national debates in the US, over identity, religion, political beliefs, and the country’s future.
Some of the key issues include:
Cost of living: The city is facing one of its tightest housing markets in decades. In 2023 the city had a vacancy rate of 1.41 percent , which means that only 14 out of every 1,000 housing units were unoccupied; 9.2 percent of all rental housing was described by city authorities as “overcrowded”. The number of new housing permits issued fell in 2024 compared with 2023.
This has made housing cost and availability a dominant issue. After a slate of California cities, New York is the costliest urban hub in the US to live in.
“Most of us are working multiple jobs, can’t make rent or rents are going up,” Tom Grabher, a city voter, told Al Jazeera.
Law and order: Serious crimes in the city, including murder, have gone down from their 17-year high in 2023. However, lower-level offences, such as shoplifting, remain higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to public worries about safety and disorder.
Migration: The city has long been a magnet for people from around the world, from its historic role as a gateway for immigrants to the recent influx of asylum seekers that critics say has placed new strains on the city’s resources.
Israel and Gaza: The ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict and the city’s large Jewish and Muslim populations have made foreign policy a key issue in this race.
A former New Yorker, Trump has loomed over the mayoral race for months, threatening to arrest Mamdani, deport him, and take control of the city if he wins.
On Monday, Trump urged the city’s voters on his Truth Social platform to back Cuomo, saying they had “no choice” but to vote for the former governor.
When the federal government shut down in October, Trump put on hold roughly $18bn in federal funds, although $187m from New York’s security funding has since been restored. Trump has threatened to withhold more federal aid for the city if Mamdani wins.
All eyes are on Virginia, a state next to Washington, DC, that has been directly affected by Trump’s spending cuts and the recent government shutdown.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger is facing off against Republican Lieutenant-Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.
In New Jersey, the governor’s race has centred on concerns about affordability. Although Democrats hold a voter advantage, Republicans are optimistic that Trump’s rising popularity in the state could lead to a surprise win. Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill is up against Republican Jack Ciattarelli , a former state assemblyman.
In California, a proposed ballot measure would redraw congressional districts in a way that could benefit Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. Governor Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers say they introduced the plan in response to Trump’s earlier push for Texas to reshape its districts to give Republicans an advantage in five seats currently held by Democrats. If approved, the measure would effectively eliminate five Republican-held districts in California.
EPA/ShutterstockIt’s Election Day in the US.
This so-called “off year” election doesn’t feature presidential or congressional races, but there are still several critical votes to watch tonight.
New York City will choose its next mayor, in a battle that has pitted a younger, progressive Democrat against a member of the party’s old guard. The states of Virginia and New Jersey will elect new governors, and the outcome of these contests could be bellwethers for next year’s congressional midterm elections.
Californians also will decide whether to redraw their US House district maps in a rare mid-decade redistricting, as Democrats try to counter Republicans’ efforts to give their party an advantage in next year’s midterm elections.
Here’s what you need to know.
All eyes will be on the Big Apple as Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, attempts a political upset in his bid to become New York City’s youngest mayor in over a century.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked the political establishment when he bested former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary this summer. Cuomo, undeterred, has continued to campaign as an independent. Meanwhile, Republican Curtis Sliwa has resisted pressure to drop out of the race to clear a path for Cuomo.
If Mamdani wins, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor. Democrats around the country will be watching to see if his laser-focus on cost-of-living issues like rent, groceries and wages could serve as effective messaging in future races.
Though Mamdani heads into election night with a suggested polling lead, the gap between him and Cuomo has narrowed. In the final stretch of the campaign, Cuomo has hammered Mamdani on crime and public safety, and said the young politician lacks the experience to lead America’s biggest city.
California’s Democratic leadership is asking voters for permission to redraw the state’s congressional districts in the middle of the decade. That’s unusual in California, which by law relies on a nonpartisan committee to draw its congressional maps once every decade, based on census data.
However, as Republican-led states like Texas and Missouri seek to hastily redraw their congressional maps to give their party an advantage in the 2026 midterm elections, California Governor Gavin Newsom wants to counter the losses with redistricting in his own state.
California’s Proposition 50 would allow the temporary use of new congressional district maps through 2030. The campaign has drawn $158 million in donations, according to the Los Angeles Times, with Democratic proponents vastly outraising the Republican opposition effort.
Republicans in California, who hold only nine of the state’s 52 US House seats, staunchly oppose the plan.
A University of California Berkeley/IGS Poll suggests 60% of likely California voters support Proposition 50, while 38% oppose it. The breakdown was highly partisan, with 93% of Democrats saying they would choose “yes” and 91% of Republicans choosing “no.”
New Jersey is considered a blue state, but polls indicate a close race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli. It’s one of the two governor’s races this year that could indicate how Americans feel about the current political climate.
Sherrill currently represents New Jersey’s 11th District in Congress, and Ciattarelli is a former state assemblyman.
New Jersey is considered a Democratic-leaning state, but has had Republican governors. The last one, Chris Christie, served two terms between 2010 and 2018.
Rhetoric in the race has been heated. Ciattarelli and his supporters have run political advertisements featuring clips of Sherrill giving halting answers in interviews about her policies.
It also has drawn the attention of nationally known names from both parties. Democratic stars like former president Barack Obama and former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg have campaigned with Sherrill. President Donald Trump attended a virtual rally for Ciattarelli, and conservative activist Jack Posobiec has backed him.
Virginia’s leadership usually swings between Democrats and Republicans, meaning the outcome of this year’s gubernatorial election might serve as a bellwether for the electorate’s mood.
No matter which candidate succeeds, the state will elect its first female governor this year. Voters will choose between Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a US congresswoman, and Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, the state’s current lieutenant governor.
If Earle-Sears wins, she will become the first black woman elected to lead a US state in the nation’s history.
Virginia is bordered by the liberal-leaning Washington, DC to the north where many residents work in the nation’s capitol or for the federal government. But the state also has deep pockets of conservative voters throughout its rural districts, and swing voters.
Spanberger has highlighted the economic impact of Trump’s cuts to the federal government, which have impacted Virginia’s employment. Earle-Sears has touted Virginia’s economy under Republican leadership. But she also has leaned into cultural topics like transgender issues, which Republicans used successfully as a wedge issue in last year’s presidential election.
Though he’s not on the ballot, Trump’s name looms over this election.
The New York City mayor’s race is how the next leader of the city will deal with the Trump administration, which has meddled in the city’s politics. Cuomo is pitching his experience as governor dealing with the first administration as a reason for voters to choose him.
The president has implied that he will penalize the city if voters choose Mamdani.
“It’s gonna be hard for me as the president to give a lot of money to New York, because if you have a communist running New York, all you’re doing is wasting the money you’re sending there,” Trump said in a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. (Mamdani is not a communist.)
Trump kicked off the redistricting battle that led California to put Proposition 50 on the ballot, and has endorsed Ciattarelli in the New Jersey governor’s race.
The most recent polls place Mamdani 14.7 points ahead of Cuomo, according to a RealClearPolitics poll average.
New York City’s mayoral race is entering its final stretch, with early voting now ended and residents among some five million registered voters set to cast their ballots on November 4 to choose the city’s next leader.
According to the New York City Board of Elections, 734,317 early votes have been cast over the past nine days – more than quadruple the total for the 2021 mayoral elections.
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According to the latest RealClearPolitics average, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani leads with 45.8 percent, holding a 14.7-point advantage over independent Andrew Cuomo at 31.1 percent and a 28.5-point lead over Republican Curtis Sliwa at 17.3 percent.
Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), has energised liberal voters, drawn to his proposals for universal, free childcare, free buses, and a rent freeze for New Yorkers living in about one million rent-regulated apartments.
New York City holds mayoral elections every four years, with a two-term limit for any individual. The current mayor, Democrat Eric Adams, who has been in office since January 2022, withdrew his candidacy earlier in the year following several controversies, most notably his federal criminal indictment on bribery and conspiracy charges, which was ultimately dismissed by a judge in April.
This year’s contest is notable for its three-way dynamic, bringing progressive, establishment and conservative forces to face off in the country’s largest city.
The latest polls put Mamdani between three and 25 points ahead of Cuomo, according to a selection of polls from RealClearPolitics.
Every poll carries a degree of uncertainty. While pollsters aim to capture a representative sample and mirror the wider electorate, there are margins of error. As such, actual levels of support fall within a few points of reported figures, with each surveyor using differing wording in issues such as how to treat undecided voters.
Aggregating different results helps to reduce bias.
Polling organisations, such as Emerson College, Marist College, and Quinnipiac University, regularly conduct public opinion surveys to gauge voter sentiment leading up to the primaries and general election.
Surveys use random sampling, including contacting voters by phone, text, or online, and ask respondents about their candidate preferences, key issues influencing their vote, and approval ratings.
Poll results include margins of error and sample sizes, which aid in interpreting accuracy and the fidelity of findings.
Unlike the primaries, which used ranked choice voting (RCV), the general election uses a first-past-the-post system, so whoever gets the most votes wins.
As of February, there were 5.1 million registered voters in New York City, of whom 65 percent were Democrats and 11 percent were Republicans. About 1.1 million voters were not registered with any party, and voter registration closed on October 25, one week before the November 4 election.
In the last New York City mayoral election, just more than 1.1 million voters cast ballots – about 21 percent of registered voters.
To be eligible to vote, residents of New York must:
Polling stations will be open between 6am (11:00 GMT) and 9pm on November 4 (02:00 GMT on November 5).
Timings vary from location to location in the city, but polling stations open between 8am and 10am and close between 4pm and 9pm.
Early voting began on October 25 and ended on November 2.
A full list of polling stations open for early voting is available on the website of the New York City Board of Elections.
New York City’s mayoral candidates are making a final push Monday to get voters to the polls, as the race to lead America’s biggest city nears its finale.
Ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa have all spent the race’s final stretch campaigning at a frenetic pace across the city’s five boroughs as they make their case to succeed outgoing Mayor Eric Adams.
In recent days, Mamdani went dancing with seniors on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Cuomo dined in the Eastern European enclave of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and Sliwa went to a mosque in the Bronx.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor, jolted the political world when he defeated Cuomo in the primary with an energetic campaign focused on making the city a more affordable place to live.
As the race approaches the finish line, he’s continued to post viral social media videos and run a relentless ground game, while warning his progressive fan base not to become complacent and to send as many supporters to the polls as possible.
Cuomo is trying to make his return to political office after resigning as governor four years ago following a barrage of sexual harassment accusations that he denies. Now running as an independent, the 67-year-old has in recent days shifted to wooing Republican voters to bolster his centrist base, pitching himself as the only candidate who can stop Mamdani.
Sliwa, the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group and a longtime fixture on New York’s airwaves, seeks to spoil both Democrats’ chances. He’s been heavily canvassing the streets and subways in his signature red beret to spread his message of public safety.
Early voting in the city ended Sunday, and election officials say more than 735,000 ballots were cast.
In last year’s general election, there were 1,089,328 early, in-person votes cast. But in the 2021 mayoral general election, only 169,879 in-person early voting ballots were cast.
Izaguirre writes for the Associated Press.