Zohran Mamdani’s supporters erupted in jubilant celebration as the results confirmed his victory in the mayoral race. The crowd’s energy was electric, with cheers and chants filling the streets as fans celebrated Mamdani’s landmark win. Meanwhile, the opposing camp of former Governor Andrew Cuomo remained unusually quiet, reflecting the shock and disbelief at the unexpected outcome.
00:00I'm Donnie for an affordability campaign for New York that people can't afford to live in.
00:09And just keep in mind Hassan Piker, he's a social media online influencer. He has
00:15a channel with a large following and this kind of has to do with the way that the Mondani campaign
00:21has been reaching out to those on social media and trying to expand their base not just in New
00:26York City, but then also the attraction to outside of the five boroughs. It's interesting to see
00:31how people in Los Angeles or even across in Europe are engaging with Mondani's messaging
00:40as well as the campaign. Errol? Yeah, you know, Bernadette, that's been a phenomenon. I know
00:45some of you have mentioned from out in the field that there's a lot of international press that
00:51are showing up to a local election, which is a little unusual even for New York.
00:56What are you seeing there? Right. Well, I mean, over the past couple of weeks,
01:02Mondani's been taking questions from those from Germany, from London, from France. And of course,
01:08as a local reporter, I'm always thinking to myself, he's running for New York City mayor.
01:12He should be answering New York City questions. But take that with a grain of salt. What these
01:17reporters are trying to find out is what's happening in the U.S. will have any influence
01:21over other big cities across the world, and especially other big cities like London, for
01:26example, or Paris, where, you know, democratic socialism is more of a norm as opposed to here
01:33in New York, where it's the center of capitalism. So, you know, the questions often have to do with
01:38affordability, how he would achieve that. And if they think if he thinks that that message is
01:44something that's transferable on a broader scale, Errol. Okay. Thanks very much, Bernadette. We'll
01:50be checking in with you later. Let's check in now with our Dan Rivoli. He's standing by at the
01:54campaign party for Curtis Sliwa on the Upper West Side. Good evening, Dan.
02:00Hey, good evening, Errol. So the polls closed. The votes are coming in. Sliwa so far in a distant third.
02:06That has not dampened the mood too much here. I think a lot of the Sliwa supporters are genuinely
02:12proud of the campaign he ran, hitting the streets, the subways, the buses, and talking to voters and
02:18running a vigorous campaign and defying the odds from billionaires, conservative influencers, even
02:25President Trump trying to get him out of the race. And even that last minute endorsement to Cuomo and
02:31saying that a vote for Curtis Sliwa is a vote for Zoran Mamdani. He persevered through it all. And I
02:35think there's a lot of pride from Sliwa supporters on that. Of course, one of the big stories of the Sliwa
02:40campaign was whether he was able to retain Republican support. There are a few Republican
02:46officials who ended up backing Cuomo. A few stuck with Sliwa. And even tonight, the campaign told me
02:52they were expecting a GOP city council member to show up. I texted her. She's staying in Queens in
02:57her district. But there was one big Republican name who came in here to applause and people taking
03:03selfies. And that is former Governor George Pataki, the last Republican governor in New York. And he's
03:08stuck by Sliwa to the end. I was able to catch up with him and get a few brief comments on what he
03:14thought about the Sliwa campaign and whether Donald Trump made the right call just before election day.
03:22How do you feel about the fact Curtis Sliwa never bowed out and stayed until the end?
03:25I think Curtis Sliwa had a great race. He loves the city. No one is more committed to the future of New York than Curtis Sliwa.
03:33I'm happy to be here tonight. Do you think Trump made the right call? No.
03:41And there you hear it from former Governor Pataki. Did Donald Trump make the right call? A flat no.
03:47So you have a prominent Republican there praising this Sliwa campaign for sticking it out until the end, Errol.
03:53Yeah, I mean, and Dan, this is for Republicans in New York who are vastly outnumbered in the registration.
03:59They're used to the idea that they're standing on principle and maybe fighting a losing battle that's worth fighting.
04:06And especially for Sliwa, he thought he had the moderate, common sense, middle of the road kind of policy on issues of law and order.
04:17And he was not a doctrinaire conservative. He was pro-choice, pro-gay marriage.
04:24He was a critic of Donald Trump's immigration and deportation policies, particularly in New York.
04:30Perhaps that is why he is faring so poorly and not getting what a typical Republican would get or why Donald Trump did not see him as a credible candidate.
04:40He was not a pro-Trump Republican and Trump treated him as such.
04:45And Trump is so influential.
04:47What we are seeing perhaps could be the influence of Trump in that last hour coming out on his social media page and saying, don't vote for Sliwa.
04:56And that is why perhaps you see Sliwa in such a distant third.
04:59But we'll have to see what the election day vote totals come in and see if that pushes Sliwa up in the front from far behind in third place.
05:07Yes, indeed. The night is still early. Thank you, Dan.
05:10Let's check in now with our Kelly Menor. She's in Midtown monitoring Andrew Cuomo's election night party.
05:15What is the latest there, Kelly?
05:18Hi, Errol. Well, the latest here is the room has completely filled up as of now.
05:23No big reaction from those who are here.
05:26We're still waiting to see when the former governor will show up.
05:31He still is in second place as those returned unofficial results start coming in.
05:37In the crowd, no big names as of yet.
05:40But I have seen some close allies of Mayor Eric Adams and some of his, at least one of his advisors here in the crowd tonight.
05:49We were talking to some of the other attendees that include some volunteers that were earlier campaigning into the final hours of this race, trying to get the governor's message out there, trying to make sure that voters know that he's more of this moderate Democrat.
06:05And continuing that message that this is about the future of the Democratic Party, this moderate versus progressives, moderate versus Democratic socialists and what that future could look like.
06:17Nobody in the room necessarily worried about the returns that are coming in so far.
06:22They're saying it is so early in the race.
06:24There's still many more votes to go.
06:28The night is young.
06:29And so we'll have to see as those returns come back in.
06:32But this is a second bid for the former governor.
06:36This is not looking good as of now.
06:38But the same place that he was in earlier this year when it came to the Democratic primary was looking to get a boost from Republican voters in this last final stretch.
06:48This is going into tonight's last days going into tonight.
06:50So we'll have to see if that's going to be enough as the night continues, Errol.
06:55Yeah, that's right.
06:56It's important to keep in mind, I guess, you know, there are about 970.
07:03Yeah, 970,000 votes have been counted so far, which means we're not really even at the halfway mark.
07:09So they have good reason there to hope for an outcome that will favor their candidate.
07:15Yeah, that's definitely right.
07:19And these are people who are aware of that energy coming out of Zoram on Donnie's camp.
07:25They're aware of this could be a very long night.
07:29That's something that many people have been telling me as I've been walking around the crowd.
07:32So they did not expect this to be an early night or something that would be clear right away.
07:39So they are waiting, just like everybody else, to see how this all shakes out as the night goes on here.
07:45OK, a nail biter, at least at this point.
07:48Thanks very much.
07:50We're going to go now to, well, let's see.
07:54If Zoran Mamdani wins, he's going to make history as the first Muslim mayor of New York City.
07:59New York one's Noraline Khawaja is at an election night watch party.
08:02This is in Astoria, Queens, and it is hosted by the Muslim Democratic Club.
08:07Noraline, what are you hearing from the voters there?
08:12Good evening, Errol.
08:13Yeah, as soon as, and by the way, they have New York one on their TVs here.
08:17And as soon as we announce the early results, all of the, you know, community members that have gathered here at this Yemeni coffee shop in Astoria,
08:25which, of course, is a part of Mamdani's assembly district, they were cheering, they were excited.
08:30There's a lot of enthusiasm, although, of course, it's still early, as we've been mentioning, on air.
08:35And this event is being hosted by a community organizer here in Astoria, born and raised in Astoria, Rana Abdelhamid.
08:43And she joins us now.
08:45Rana, I want to ask you, you've been canvassing, you've been at, you know, on the front lines, if you will, campaigning for Mamdani.
08:52So how are you feeling right now in this moment?
08:54I feel really proud of the coalition that we've pulled together.
08:58This is a historic moment.
08:59This is a hopeful moment.
09:01I think especially throughout this campaign, there's been so much Islamophobia and hate and vitriol towards Mamdani.
09:07And so much of that resonated with our community.
09:09And now we get to celebrate so much of the labor that went into this race.
09:12And you are a supporter of Mamdani.
09:15You know him.
09:16Of course, this is part of his assembly district.
09:18So, you know, how hopeful are you when it comes to coming out on the other side of this?
09:24And what are some of those issues of why you are supporting him and backing him in this moment?
09:30I'm looking forward to rent stabilization.
09:33I'm looking forward to fast and free buses.
09:35I think so much of his affordability agenda.
09:38And look, everybody is so excited.
09:39So much of his affordability agenda resonates with our community here in Astoria and Queens as working-class communities.
09:45And why do you think that so many young voters, first-time voters, a lot of Muslim voters, you know, immigrants, this is a working-class neighborhood.
09:55Why do you think they turned out for Mamdani?
09:57Of course, this watch party is full of supporters of Mamdani.
10:01Exactly.
10:02As you mentioned, this is a working-class community, a community where the message of affordability really resonates,
10:06but also a community that has not been engaged politically, a community that has been ignored.
10:11And finally, we're engaged in that electoral fold, and we're being seen and represented.
10:16And a message here that is resonating with so many New Yorkers, Errol, is the fact that they feel seen.
10:23They believe that if indeed it is Mamdani to become the next mayor of New York City,
10:27that these are, you know, New Yorkers who finally feel like that they're having their moment,
10:32that this is historic for them, that to have possibly the first Muslim mayor,
10:36you can hear all of the chanting behind me at this point.
10:39I can't hear you in the control room, but certainly you can feel the enthusiasm that's in this room
10:46with so many of Mamdani's supporters in his district.
10:49So a lot of excitement, but again, with caution, it's still early, the votes are still coming in,
10:55but these people behind me, these folks, Errol, they're feeling confident.
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