Shortly after Zohran Mamdani was projected to win New York City’s mayoral election, NewsNation broadcaster Chris Cuomo — brother of Andrew Cuomo — spoke about the race’s outcome. In his response, Chris had a simple analysis for the election night: “The Democrat was gonna win in New York City.”
“Even I can see what this is about,” Chris said. “Of course, I wanted my brother to win. I believe in my brother. I think he’s a tremendous operator within government, but he’s not what Democrats want right now in their party.”
Mamdani managed to garner more than 50% of the vote by 9:30 p.m. ET, an even larger percentage than his first-round primary result and more than 10 percentage points ahead of Andrew. The Associated Press called the race at 9:34 p.m. ET. This came after early voting surged to record levels in recent weeks, with New York City seeing more people vote early in-person this election cycle than in any other non-presidential election.
Chris said that Zohran’s victory signals a shifting trend within the Democratic Party amid Donald Trump’s second term as president.
“The type of Democrat, and what they want, I do believe there’s a metaphor here as a reaction to MAGA, and this is what we’ll see in the midterms,” he said. “But I guess that’s fought by Virginia and New Jersey in terms of who they elected.”
Mamdani has since received a number of high profile congratulations, including praise from Senator Bernie Sanders, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“Starting at 1% in the polls, @ZohranKMamdani pulled off one of the great political upsets in modern American history,” Sanders wrote on X Tuesday evening. “Yes. We CAN create a government that represents working people and not the 1%. I look forward to working with Zohran as he builds a city that works for all.”
Clinton added on X: “Congratulations @ZohranKMamdani on your election as the next Mayor of New York City. I’m wishing you success as you work to transform the passion of your campaign into building a better, fairer, more affordable New York.”
His wife expressed a similar sentiment on her social media account, writing: “More people voted in New York City’s election this year than they have in 50 years. That’s a win for democracy, and a testament to @ZohranKMamdani’s inspiring campaign. Congratulations to the next mayor of the greatest city in the world.”
