A record number of voters on Tuesday cast ballots in the New York City mayor's race, a generational and ideological contest between a democratic socialist and former governor that will resonate across the nation. Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary earlier this year, is fighting against former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who is trying to land a massive upset.
Nearly 1.75 million voters cast ballots
As per the city's Board of Elections, nearly 1.75 million voters cast ballots as of 6 pm (local time), marking the biggest turnout in a New York mayoral race in at least 30 years. Polls were scheduled to close at 9 pm.
A victory for Mamdani would give the city its first Muslim mayor and its youngest leader in generations, while elevating the democratic socialist to political stardom and giving his brand of economic populism one of the most visible political perches in America.
If Cuomo comes out on top, he will have staged a remarkable political comeback four years after resigning as governor over a barrage of sexual harassment allegations.
For Sliwa -- the creator of the Guardian Angels crime patrol group and a longtime New York tabloid fixture -- a win would put a Republican in charge of the nation's largest city at a time when many New Yorkers are seeking a leader who can keep President Donald Trump at bay.
Mamdani, Cuomo voted cast vote in Queens and Manhattan respectively
Mamdani and Cuomo voted Tuesday morning in Queens and Manhattan, respectively, while Sliwa had already cast his ballot during early voting.
The race has made Mamdani a national figure as he has drawn the ire of Trump and other Republicans, who have tried to cast him as the face of a new, more radical Democratic Party. Trump has also threatened to take over the city if Mamdani wins, as well as arrest and deport the state assembly member, who was born in Uganda but is a US citizen.
Trump reluctantly endorsed Cuomo on the eve of the election, saying Mamdani would bring “disaster” to the city and encouraging Sliwa backers to vote for the former governor instead.
With inputs from AP
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