ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — New York Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor on Tuesday, making him the first Muslim American and South Asian candidate to secure a major party’s city-wide nomination for the top office. His victory drew sharp reactions from both Democratic and Republican leaders.

Fueled by a grassroots campaign and support from the Working Families Party, Mamdani’s win might signal a shift for some voters and party leaders interested in change. Republicans quickly criticized his win, calling him a radical socialist and blaming current Democratic leadership, while supporters celebrated a new era of representation and a focus on affordability and public services.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo said he called Mamdani to concede and congratulate him on Tuesday night. In a written statement published just after midnight on Wednesday, current Governor Kathy Hochul also congratulated the Assemblymember for clinching the nomination. “Voters made their voices heard, demanding a more affordable, more livable New York City,” she said. “I hear them loud and clear.”

Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado also praised Mamdani, calling his win a “testament to the power of connecting with the people and speaking with clarity, conviction, and purpose.” He said that New Yorkers “want leaders who don’t just manage the status quo—they want leaders who will challenge it.”

House Republican Leadership Chair Elise Stefanik called Mamdani a “radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging antisemite.” She also blamed his win on Hochul’s “catastrophic failed leadership” and the “inept weakness and sheer incompetence” of the Democratic Party.

Congressmember Mike Lawler echoed these criticisms, calling Mamdani an “anti-police, antisemitic extremist.” Lawler called out Democrats, challenging them to state their support for Mamdani’s agenda: ending cash bail, legalizing prostitution, and supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel. He called on voters to rally around Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Maureen O’Toole called Mamdani proudly antisemitic and pro-criminal, a full-blown socialist who supports open borders and wants to defund the police and create government-run grocery stores.

New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar said Mamdani’s win “should have come as no surprise” because “the Democratic Party has been sliding toward socialism for years.”

But the New York Working Families Party celebrated Mamdani’s win as the “capstone” to their candidates sweeping executive races across the state, according to co-directors Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper. They said, “We showed New York and the entire country that voters are thoroughly fed up with the status quo.”

Mamdani’s campaign focused on addressing New York City’s affordability crisis. “I will be the Mayor for every New Yorker,” he said in his victory speech, pledging to fight for a city that is affordable and less dangerous. He spoke about ensuring “a life of dignity” for all New Yorkers by outlining his campaign policies for rent-stabilized apartments, fast and free buses, and less expensive childcare.

One Fair Wage Action President Saru Jayaraman celebrated Mamdani’s win as a “clear instruction to raise wages and end poverty pay.” She noted his support for a $30 minimum wage by 2030 and eliminating the subminimum wage for tipped workers.

Betsy Plum, Executive Director of the Riders Alliance, praised Mamdani as a leader who “championed transit riders’ needs at every turn.” She said he made them central to his vision for the city, including a plan to fix the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The Public Power NY Coalition called Mamdani a “public renewables champion,” noting his role in the 2023 passage of the Build Public Renewables Act. That law is supposed to let the New York Power Authority build and own wind and solar energy projects.

Basim Elkarra, Executive Director of CAIR Action, a Muslim civil rights organization, said, “Our community proved that when Muslim New Yorkers organize, we don’t just participate—we lead.”

The primary used ranked-choice voting, a system wherein voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing just one. And over a million New Yorkers navigated the system well enough to vote successfully in the primary, according to Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause/NY.

Voters approved RCV in 2019 by an almost three-to-one margin, and the city has used it in all primaries and special elections since 2021. Rosemonde Pierre-Louis from Rank the Vote NYC said the system “was meant to facilitate” candidates working together and building broad coalitions. And it’s supposed to make sure that the winner has the support of a majority of voters, rather than just a plurality.

The election also saw huge amounts of outside spending. DoorDash, the food delivery service app, gave over $1 million.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a Brennan Center fellow and law professor at Stetson University College of Law, said Super PACs spent over $50 million. About half came from one Super PAC called “Fix the City.” A PAC, or political action committee, can raise and spend unlimited money to support or oppose candidates but can’t coordinate with a campaign directly.

Citizens Budget Commission President Andrew Rein said that their “Straight from New Yorkers 2025 Resident Survey” showed ongoing dissatisfaction with quality of life, public services, and safety in the city. Responding to the CBC questionnaire, Mamdani rated the efficiency of city services as poor and said he plans for a city-wide performance management system to track crime statistics. He also indicated support for property tax reform and mandatory deposits to a “Rainy Day Fund” savings account for the city government.

With the primary gone, the stage is now set for a general election that could include Cuomo, current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, Guardian Angels founder Sliwa, and Jim Walden. The former governor previously confirmed that he’d qualified to run on an independent line—because voters might be disillusioned with a “hijacked” Democratic Party—on November 4. But after conceding on Tuesday, he implied that he may ultimately sit it out after all.

Should Mamdani win, he’ll be 34 by November. That would make him the city’s youngest mayor in over a century.

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