Eight charts that explain the NYC mayoral race
- Aaron Kinnari
- Nov 10, 2025
- 3 min read
With more than two million votes cast, Assembly member Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo to become the next mayor of New York City. For many, this result would have been unthinkable at the start of this year. Mamdani went from one percent in the polls in February 2025 to winning the Democratic primary just a few months later in June to 50.4% of the vote in the general election last week.
The charts below present some of the key numbers behind this election, particularly how younger, middle-class, non-white voters across the five boroughs propelled Mamdani to victory and whether this represents a mandate for the new administration.
The election set a record turnout.
More than two million New Yorkers cast their votes in the election, marking the highest number of votes for mayor since 1969 and the highest percentage turnout since 2001. Yet, with 42% of registered voters participating, the overall turnout is significantly lower than it was in the 1950s and 60s, when turnout averaged nearly 80%. It was also shy of the typical turnout in presidential elections, when more than 60% of New Yorkers participate.
Young voters heavily favored Mamdani.
The youth vote overwhelmingly went to Mamdani, with nearly four out of five voters aged 18-29 casting their votes for him, and two-thirds of those aged 30-44 doing the same. With a campaign that centered on affordability issues concerning young professionals and that delivered messages through compelling social media content, it's perhaps not surprising that the 34-year-old Mamdani fared much better than his opponents, who were twice his age.
Lower and higher-income voters went for Cuomo.
Voters making less than $30,000 or more than $300,000 annually went for Cuomo, while middle-income voters went for Mamdani. The test for the new administration will be whether it can deliver promises made to make the city more affordable for working-class New Yorkers.
MAMDANI WON ACROSS MOST BOROUGHS.
Mamdani dominated in large parts of Brooklyn, Washington Heights, and Harlem, flipped the results in The Bronx from the primary, and carried the progressive Upper West Side. Meanwhile, Cuomo won in the conservative areas of Staten Island, Queens, and the wealthier Upper East Side.
College graduates went for Mamdani.
College graduates voted for Mamdani, while voters who did not graduate from college or high school tended to skew towards Cuomo. Saddled with college debt while watching career prospects fade, many of these college graduates are questioning whether the promise of the American Dream is still alive for their generation.
Mamdani won over non-white voters.
Leading up to the election, many wondered whether Mamdani could make inroads with non-white voters, particularly Black voters. He managed to make significant gains across multiple communities, defeating Cuomo in Black, Hispanic, and most especially, Asian communities.
VOTERS BORN IN NEW YORK FAVORED CUOMO
Newer residents and voters not born in New York favored Mamdani, while half of voters born in the city went for Cuomo. The age of the New York-born voters is unclear, so they may skew older, which could be a factor in their voting pattern.
the mamdani mandate is not so clear.
There has been much reporting that Mamdani crossing the 50% threshold, especially in a three-way race, represents a much-needed mandate for his agenda. Yet, mayors in recent history have won by much wider margins, though they were Democrats running against Republican opponents in a decisively blue city. This year, half of voters in New York sought an alternative to Mamdani. Whether the Mayor-elect secured a mandate is up for debate, but he did build a movement of 90,000 volunteers and engaged a new generation of voters that propelled him from a little-known state assembly member to Gracie Mansion.
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