Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, a vocal supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, is set to become New York City’s first ever Muslim mayor after defeating Governor Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral elections.

Of the 91% of votes counted as of this morning, Mamdani took 50.4% while Cuomo, who ran as an Independent, received 41.6%. Curtis Silwa, the Republican candidate, received 7.1% of the votes.

In his victory speech, Mamdani said that in a moment of “political darkness”, New York City will be “the light”.

Throughout his campaign, Mamdani highlighted a number of issues relating directly to New York City, including housing, cost of living and free public transport. He has also been supportive of Palestine and critical of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

In terms of LGBTQ+ issues, Mamdani has a strong track record. In 2021, when he became a member of the New York State Assembly, he fought for the repeal of an anti-loitering law which targeted trans women of colour in particular. During this period, he also supported the Gender Recognition Act, which offered a gender-neutral X option on documents and made it easier for individuals to change gender on documents. This was eventually signed into law.

In 2023, Mamdani was a vocal supporter of New York’s shield law, which prevented law enforcement and other officials from cooperating with investigations into reproductive or gender-affirming health care. This shield law was signed into legislation.

Last year, Mamdani urged New Yorkers to vote in favour of Proposition 1, which safeguarded abortion rights and closed loopholes in the State’s constitution that could allow lawmakers to create discriminatory policies. Proposition 1 was subsequently voted in.

During his mayoral campaign, Mamdani told voters that if elected mayor, he would expand and protect gender-affirming care by distributing $65 million to providers. He also pledged to create an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.

Mamdani has also been particularly vocal against Trump’s rollback of LGBTQ+ rights, which he called a “scorched earth campaign against trans people”.

In an ad campaign, he said that New York would not “sit idly by while trans people are attacked”.

Trump responded to Mamdani’s victory with a cryptic post on Truth Social, which read “…AND SO IT BEGINS”. The US President previously threatened to cut federal funding to New York City if Mamdani was elected.