Zohran Mamdani takes selfies with supporters after speaking at his primary election party. Heather Khalifa/AP
Last night, with Zohran Mamdani on the verge of an extraordinary political upset in the New York City Democratic primary for mayor, the mood outside the candidate’s watch party in Queens was one of stunned glee. Few had expected such a swift and decisive victory for the young socialist state assemblymember over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who by around 10:30 p.m. had already called Mamdani to concede.
The city was in the midst of a historic heat wave—temperatures earlier that day had topped 100 degrees and did not relent much into the night. Because the campaign was turning away supporters—and press—that had not made the list, a cheerful crowd began to form outside the rooftop bar in Long Island City where Mamdani was scheduled to speak. Most were young, and some had come out in their DIY Mamdani merch. A local group of cyclists, seeing that early results favored Mamdani, had diverted their weekly ride to the bar. One member, who gave his name as Joe, told me that Mamdani had spoken at a memorial event for a cyclist who had been killed in a hit-and-run leaving one of the group’s rides. “He’s a man of the people,” Joe said. “I want someone who’s gonna walk the streets of Manhattan rather than assault the people of Manhattan.”
A little after 11 p.m., fellow mayoral candidate and New York City comptroller Brad Lander—who had co-endorsed Mamdani in the last weeks of the race—emerged from a car to welcoming cheers and made his way into the party. A livestream of the speeches had been set up outside of the bar, where spectators were spilling into the street.
Many supporters had hoped against hope that Mamdani would prevail, and their surprise was evident, particularly at a moment of Democratic malaise. Varsha Suresh, who is one of Mamdani’s constituents in Queens, had made her way to the party to bask in the results. “It’s incredible to come here and just feed off of this energy in this time where it’s so difficult to even think of something positive in the United States—that New York can lead the way in showing how a new future is possible,” she said.
Mamdani’s campaign, with its nimble social media presence, won over large swaths of young voters. About 385,000 New Yorkers voted early in this Democratic primary—almost 200,000 more than in 2021—with voters aged 25 to 34 making up the largest share of the turnout, according to Gothamist.
“He activated so many Gen Z voters. People who I had no idea cared about politics were suddenly posting [on social media] about Zohran,” Elena Gonzalez, a 26-year-old who works in the entertainment industry, told me. She knew a number of new residents that Mamdani’s campaign had convinced to register to vote for the first time.
As the night stretched on, the crowd began to grow restless—and hot. A volunteer made rounds with a pitcher of water and a stack of plastic cups. The speeches began around midnight, with remarks from Mamdani’s campaign manager, US Rep. Nydia Velázquez, and New York Attorney General Letitia James. When Mamdani finally took the stage, cheers reached a fever pitch. He pulled Lander onto the stage, as well as his wife and parents (who are the filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani).
Mamdani, perhaps aware that he may face a competitive general election in November, remained on message. “Today, eight months after launching this campaign with the vision of a city that every New Yorker could afford, we have won,” Mamdani said. “A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few. It should be one that city government guarantees for each and every New Yorker.”
And ultimately, it was this unrelenting focus on affordability that resonated most with voters. That it is prohibitively expensive is a defining factor of life in New York City. “As a person of color living in New York City under the age of 30—with all my dreams of being able to afford to live here—him winning makes me feel like that’s actually possible,” Suresh told me.