Clear victory for Mamdani in New York. Trump defeated in “referendum”

Democrat Zohran Mamdani won the elections for Mayor of the North American city of New York on Tuesday. He is the new face of the resistance to Donald Trump. Democrats’ victories characterized as a “referendum” on the US president.

Zohran Mamdaniaged 34, will be New York’s youngest mayor since 1892 and also the first Muslim, after winning the independent Andrew Cuomo and the republican Curtis Sliwa.

According to provisional results, early this Wednesday morning, in Portugal, with more than 80% of the votes counted, Mamdani exceeds 50% of the votes registered (50.5%), followed by Cuomo (41.3%) and Sliwa (7.3%).

The progressive Democratic politician, who surprised by defeating Cuomo in the party’s primaries, despite little experience as a state representative, won over New Yorkers with promises of free transportation and childcare, low-cost housing and a network of city-run stores offering low prices to address the high cost of living in New York. Big Apple.

Mamdani’s socialist orientation, in favor of the cause of Palestine, aroused distrust among some Democratic Party leaders and moderates, while Donald Trump classified him as a “communist” and an enemy of the Jews.

The American president, also from New York, kept his attention on the race for city mayor, reiterating threats of cuts of funds to the city, if Mamdani was electedalso guaranteeing that he would only attribute “the bare minimum” to his “beloved first home” because, with a “communist”, “the city, once great, has ZERO chances of success or survival”.

Mamdani hated Trump

It was the first time since 1969 that more than 2 million people voted in the city.

New Yorkers strongly supported Mamdani to the detriment of Cuomo, whose campaign was strongly supported by several tycoons, both Democrats and Republicans, even though he continues to be criticized for accusations of sexual harassment that forced him to resign as state governor in 2021.

In the victory speech, Mamdani warned Trump that he will not be intimidated and that, “if anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump, it is the city that saw him born. And, if there is any way to terrorize an oppressor, it is by dismantling the conditions that allowed him to come to power.”

“Donald Trump, since I know you’re watching, turn up the volume“, he advised.

Mamdani managed to inspire the young populationwho joined an army of volunteers, supporting the campaign. Last month, the Democratic candidate filled a stadium in Queens with a capacity for 10,000 people, in a rally under the slogan “New York is not for sale”.

The duo formed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezfigures from the most left wing of the Democrats, who supported him.

Mamdani’s victory is a relief for the Democratic Party, which is trying to catch its breath after Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 presidential elections and one year before the midterm elections.

It remains to be seen how the victory of a politician from the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party fits into the party’s policies at the national level, especially since New York is a traditionally Democratic fiefdom and because the campaign had a strong local component.

Trump defeated in “referendum”

It wasn’t just in New York. Voters in several U.S. election races supported Democrats, including in the governor’s races in New Jersey and Virginia, rejecting President Donald Trump’s support for Republican candidates.

If several Democratic leaders celebrated the results as a great victory over Trump, the American President was also quick to respond to the results on Tuesday night via social media.

“TRUMP WASN’T ON THE VOTE BALLOT” and the federal government shutdown caused by the impasse in Budget negotiations, “THEY WERE THE TWO REASONS WHY THE REPUBLICANS LOST THE ELECTIONS TONIGHT”, argued the head of State, on the social network Truth Social.

Mamdani’s unlikely rise gives credibility to Democrats, who have been urging the party to embrace more progressive and left-leaning candidates rather than rally around centrists in hopes of winning back swing voters who have abandoned the party.

Already Virginiawhere there remains a concentration of federal employees affected by the closure of services by the Administration and large-scale layoffs among federal employees, voters changed the tenant of the governor’s mansion, choosing the Democrat Abigail Spanberger as the first woman to lead the state.

Already in New Jerseywhere Trump supported Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli, voters chose to keep the Democrats in power and elected the congresswoman Mikey Sherrill.

Sherrill, a former Navy helicopter pilot and four-term member of Congress, characterized the victory as a “referendum” on Trump and some of its policies — from healthcare to immigration to the economy.

“Here in New Jersey we are determined to fight for a different future for our children,” Sherrill told supporters who gathered to celebrate her victory.

“We clearly see how important freedom is. We know that no one in our great state is safe when our neighbors are targets of attacks, ignoring the law and the Constitution”, added the future governor, who took to a stage accompanied by her husband and children.