New Yorkers are poised to elect socialist democrat Zohran Mamdani as their next mayor on Tuesday, a move that could trigger a political clash with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has already threatened to punish the city if the Muslim favourite wins.
Mamdani’s rise has dominated headlines as he leads the latest AtlasIntel poll with 41 percent support, seven points ahead of former state governor Andrew Cuomo, who stands at 34 percent. Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa trails with 24 percent, though his supporters could still tilt the outcome if they swing toward Cuomo.
The 34-year-old Uganda-born state assembly member describes himself as a socialist and has built his campaign on lowering living costs for ordinary New Yorkers. If elected, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor, a historic milestone that has drawn both enthusiasm and hostility.
Far-right Republicans have criticized Mamdani for a campaign video he delivered last week in Arabic, while Trump has openly warned that federal funds for New York could dry up if the leftist candidate wins.
“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,” Trump wrote on social media.
Mamdani fired back during a canvassing event in Queens, saying, “What was rumored, what was feared has become naked and unabashed — the ‘MAGA’ movement’s embrace of Andrew Cuomo.”
Polls opened at 6 a.m. and will close at 9 p.m., with early voting already setting records. More than 735,000 ballots were cast ahead of Election Day, the highest early turnout in the city’s history.
In a final push before voting, Mamdani hit nightclubs over the Halloween weekend, appearing at an event called “Papi Juice” without ditching his signature dark suit. Cuomo toured all five boroughs on Monday, while Sliwa crisscrossed the city with his “tough on crime” message.
Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out after his reelection campaign faltered amid corruption scandals, endorsed Cuomo in the race.
Political analysts say a Mamdani victory would mark a defining moment in U.S. urban politics and could test the boundaries of federal-local relations under Trump.
“Trump will treat New York City more aggressively,” said Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University. “There will be some kind of political showdown.”
Mamdani’s rise has also rattled the Democratic Party, which remains divided over whether to lean centrist or embrace a more populist left-wing direction.
“I think that this has to be a party that actually allows Americans to see themselves in it and not just be a mirror image of just a few people who are engaged in politics,” Mamdani said at a dance event with seniors on Friday.
While New York’s mayoral race grabs attention, voters in Virginia and New Jersey are also casting ballots for governor, contests seen as crucial indicators of America’s political mood nearly ten months into Trump’s combative presidency.
In New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill faces Republican Jack Ciattarelli, a Trump-backed businessman, in a neck-and-neck race. In Virginia, Democratic candidate Abigail Spanberger holds a steady lead over Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned for both Democratic candidates over the weekend and reportedly spoke with Mamdani as well, though he stopped short of endorsing him, a reflection of the internal struggle within the Democratic Party over its future direction.