Election Tuesday in the USA

Democrat Mamdani wins New York mayoral election

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani wins New York mayoral election. The AP news agency confirmed this at 03:30 on Wednesday night.

When 90 percent of the votes had been counted, Mamdani had a lead of around 9 percentage points.

Mamdani says in a speech that the result shows that it is possible to beat Donald Trump and that New York will now be the "light in this political darkness".

- If anyone can show how to defeat Donald Trump, it is the city that once raised him, says Mamdani.

Opinion polls have long pointed to Mamdani taking home the victory, but it is still described as historic in several ways. Mamdani will be both the first Muslim in office and one of the youngest mayors in New York ever.

Mamdani defeated Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate, former Democrat, Andrew Cuomo.

Over a million voted for Zohran Mamdani – the first time since the 1960s

More than two million New Yorkers took advantage of the opportunity to vote in Tuesday's mayoral election, writes the New York Times. This is a sharp increase compared to the election four years ago, when just over a million voted. In some areas of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, voter turnout was almost on par with what is usually seen in presidential elections, the newspaper notes.

The winner of the election, Zohran Mamdani, received over a million votes, which no candidate has managed to do since John V Lindsey did in 1969. Mandani was particularly successful in attracting young voters with a working-class background, but also received significant support among African-American and Latino voters.

Taxes and Trump – two issues Mamdani must solve

New York's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has promised to make it cheaper to live in the city, including through free childcare and public transportation. Expectations are high and Mamdani must immediately deliver on at least some of his promises, Democratic strategist Basil Smikle tells the Washington Post.

But many of the proposals will be financed by increased taxes, something Mamdani cannot push through without the support of Governor Kathy Hochul – who has previously opposed tax increases.

At the same time, Hochul, a Democrat, needs the support of Mamdani's broad voter base during his own re-election campaign, points out political scientist Christina Greer.

Another concern for Mamdani will be Donald Trump, writes Politico. The president has painted Mamdani as a dangerous communist and threatened to withdraw state aid and send the National Guard to the city.

If nothing else, this will steal a huge amount of time that Mamdani could have spent delivering concrete political results, the news site notes.