Election results 2025: Mamdani wins New York mayor race

This concludes our live updates of the New York City mayoral election and other key votes across the US.

Progressive Democrat Zohran Mamdani has made history as the city's first Muslim mayor, its first leader of South Asian heritage, and the first mayor in generations to be this young and be a first generation immigrant. He promised that New York will be a "light" in comparison to the "darkness" of the Trump administration.

It was a good day for Democrats all around, as backlash continues to what is seen as Trump's politics of revenge.  Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor's race, the first woman ever to do so. And in California, voters supported a redistricting map designed to counter gerrymandering in Republican-controlled states. 

Democrat Zohran Mamdani has been elected as mayor of New York City. The 34-year-old will become the city's first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations. His victory caps a meteoric rise from little-known state lawmaker to one of the country's most influential figures.

DW news anchor Sarah Kelly brings you reactions from New York City on Mamdani's win.

California Governor Gavin Newsom lauded the state for approving the proposal to redraw its electoral boundaries, saying he was proud of the people. 

"We're proud of the work that the people of the state of California did tonight to send a powerful message to... the most historically unpopular president in modern history," Newsom said as the results came in.

Speaking of the Democratic wins in NYC, New Jersey and Virginia, the leader said the Democratic Party was "in its ascendancy." 

"What a night for the Democratic Party. A party that's in its ascendancy. A party that's on its toes, no longer on its heels. From coast to coast, sea to shining sea," he said. 

Trump had earlier called the vote in California a "GIANT SCAM" and "RIGGED," without offering proof.

Freshly off his win, New York City's Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani lauded his supporters for toppling a political dynasty, and took jabs at President Donald Trump.

"If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him," Mamdani said in a victory speech. "In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light."

"I will wake up each morning with a singular purpose: To make this city better for you than it was the day before," he said.

The newly elected mayor also addressed the US president directly.

"Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up!" Mamdani said.

On the eve of the elections, Trump had extended his support to independent candidate and former state governor Andrew Cuomo, threatening to cut federal funding to NYC if Mamdani won.

While it remains to be seen if Trump acts on his threat, he reacted in a cryptic post on his Truth Social platform after Republicans lost  the mayoral race in New York City and the governors' ballots in New Jersey and Virginia. 

"'TRUMP WASN'T ON THE BALLOT, AND SHUTDOWN, WERE THE TWO REASONS THAT REPUBLICANS LOST ELECTIONS TONIGHT,' according to Pollsters," the President wrote. In another post, he wrote, "…AND SO IT BEGINS!"

Voters in California have approved new congressional district boundaries, delivering a victory for Democrats in the state-by-state redistricting battle that will potentially decide which party wins control of the US House in 2026 and, with it, the power to stymie President Donald Trump's agenda.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and his allies asked voters to approve a temporary re-drawing of electoral districts.

The green light for Proposition 50 gives Democrats a shot at winning as many as five additional seats, just enough to blunt Texas Republicans' bid to redraw their own maps — at Trump's urging — to pick up five additional GOP seats.

Voters approved Proposition 50 by a margin of two-to-one, early official results showed.

The result is a major win for Newsom.

Last month Newsom said he is considering a run for US president in 2028 and will make a decision after the 2026 midterm elections.

The mood among Mamdani’s supporters at the Brooklyn Paramount remains jubilant — with cheers erupting intermittently even after the race was called some time ago.

For those celebrating here, it marks a satisfying finish to a race that has energized and excited them. 

Inevitably, the conversation will eventually turn to whether Mayor Mamdani will be able to deliver on his ambitious promises. 

But it's a line of discussion that Nicholas Alban, a Mamdani supporter, says he finds irritating. 

"The fact that those are the things he wants and advocates for, tells me enough about him already," Alban said. "Yeah, it's gonna be hard to get them through legislatively, the fact that he's promising them, that signals to the people that he's on our side, that he cares about what's gonna make our lives better."

To him and others here, tonight is about celebrating the promise of a Mamdani mayoralty, but the difficult compromises involved in running the US' biggest city will come soon enough.

Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill won the race for the position of New Jersey's governor, marking another loss for Republicans on a day which is being seen as a litmus test for US President Donald Trump's popularity. 

Most US media outlets have called the vote in her favor.

Sherrill is a former Navy pilot with strong national security credentials and has won against Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, who was endorsed by Trump. 

Sherrill, along with Virginia's new governor Abigail Spanberger and NYC's Zohran Mamdani, focused on economic issues during the campaign, especially the rising cost of living.

Zohran Mamdani has won the New York City mayoral race, capping a meteoric rise from a little-known state lawmaker to one of the country's most visible Democratic figures.

The 34-year-old will become the first Muslim mayor of the largest city in the United States.

He defeated Democratic former Governor Andrew Cuomo who ran as an independent after losing the nomination to Mamdani in the primary election. Cuomo also had the backing of Republican President Donald Trump.

Mamdani's campaign and subsequent victory may have national implications in terms of the direction for the Democratic Party.

Democrat Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor's race on Tuesday, defeating Republican Lt. Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to give the Democrats a key win heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

In winning, Spanberger also made history as the first woman ever to lead the state.

Spanberger's win will flip partisan control of the governor's office when she succeeds outgoing Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.

Spanberger, 46, a former congresswoman and CIA case officer, won with a campaign focusing on economic issues, a strategy that may serve as a model for other Democrats in next year's elections as they try to break President Donald Trump's and Republicans' stranglehold in Washington.

The time for casting votes is now over in New York City's mayoral race, which has cast a widely watched battle between capitalist and democratic socialist ideologies.

Voters showed up in vast numbers on Tuesday with over 2 million ballots cast, according to the city's Board of Elections. That's the first time the city has seen such a turnout since 1969.

Vote counting will begin immediately, and results are expected shortly afterwards.

Supporters of Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, are lining up outside the Brooklyn Paramount, the concert venue where their preferred candidate is holding his election watch party.

Across the street, Junior's Restaurant and Bakery is buzzing with reporters and supporters eating or networking before going in. Murad Awawdeh, an adviser who helped shape Mamdani's campaign policy, spoke to DW about the looming confrontation between Mamdani and US President Donald Trump. 

"We've already seen President Trump attack New York City and New York State as a whole, and what we need right now are leaders who are willing and able to fight back," said Awawdeh, who is also president of the immigration advocacy group NYIC Action. "And what we do know is that a Mayor Mamdani will fight."

Polls in New York City‘s mayoral race are about to close at 9 p.m. local time (0200 GMT on Wednesday).

Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET (0000 GMT on Wednesday) in Virginia, where Democrat Abigail Spanberger was vying with Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears to become the first woman to serve as the state's governor.

Spanberger is a former congresswoman and CIA officer.

It is one of the two gubernatorial races this year.

Polls in New Jersey's governor's race will close at 8 p.m. ET (0100 GMT).

The elections are seen as a snapshot of voter sentiment nine months into the Trump administration.

Zohran Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist. But what does that mean?

Galen Druke, the founder and host of the GD POLITICS podcast, told DW that democratic socialism essentially means government-funded programs with more generous funding than Americans currently have.

"For a European audience, the policies he is promoting are not that foreign. Government-provided childcare, for example," Druke said.

The analyst added that he wouldn't describe democratic socialism as popular, though, because most Americans are negative about socialism and prefer capitalism. "But within the Democratic Party, the concept of democratic socialism is becoming popular," he said.

Will Mamdani be able to implement his policies?

Druke said that it is likely that Mamdani won't be able to implement some of his proposed policies.

"The situation in New York City is complicated, as much of the funding is still controlled by New York state," he explained, adding that New York state is "not nearly as liberal, democratic, or progressive as New York City."

According to Druke, Mamdani said he wants to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, but the governor of New York state, Kathy Hochul, said she's not interested in doing that. 

The analyst is sure that the governor of New York and the next mayor of New York City will be able to come to some sort of compromise in certain areas, but this will depend partly on tonight's margin. 

"If he squeaks by with a narrow victory and it doesn't look like he's walking away with a blowout victory that some of the polls have suggested, I think Democrats will approach him much more tentatively than if he wins in a blowout," Druke said.

"Whether or not he wins is a big question, but a manner in which he wins is also a big question," the analyst added.

Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is considered the favorite in the New York City mayoral election.

If he wins, it will be despite many distortions and false claims circulating about him.

Many people, including the current New York Mayor and Democrat Eric Adams, have accused Mamdani of wanting to legalize or decriminalize sex work. Opponents have repeatedly raised the topic, warning that such policies could increase sex trafficking in New York City.

But a DW fact check found this claim to be misleading.

You can read this and other DW fact checks about the NYC mayoral race here.