Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race

The winners: Zohran Mamdani, Abigail Spanberger and Mikie Sherrill. (Agencies)
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Updated 05 November 2025
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Zohran Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race

  • Defeats Democratic former Governor Andrew Cuomo
  • Abigail Spanberger beats Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia

WASHINGTON: Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday.

Mamdani defeated Democratic former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, 67, who ran as an independent after losing the nomination to Mamdani in the primary election.

In Virginia, Democrat Abigail Spanberger easily won the election for governor. And in New Jersey, Democrat Mikie Sherrill won the governor’s race.

The trio of races offered the beleaguered Democratic Party a test of differing campaign playbooks a year ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake.

All three candidates emphasized economic issues, particularly affordability.

Spanberger, who beat Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, will take over from outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“We sent a message to the world that in 2025 Virginia chose pragmatism over partisanship,” Spanberger said in her victory speech. “We chose our Commonwealth over chaos.”

In California, voters were deciding whether to give Democratic lawmakers the power to redraw the state’s congressional map, expanding a national battle over redistricting that could determine which party controls the US House of Representatives after next year’s midterm elections.

In New York City, more than 2 million ballots including early voting were cast, according to the board of elections, the most in a mayoral race since 1969. Early vote totals in Virginia and New Jersey also outpaced the previous elections in 2021.

“The next and last stop is City Hall,” Mamdani said in a video posted to X after his victory was declared.

The self-described socialist was virtually unknown before his upset victory to secure the Democratic nomination over Cuomo.

Mamdani’s improbable rise highlights the Democratic Party’s debate over a centrist or a leftist future, with some leading national figures offering only tepid endorsements of Mamdani ahead of voting.

Syracuse University political science professor Grant Reeher said ahead of the result mayor Mamdani would face an uphill battle “at the center of all of these nasty political controversies.”

“Everybody’s got their knives out, and it’s a very difficult city to govern,” he told AFP.


Ukraine president to meet European allies after Trump criticism

Updated 58 min 10 sec ago
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Ukraine president to meet European allies after Trump criticism

  • Talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough
  • President Donald Trump accuses Ukrainian leader of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia

LONDON: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky was due to meet with European allies in London on Monday, after President Donald Trump accused him of not reading the US proposal to end the war with Russia.

It comes after days of talks between Ukrainian and US officials in Miami ended on Saturday with no apparent breakthrough, with Zelensky committing to further negotiations.

The Ukrainian president will be received in London by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, along with the German chancellor and French president to discuss the negotiations.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is meanwhile expected in Washington on Monday, where she will meet her American counterpart Marco Rubio.

“The UK and US will reaffirm their commitment to reaching a peace deal in Ukraine,” the Foreign Office in London said, announcing Cooper’s visit.

Moscow has meanwhile continued to strike its neighbor, wounding at least nine people overnight Sunday to Monday, according to Ukrainian officials.

‘Disappointed’

Zelensky said he joined his negotiators for a “very substantive and constructive” call with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during the Miami negotiations.

“Ukraine is committed to continuing to work honestly with the American side to bring about real peace,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the parties agreed “on the next steps and the format of the talks with America.”

But Trump criticized his Ukrainian counterpart on Sunday, telling reporters “I have to say that I’m a little bit disappointed that President Zelensky hasn’t yet read the proposal, that was as of a few hours ago.”

Witkoff and Kushner had met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin last week, with Moscow rejecting parts of the US proposal.

French President Emmanuel Macron ahead of Monday’s talks slammed what he called Russia’s “escalatory path.”

“We will continue these efforts with the Americans to provide Ukraine with security guarantees, without which no robust and lasting peace will be possible,” Macron wrote on X.

He added: “We must continue to exert pressure on Russia to compel it to choose peace.”

Hot and cold

Washington’s initial plan to bring an end to the almost four-year war involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not been able to win on the battlefield in return for security promises that fall short of Kyiv’s aspirations to join NATO.

But the nature of the security guarantees that Ukraine could get has so far been shrouded in uncertainty, beyond an initial plan saying that jets to defend Kyiv could be based in Poland.

Trump has blown hot and cold on Ukraine since returning to office in January, initially embracing Putin and chastising Zelensky for not being grateful for US support.

But he has also grown frustrated that his efforts to persuade Putin to end the war, including a summit in Alaska, have failed to produce results and he recently slapped sanctions on Russian oil firms.