Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.
If it was any other candidates then I feel it probably would have been closer. The establishment was off their rockers thinking they could run Cuomo again, especially up against Mamdani.
I agree with you, the RCV and FPTP can get a bit of prisoner’s dilemma going. I like STAR or Ranked Robin voting more for that reason since you can vote all of your favorite options with equal weight. So you can have 2+ first place votes and so on.