Democratic socialist Mamdani triumphs in New York mayoral race

Democrats swept a trio of races on Tuesday (November 4) in the first major elections since Donald Trump regained the presidency, giving the beleaguered party a shot of momentum as it looks ahead to the congressional midterm elections next year, Reuters reports.

In New York City, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the mayoral race, capping a meteoric and unlikely rise from an anonymous state lawmaker to one of the country’s most visible Democratic figures. And in Virginia and New Jersey, Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill won the elections for governor with commanding leads, respectively.

Tuesday’s contests offered a barometer of how Americans are responding to Trump’s tumultuous nine months in office. The races also served as a test of differing Democratic campaign playbooks ahead of 2026, with the party locked out of power in Washington and still trying to forge a path out of the political wilderness.

That said, the midterm elections are a year away, an eternity in the Trump era. And the contests on Tuesday all unfolded in Democratic-leaning regions that did not support Trump in last year’s presidential election.

All three Democratic candidates emphasized economic issues, particularly affordability. But Spanberger and Sherrill hail from the party’s moderate wing, while Mamdani used a viral video-fueled insurgent campaign to present himself as an unabashed progressive and a new generational voice.

Mamdani, who will become the first Muslim mayor of the biggest U.S. city, outlasted former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, who ran as an independent after losing the nomination to Mamdani earlier this year. Cuomo, who resigned as governor four years ago after sexual harassment allegations that he has denied, portrayed Mamdani as a radical leftist whose proposals were unworkable and dangerous.

In a sign of how Mamdani’s campaign had energized many voters, more than 2 million ballots including early voting were cast across the city, according to the board of elections, the most in a mayoral race since at least 1969.

Mamdani has called for taxing corporations and the wealthy to pay for ambitious left-wing policies such as frozen rents, free childcare and free city buses. Wall Street executives have expressed concern about putting a democratic socialist at the helm of the financial capital of the world.

Republicans have already signaled they intend to present Mamdani as the face of the Democratic Party. Trump has incorrectly labeled Mamdani a “communist” and vowed to cut funding for the city in response to Mamdani’s ascension.