In New York City's mayoral race on Tuesday (November 4), Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, faces 67-year-old former Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent. Mamdani has also led by double digits over Cuomo, with Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, 71, a distant third in most opinion polls.

More than 3 million people voted early in Virginia, New York and New Jersey, in each case far exceeding the totals from four years ago. In New York City, there were 735,000 ballots cast, according to the city elections board, more than four times the number in 2021.

Mamdani, running an insurgent campaign, has proposed more ambitious left-wing policies, including freezing rents for nearly a million apartments, taxing the wealthy and making the city's bus service free.

"We are on the brink of making history in our city, on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past," Mamdani said at a press conference after voting. "It is time to finally respond with the urgency that New Yorkers deserve - an urgency that reckons with these same New Yorkers having had to face rent hike after rent hike, year after year, these same New Yorkers having to wait for buses that never come, these same New Yorkers that have to move out of this city when they want to raise a family."

Late on Monday, Trump endorsed Cuomo, urging supporters to vote for the former governor and repeating his threat to cut federal funds to his native city if Mamdani wins.

"What we see in the language of Donald Trump is a premise as if it is his decision on whether or not to fund the city - the very money that this city is owed," Mamdani said. "I look forward to utilizing every single tool at my disposal as the next mayor of this city to fight for the people of it - that means using the courts, that means using the bully pulpit, that means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law - and I know that doing so is something that threatens Donald Trump... I will not be intimidated by this president. I will not be intimidated by anyone because my job here is to serve the people of this city."

Despite their ideological differences, all three nominees have relentlessly focused on the cost of living, an issue that has remained top of mind for voters after last year's presidential election.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (NOVEMBER 4, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE, ZOHRAN MAMDANI, AT PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF LONG ISLAND CITY IN NEW YORK CITY'S QUEENS BOROUGH

2. MAMDANI SURROUNDED BY PRESS

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE, ZOHRAN MAMDANI, SAYING:

"Good morning everyone. Today is Election Day. It is a day that we have been dreaming of for more than a year. And as much as things have changed over the course of this campaign, in many ways, it is the same campaign we launched on October 23rd. A campaign that looks to transform the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that's affordable for each and every person that calls it home. And I'm so thankful to the more than 100,000 volunteers who have brought us to this point. We are on the brink of making history in our city, on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past, a politics that tells you what it can't do and really, what it means to say is what it won't do, and to usher in a new era in this city where we understand that we do not get to choose the scale of the crisis we face, we simply get to choose the manner in which we respond. And it is time to finally respond with the urgency that New Yorkers deserve - an urgency that reckons with these same New Yorkers having had to face rent hike after rent hike, year after year, these same New Yorkers having to wait for buses that never come, these same New Yorkers that have to move out of this city when they want to raise a family, and these same New Yorkers who have grown tired of going on StreetEasy to find apartments in Jersey City because that's the only place they could consider affording. It is time now for a new day in our politics. And it is an honor and a privilege to be a part of a movement that has fought every single day to bring that day forward. And today, we have until 9 p.m. to say that our time has come. Thank you very much."

4. MAMDANI

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE, ZOHRAN MAMDANI, SAYING:

REPORTER: "President Trump says he plans to reduce federal funding if you win. What are your thoughts on that?"

MAMDANI: "President Trump also encouraged every New Yorker to vote for Andrew Cuomo. There are many things that he will say and that he will do that will not actually bear out in the results within our own city. I will treat his threats as they deserve to be treated, which are the words of a president and not necessarily the law of the land. And too often we treat anything that he says by virtue of who's saying it as if it is already that law. And it is time that we have a mayor who stands up for New Yorkers each and every day, not one who's willing to sacrifice those New Yorkers so that they can stand up for themselves."

6. MAMDANI

7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL CANDIDATE, ZOHRAN MAMDANI, SAYING: "I look forward to representing those New Yorkers and look forward to fighting for every single dollar this city is owed. What we see in the language of Donald Trump is a premise as if it is his decision on whether or not to fund the city - the very money that this city is owed. And I look forward to utilizing every single tool at my disposal as the next mayor of this city to fight for the people of it - that means using the courts, that means using the bully pulpit, that means ensuring that we actually follow the letter of the law - and I know that doing so is something that threatens Donald Trump, it's why he's gone after Attorney General James, because she had the audacity to hold him to the same law that every New Yorker is held to. But I will not be intimidated by this president. I will not be intimidated by anyone because my job here is to serve the people of this city." / MAMDANI WALKING AWAY