That Was the Quickest, Least Stressful Election Night I’ve Ever Experienced

Not only did NYC see the highest voter turnout in a mayoral election since 1969, but the race was called minutes after polls closed. And I did not feel like I was going to throw up once.

By Lauren Tousignant  |  November 5, 2025 | 8:25am
Photo: Getty Images Politics
That Was the Quickest, Least Stressful Election Night I’ve Ever Experienced

From the streets of Astoria to the ritzy tables of Keith McNally’s Balthazar in SoHo, (the majority of) New Yorkers spent Tuesday night celebrating…because Zohran Mamdani was announced as the city’s mayor-elect a whole ass three hours before midnight. I did not know times like these could still exist.

The Hill called it for Mamdani at 9:05, five minutes after the polls closed, NBC News called it at 9:38 p.m., followed by CNN at 9:39 p.m. Not once yesterday evening did I feel like I was going to throw up.

The self-described Democratic Socialist, who is NYC’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor, ran an electric and progressive campaign that mobilized historic voter turnout, especially among younger voters. As of publication time on Wednesday, Mamdani had 50.4% of the vote (1,036,051), with 91% of votes counted. And more than 2 million New Yorkers cast a ballot in Tuesday’s mayoral race, the highest voter turnout in a mayoral election since 1969.

Even before Tuesday, Mamdani was winning on early and mail-in ballots, with 51.5% of votes (422,116). He was polling at 1% when he entered the race in October 2024.

“My friends, we have toppled a political dynasty,” Mamdani said in his speech. “I wish Andrew Cuomo only the best in private life. But let tonight be the final time I utter his name, as we turn the page on a politics that abandons the many and answers only to the few.” He also twice quoted Andrew Cuomo’s father, Mario, who served as New York governor from 1983 to 1994, saying that it’s time to govern “in prose” and that NYC will be a “shining city on a hill.”

Mamdani’s historic campaign promised to make one of the most expensive cities in the world more affordable, with proposals on universal child care, free buses, and rent freezes on rent-stabilized apartments. Cynthia Nixon—who lost the Democratic gubernatorial primary to Cuomo in 2018—told the New York Times at Mamdani’s victory party that his campaign should prove to the Democratic Party that “income inequality is the thing that is destroying not only our country, but literally our democracy.”

“I know that many have heard our message only through the prism of misinformation,” Mamdani said. “Tens of millions of dollars have been spent to redefine reality and to convince our neighbors that this new age is something that should frighten them.”

He continued: “As has so often occurred, the billionaire class has sought to convince those making $30 an hour that their enemies are those making $20 an hour.

Mamdani’s win serves as a definitive (and hopefully final) fuck you and fuck off to Cuomo, the disgraced former governor and accused sexual harasser who, confusingly, crawled out of his political graveyard to try and win the Democratic primary. But after Mamdani swept his ass into the East River in June, he crawled back out again to run as an independent.

Cuomo campaigned on Islamophobia and xenophobia, constantly attacking Mamdani for being both an immigrant and a Muslim. Cuomo courted right-wing influencers to post about his campaign, and hired a 20-something shitposter who calls himself a “memelord” to make racist and misogynistic memes for Cuomo to share on Twitter. During the second mayoral debate in October, Cuomo’s campaign tweeted (then deleted) a racist AI-generated video called “Criminals for Mamdani.” (The campaign tried to backtrack by saying the video “wasn’t done yet.”)

MAGA rallied behind Cuomo to fearmonger New Yorkers (and Americans more broadly) into believing that an immigrant mayor would be the most catastrophic event to take place in New York City since 9/11 (rather than the most New York thing imaginable). Cuomo did little to push back against this narrative, even laughing with a conservative radio host who suggested Mamdani would celebrate if another 9/11 took place.

“No more will New York be a city where you can traffic in Islamophobia and win an election,” Mamdani said in his speech. He also pledged to stand “steadfast alongside Jewish New Yorkers” as well as the “1 million Muslims that know they belong.”

Mamdani’s speech ended close to midnight. So even before being sworn in as the city’s 111th mayor, his swift victory already improved the lives of countless New Yorkers…by allowing us the chance at a good night’s sleep.

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