NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist whose focus on working-class issues and personal magnetism propelled a once-underdog campaign into the national spotlight, has won the New York City’s general election race for mayor..

Mamdani beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a second time, shattering the political scion’s hopes of a political comeback after his loss to Mamdani in the June Democratic primary. Also running in the general election was Republican Curtis Sliwa, who stayed in the mayoral campaign in spite of pressure from Cuomo allies who wanted to consolidate the opposition to Mamdani.

Mamdani’s win marks a victory for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party at a time when national Democrats are divided over how to counter President Donald Trump, himself a native New Yorker, who has derided Mamdani as a “communist” and suggested he’d “take over” the city if he is elected.

It is likely to echo far beyond New York City, elevating both Mamdani’s profile and platform, including his proposals to freeze the rent for New Yorkers living in rent-stabilized apartments, make public buses free to ride, and provide universal childcare by raising taxes on the wealthy.

Mamdani’s win caps a meteoric rise for a three-term state assemblyman who launched his mayoral bid a year ago in obscurity, promising to make one of the nation’s most expensive cities affordable for its working class.

Mamdani will make history as New York City’s first Muslim mayor, the first South Asian to hold the office and one of the youngest mayors elected in modern times. — CNN