NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) – In a remarkable political upset, the Associated Press declared Zohran Mamdani the winner of the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday night.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, triumphed over independent candidate and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as Republican contender Curtis Sliwa. His victory marks a dramatic rise from relative anonymity to a national spotlight.

Initially seen as an underdog, the state assemblymember began his campaign with just 18% support in March. However, two weeks before the Democratic primary, Mamdani surged ahead of Cuomo in the polls, eventually securing the nomination with 43.8% of the vote.

“This campaign has shown that our dreams can become reality,” Mamdani proclaimed during his primary victory speech. “We have reignited hope in our city’s future.”

The election saw over 2 million New Yorkers head to the polls, marking the highest voter turnout for a mayoral race in more than half a century, according to the city’s Board of Elections. With about 90% of ballots counted, Mamdani maintained a lead of approximately 9 percentage points over Cuomo.

Mamdani campaigned on affordability, promising fast and free buses, universal child care, and a rent freeze for stabilized units. 

His platform and social-media-heavy approach garnered national attention and support from high-profile Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X that she looked forward to working with Mamdani “to make our city more affordable and livable” and congratulated him on winning “one of the city’s highest-turnout elections on record.”

Critics say Mamdani is inexperienced, will drive out wealthy New Yorkers, and criticized his stance on Israel. He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of what they say is a more radical Democratic Party. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to the city — and even take it over — if Mamdani won.

In a concession speech, a defiant Cuomo called his campaign “a caution flag that we are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road” and noted that “almost half of New Yorkers did not vote to support a government agenda that makes promises that we know cannot be met.”

Still, he corrected his supporters when they began to boo at the mention of Mamdani’s name.

“No, that is not right,” he said, offering to help the incoming mayor in any way. “Tonight was their night.”

He is the youngest person to be elected mayor of New York City in over a century. He’s also the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first immigrant mayor in modern times.

Mamdani’s X account posted a video of a subway train pulling up to City Hall station, with an announcement that said, “The next and last stop is City Hall.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.