These days, when hope is a strange and alien feeling, there is nothing more shocking than waking up to the news that something good has happened in the world of politics. Even though the latest polls had Zohran Mamdani ahead of his main rival Andrew Cuomo, it still comes as a pleasant surprise that he has won the Democratic primary for New York’s mayoral election – an outcome which the forces of the establishment, from the New York Times to the Democrat leadership, pulled out all the stops to prevent. 

But while this is undoubtedly great news, a result which shows that there is mass support for left-wing policies and that the elites don’t always get their own way, Mamdani isn’t the mayor of New York yet. Here’s everything you need to know about what happens next.

WHEN IS THE MAYORAL ELECTION?

Yesterday’s vote confirmed Zohran as the Democratic nominee, but the election itself isn’t until November 4. Then, Mamdani will face off against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, Eric Adams (the incumbent mayor who is running as an independent amid multiple corruption scandals), and independent Jim Walden, an American attorney running on a centrist platform. 

Eric Adams is wildly unpopular, New York City leans heavily Democrat (there hasn’t been a Republican mayor in the city since 2007, when Michael Bloomberg switched to independent), and it’s hard to imagine an extremely boring and largely unknown figure like Jim Walden generating the energy to take on Mamdani. So faced with this slate of candidates, his chances look pretty good.

COULD ANDREW CUOMO MAKE A COMEBACK? 

People hate Andrew Cuomo for good reason: he is currently facing a slew of allegations sexual harassment allegations (which he denies, while admitting he may have been “insensitive or too personal”); he is currently working as a lawyer for Benjamin Netanyahu, a man who is currently wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court and, for many, he stands as a symbol for the sleaziest, most morally bankrupt form of establishment Democrat politics. Even many of those who supported him did so with gritted teeth, including The New York Times editorial board, which acknowledged in a de facto endorsement that “his treatment of women was part of a larger pattern of bullying, self-serving behaviour.” But despite being trounced by Momdani and conceding defeat, Cuomo still hasn’t ruled out running as an independent. 

At this stage, it seems unlikely that Cuomo would be successful, but it’s also possible to imagine a nightmare scenario where everyone who opposes Mamdani and his democratic socialist vision for New York (and there are quite a lot of them) rallies around an alternative candidate. So for Mamdani and his supporters, there is still work to be done.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF MAMDANI WINS? 

Mamdani has campaigned on a wide range of progressive policies: stabilised rent, city-run grocery stores, free buses, free universal childcare, investing in mental health services over the police, improving public schools, and standing up against Ice’s campaign of mass deportations. He plans to fund this through $10 billion in new revenue from higher taxes on businesses and wealthy residents. He may run into problems even if he wins, because he would need the approval of New York City governor Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat who has already publicly trashed his plans.

But the position of New York mayor does come with a lot of power – more so than Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, for example – and Hochul may be reluctant to sabotage his plans if he has a strong enough mandate (particularly as she’s up for reelection herself next year). Even if he’s unable to realise all of his ambitions, life for New Yorkers will improve if Mamdani wins in November.  As the man himself said in his victory speech today, “We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford. A city where they can do more than just struggle. One where those who toil in the night can enjoy the fruits of their labour in the day.”