Backbencher left-wing state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani took political veteran Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa to school when he clinched a historic victory in New York City’s mayoral race.
Political analysts told The Post that the young democratic socialist sustained his meteoric rise by focusing relentlessly on the high cost of living in the city — even as critics panned his tax hikes and spending proposals as impractical to address it.
His message won.
In the end, voters decided the charismatic 34-year-old lefty lawmaker was a fresh face who would bring about necessary change, as opposed to the former governor and the Guardian Angels founder — both in the public eye for 40 years.
“A new generation has taken over New York City,” said communications strategist Andrew Kirtzman.
“It goes beyond a handful of policies. We’re going to look back on this night as a turning point in the history of this city – generational, political, societal,” he said.
Lobbyist Yvette Buckner called Mamdani’s win on Tuesday “a political jolt that New York City hasn’t seen in decades.”
“Mamdani’s win will be a reset and a way to reimagine how the city is run,” she said.
Campaign strategist Ken Frydman agreed, noting older doesn’t always mean wiser in the eyes of voters.
“Mamdani had the right messaging and a great field operation to get out his vote. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa didn’t,” he said.
Cuomo’s comeback campaign for City Hall after resigning as governor in 2021 — under the threat of impeachment — fizzled and his political career is likely over, the analysts said.
Mamdani defeated him soundly in the Democratic primary in June and then again in the general election when Cuomo decided to stay in the race and run as an independent.
He follows other scandal-scarred politicians, including ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Rep. Anthony Weiner whose comeback bids crashed and burned.
“Cuomo’s next career move should either be joining Bill de Blasio and Chicago’s Laurie Lightfoot at Harvard’s JFK School of Government or opening a dealership for classic muscle cars,” quipped Republican strategist Rob Ryan, referring to the former mayors of the Big Apple and Windy City.
Marist Institute for Public Opinion director Lee Miringoff said, “Mamdani stayed on message about affordability the whole time and affordability was the number one issue. It was an enormous win.”
“There’s no silver lining here for Andrew Cuomo. He tried and came up short twice,” said Miringoff.
“Voters were looking for change. Cuomo and Sliwa were familiar faces.”
Ryan also said Sliwa’s poor showing is a historic embarrassment for the New York Republican Party, and should end his political career after two failed runs, the first to Mayor Eric Adams in 2021.
Sliwa’s support in the pre-election polls collapsed with even President Trump — the de facto head of the Republican Party — endorsing Cuomo as a better choice to try to take down Mamdani.
Sliwa ended up receiving just 7% of the vote.
“He underperformed past GOP candidates by roughly 20 points, giving the party its worst showing since the boroughs were united in 1898. A sad moment for the Republican Party,” Ryan said.
“While Sliwa underperformed the polls, Cuomo closed the gap in the last few days. Maybe he needed more time, more likely he needed a better get out the vote operation, a more charming disposition and a vision for the city that gave hope to the voters.”
Miringoff said had Sliwa dropped out of the race, as many had suggested, “this would have been a closer race between Mamdani and Cuomo.”
It was also a bad day for New York’s corporate titans, who were losers, too.
They dropped some $50 million into pro-Cuomo, anti-Mamdani Super Pacs from the primary through the general election.
“More money is not necessarily better when the candidate is flawed,” Miringoff said.
But the analysts noted that Mamdani’s tremendous victory is tempered by the fact that about half of the city’s electorate voted against him — by choosing Cuomo or Sliwa
“He has a mandate for change. But he only got half the vote,” Miringoff said.
Mamdani will have to win over more residents by performing well as mayor, he said, or his popularity could plummet quickly.
Miringoff also predicted that while Mamdani’s win in progressive New York City is a big coup for the Democratic Socialists of America, their left-wing agenda won’t have legs across the country.
He noted the Democratic Party winners of the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia — Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberg — are moderate Democrats, not DSA members.
Meanwhile, Mamdani’s ambitious promises — proposing to raise taxes by $9 billion on millionaires and corporations to fund free public child care and bus service, among other services, could come back to bite him.
He needs Albany or the MTA’s support to make his grandiose programs happen.
Frydman called his win a “victory of vision and vibe over realistic campaign promises.”
Ryan agreed, saying: “Now Mamdani faces his biggest challenge; making good on his socialist happy talk and running a city where nearly half the electorate opposed his election.”
