Readers on Zohran Mamdani’s victory: ‘It was a collective exhale’

Zohran Mamdani was elected the next mayor of New York City this week and Guardian readers had a lot of feelings to share about the news.

Winning with more than 50% of the vote, the 34-year-old democratic socialist and state assembly member from Queens defeated the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and the Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

After his win, the Guardian invited readers to share their reactions and hundreds responded from New York City, across the United States and beyond to share their optimism, joy and more.

Manhattan resident Keith Alan Watts said “New York felt like itself again” when the results came in: “It wasn’t just an election, it was a collective exhale – the sound of millions of people who had been holding their breath for too long.”

“For years, New Yorkers have lived with a kind of quiet exhaustion,” he said, as “rents climbed, wages stalled and hope felt like something nostalgic”. But, Watts added, “when Mamdani took the stage, something cracked open, his words weren’t polished for power brokers; they were written for the people who make this city run”.

Margaret Kogan, an 81-year-old retired social worker in New York, said that she feels “hopeful that NYC will become more affordable for all of us, including the workers on whom we all depend” and perhaps Mamdani’s “victory is a wake-up call for the slumbering Democratic party”.

Dylan, a 32-year-old high school history teacher in New York, said that they didn’t vote in the primary “because I was so pessimistic and hopeless about our political system being a viable avenue for positive change”.

But Mamdani’s campaign “and the enthusiasm of his supporters re-energized me to participate in politics again”, Dylan noted.

Excitement and enthusiasm also stretched well beyond New York City. Across the US, respondents described Mamdani’s victory a “breath of fresh air”.

In Utah, Scott Riching, 74, said he loved seeing a “bright young man take on the oligarchy and Trump in such a fearless, refreshing way”.

“While I know he won’t be able to accomplish everything he campaigned on, I am hoping he can do something about the transportation system and the food deserts while taxing the rich,” Riching said. “Hopefully this will challenge other candidates around the country to actually represent the people they represent (for a change)!”

In Vermont, Maeve Kim, who said she is in her 80s, felt “beyond excited”.

“I’ve been a Democrat all my life but have cringed in dismay and disgust for several years now, watching the party turn into a spineless and cowed group with no new ideas,” she said.

“I’m hoping Mamdani’s win might shake a few more Democrats into action. Change! Give up on the old guard! Embrace more progressive beliefs and show support for the working class (whom the Dems have pretty much abandoned).”

Cepheus Strachan, 54, of Tennessee, wrote: “I had tears in my eyes when I woke up and read about it!” adding that it was the “first time I’ve woken up to good news about America in a long time”.

In Michigan, Devon, a 32-year-old web developer, said that Mamdani’s decisive win gave them “some hope for the future of the Democratic party” though they worried that Mamdani is going to face “resistance from establishment forces in the state and federal government that prevent him from seeing through his policies”.

If that happens, Devon said: “I hope voters see it for what it is and not lose hope in leftwing politics.”

Some respondents shared that while they were hopeful and excited by Mamdani’s win, they were also worried about some of the challenges ahead. Some expressed concern for Mamdani’s safety, while others feared that he would face fierce opposition from state and federal lawmakers and from the Trump administration.

“There is a lot riding on him,” one person who asked to remain anonymous said. “If he fails, it will embolden the right.”

Bruce Welks, 71, of Florida, called Mamdani’s win a “momentous turn for both NYC and the entire country” but cautioned that “Mamdani will face an uphill battle” from the Trump administration, who he believes “will try, by every means necessary, to derail his mayoral residency”.

Still, he believed that Mamdani “will prove qualified to meet the moment”.

The excitement around Mamdani’s victory also came from some readers overseas.

A person writing in from Yorkshire, UK, called it a “jolly good result” and someone writing in from France described Mamdani as “a breath of fresh air”.

In the Netherlands, a 20-year-old student, Maks Burchard, said they hoped that Mamdani’s win “can inspire more politicians to take on a message of hope”.

Robert, 41, in Norway said he hoped that European left-leaning parties would learn something from Mamdani’s campaign, “from standing for something, from talking with citizens and what their concerns are, to the usage of different platforms”.

But not every respondent was celebrating. A small handful voiced skepticism about Mamdani’s experience and policies.

One New Yorker said that they felt “terrible” about the election, calling Mamdani’s plans “unrealistic ” and that they “go against what I believe in and I worry about what’s gonna happen next”.

Another New Yorker, Kathleen Carroll, who lives in the Bronx, wrote: “NYC has survived other inexperienced mayors, and will do so again.”

A Michigan resident who preferred to remain anonymous also said that they were concerned that “American voters support and vote for candidates who promise grandiose benefits and handouts that we the people can’t pay for”, and noted that they “do not plan to go to NYC ever”.

Still, for the vast majority who wrote in, Mamdani’s victory on Tuesday represented something larger than just a moment in New York City politics.

“If the voice of the people can truly be heard in New York City then we can ignite that hope and the same can be done in other communities too,” Kimberly Michael, 33, in upstate New York, wrote.

“I am inspired that better things are possible and necessary: we simply need to come together to get it done.”