NEW YORK CITY (WPIX) – In a historic turn of events, Zohran Mamdani has been declared the next mayor of New York City, as projected by the Associated Press on Tuesday evening.

Mamdani, a 34-year-old advocate of democratic socialism, triumphed over independent contender and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa. This victory marks a remarkable journey from relative anonymity to national prominence for Mamdani’s campaign.

Initially considered an unlikely contender, the state assemblymember began the race with a mere 18% support in March. However, in a dramatic shift, Mamdani overtook Cuomo in the polls just two weeks ahead of the primary election. He ultimately secured the Democratic nomination with 43.8% of the vote.

In his speech celebrating the primary win, Mamdani expressed, “Our campaign has shown the world that our aspirations are achievable. We have reignited hope in our city.”

The election saw unprecedented participation, with over 2 million New Yorkers casting their votes—the largest turnout for a mayoral race in the city in over five decades, according to the Board of Elections. With about 90% of the ballots tallied, Mamdani maintained a lead of roughly 9 percentage points over Cuomo.

His campaign focused on making life more affordable, pledging initiatives such as rapid and free bus services, universal childcare, and a rent freeze for stabilized housing units.

His platform and social-media-heavy approach garnered national attention and support from high-profile Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X that she looked forward to working with Mamdani “to make our city more affordable and livable” and congratulated him on winning “one of the city’s highest-turnout elections on record.”

Critics say Mamdani is inexperienced, will drive out wealthy New Yorkers, and criticized his stance on Israel. He has already faced scrutiny from national Republicans, including President Donald Trump, who have eagerly cast him as a threat and the face of what they say is a more radical Democratic Party. Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut federal funding to the city — and even take it over — if Mamdani won.

In a concession speech, a defiant Cuomo called his campaign “a caution flag that we are headed down a dangerous, dangerous road” and noted that “almost half of New Yorkers did not vote to support a government agenda that makes promises that we know cannot be met.”

Still, he corrected his supporters when they began to boo at the mention of Mamdani’s name.

“No, that is not right,” he said, offering to help the incoming mayor in any way. “Tonight was their night.”

He is the youngest person to be elected mayor of New York City in over a century. He’s also the city’s first Muslim mayor and the first immigrant mayor in modern times.

Mamdani’s X account posted a video of a subway train pulling up to City Hall station, with an announcement that said, “The next and last stop is City Hall.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.