Zohran Mamdani Elected as New York's First Muslim Mayor: "No Space For Islamophobia in Elections"

File photo of Zohran Mamdani and US President Donald Trump.

New Yorkers elected young leftist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor Tuesday and Democrats won two key state governor races as US voters delivered an early warning to President Donald Trump ahead of 2026's midterms. Here's what he said in his first public address after his win:

New Yorkers elected young leftist Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor on Tuesday and Democrats won two key state governor races as US voters delivered an early warning to President Donald Trump ahead of 2026's midterms. Here's what he said in his first public address after his win:

New York voters have delivered a "mandate for change" and "mandate for a new kind of politics", Mamdani stated in his victory speech.

"My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty. I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life, but let tonight be the final time I utter his name as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few," the newly elected mayor declared.

"Thank you to the new generation of New York. We'll fight for you because we are you. New York city breathes in this moment, we have held our breath for so long."

"New York will remain a city of immigrants. A city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and as of tonight, led by an immigrant. Here, we believe in standing up for those we love. Whether you are an immigrant, a member of the Trans community, one of the many black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall, your struggle is ours too," Mamdani emphasized.

"To my mama and baba, I am so proud to be your son."

"If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mamdani continued. "I am young and I am a Muslim. I refuse to apologise for being a Muslim."

"No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election."

Quoting former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Mamdani said: "A moment comes 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."

New York will be the light "in this moment of political darkness," he concluded. "We will work tirelessly to make light shine again. Safety and justice will go hand in hand."