New York mayoral election | Zohran Mamdani net favorite

(New York) New York elects its new mayor on Tuesday and the favorite in the polls is Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Muslim of Indian origin, from the left of the Democratic Party and a “fierce” opponent of Donald Trump.

Polls opened at 6 a.m. local time (Eastern Time) and will remain open until 9 p.m. Eastern Time (Wednesday). This is a single round ballot.

This election constitutes the first electoral test for Donald Trump since his return to the White House in January. The president took a regular position during the campaign and called on Monday evening to vote for Mr. Mamdani’s main opponent, the state’s former Democratic governor, Andrew Cuomo, 67, who is running as an independent.

“Whether you personally like Andrew Cuomo or not, you really have no choice. You have to vote for him and hope he does a fantastic job. He is capable of it, Mamdani is not! “wrote Mr. Trump on his Truth Social network.

“If communist candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the election to become mayor of New York, it is very unlikely that I will contribute any federal funds except the bare minimum required,” he warned.

For months, polls have given the advantage to Zohran Mamdani, recently 4.5 to 16 points ahead of Andrew Cuomo. The former New York state governor is running as an independent after being defeated in the Democratic primary.

The third man, Republican Curtis Sliwa, 71, stubbornly refused to step down in favor of Andrew Cuomo, with pro-business and security positions close to his own.

“A vote for Curtis Sliwa is a vote for Mamdani,” said Donald Trump.

Some 735,300 voters voted in advance, four times more than during the last municipal election in 2021 which mobilized a total of 1.15 million people (i.e. a participation rate of 23.3%).

Recent in New York, early voting attracts new voters, but it “can (also) be a sign of strong enthusiasm for a candidate or of concern about the outcome of the vote,” notes John Kane, of New York University.

The election of his 111^e mayor, who will take office on 1^er January, mobilized more than five million voters in the largest city in the United States, including more than 60% Democrats.

“Political enemies”

Zohran Mamdani’s proposals (rent control, free buses and daycare) are more social democracy.

While the Republican president deployed the army in several Democratic strongholds (Portland, Chicago, Washington, Memphis and Los Angeles), Zohran Mamdani promised to “fiercely” oppose his anti-immigration policy and his judicial war against his “political enemies”.

Elon Musk, too, called for voting for Andrew Cuomo, rather than “Mumdumi or whatever his name is,” on X on Monday.

Even within his party, the candidate is not unanimous. Several figures, notably the leader of the Democratic senators, New Yorker Chuck Schumer, do not publicly support him and those who did took a pinch of salt.

Although he was late in speaking out for Zohran Mamdani, the leader of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, does not think he is “the future” of their camp, despite the enthusiasm he is generating in New York.

The experts interviewed by AFP agree with him, pointing out the specificity of New York political life compared to the rest of the country.

Compliments from Obama

Former Democratic President Barack Obama, for his part, “welcomed the campaign” of the young socialist during a telephone exchange on Saturday, according to the New York Times. Like Zohran Mamdani himself, he denounced “Islamophobic” attacks from certain supporters of Andrew Cuomo.

Neighboring New Jersey is also choosing its next governor, between Republican businessman Jack Ciattarelli and Democrat Mikie Sherrill, considered more moderate.

The state has been considered a Democratic stronghold for the past decade. But in the last presidential election, Donald Trump considerably narrowed the gap.

Virginia will elect the first woman at its head. The polls give a favorable lead to the Democrat Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA agent, against the Republican Winsome Earle-Sears, a former member of the Marine Corps. But here too, the gap and participation will be scrutinized.

At the other end of the country, Californians are voting on the authorization of a redistricting of the state’s electoral map which will favor the Democratic Party, in response to a similar Trumpist initiative in Texas.