In a powerful victory speech delivered to a packed crowd in Brooklyn, New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani laid out his bold vision for what he called a “new age” for the city, vowing to center working people and transform how local government addresses affordability, inequality, and political division.

“Tonight we have stepped out from the old into the new,” Mamdani declared. “So let us speak now with clarity and conviction that cannot be misunderstood about what this new age will deliver and for whom.”

Democrat Mamdani has been elected Mayor of New York City, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa and Independent Andrew Cuomo, and making history as the city's first Muslim and youngest mayor in more than 100 years.

Mamdani, 34, secured 50.4% of the vote, while Cuomo earned 41.3%, according to official results from the NYC Board of Elections. He is set to take office on January 1st.

Currently serving in the New York State Assembly, Mamdani is closely affiliated with the Democratic Socialist Movement and has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump’s policies. His victory, backed by high youth turnout, is seen as a shift toward progressive leadership in America’s largest city.

Direct message to Trump: 'Turn the Volume Up'

Mamdani also used his win to send a message to President Donald Trump, addressing the president directly in his speech:

“If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him,” Mamdani said. 

He framed his campaign as a rejection of authoritarianism and political fear-mongering, saying in New Yorkers, “we respond to oligarchy and authoritarianism with the strength it fears, not the appeasement it craves.”

Pride in identity and multicultural roots

Confronting the scrutiny he faced during the race over his age, religion, and democratic socialist views, Mamdani said:

“I am young, despite my best efforts to grow older. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And most damning of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this.”

The mayor-elect paid tribute to New York’s diverse communities, referencing campaign videos he released in Arabic, Spanish, and Hindustani to reach voters across ethnic lines. Quoting a phrase from one such video, he told supporters in Queens-style Arabic: “Ana minkom wa-ilaykom” (I am from you and for you).

He also thanked his wife, Rama Duwaji, using the Arabic term of endearment “hayati” (“my life”). 

Mamdani ended his speech by addressing those who feel disillusioned with politics, saying to every New Yorker, "While we cast our ballots alone, we chose hope together. Hope over tyranny, hope over big money and small ideas, hope over despair."