The race has been in the national spotlight since 34-year-old New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani pulled a stunning upset in the primaries, defeating both incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo.

National figures are competing in different ways to make Mamdani a Democratic symbol amid a consequential next chapter of his rise: running New York City.

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani will be New York City's youngest mayor in over a century, exposing a deep generational divide within the Democratic Party ahead of the midterms.

In a new ad targeting vulnerable congressional Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) argued the Democrat Party has fully embraced socialism in the wake of the “radical left earthquake” that was Mamdani’s electoral victory in New York City.

Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credence to Democrats who have urged the party to embrace more progressive, left-wing candidates

Watch Mamdani’s election night watch party live in our video player above. With three hours until polls closed, a few dozen Mamdani supporters were gathered in the dark corner of a Brooklyn park, preparing to set out on their final canvas launch of the long campaign.

Zohran Mamdani will be held 'accountable' to the powerful groups and activists who fueled his mayoral victory.

"I know you're watching, turn the volume up," the 34-year-old socialist tells the president as he becomes the first Muslim mayor of New York City.