Mayor Zohran Mamdani urges 'foot on the gas' approach after Democrats' resounding victories

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Wednesday urged those who lean left to go "foot on the gas" to enact affordability-focused policies following Democrats' resounding victories Tuesday night across the United States.

"Foot on the gas! This is the moment where we are seeing people across this country vote for a politics that will mean something," Mamdani said at a news conference in the City Hall backyard convened to react to the midterm elections, adding: "We want politics to mean the deliverance of dignity into working people’s lives."

Voters casting ballots on Tuesday issued a stunning rebuke to President Donald Trump, not just in Democratic strongholds like New York but also in states that have long been dominated by Republicans, such as Texas and Georgia.

Mamdani said that the election results — Democrats clinching governorships, regaining control of Congress — disproved conventional wisdom that his brand of policy preferences are not possible outside New York City limits.

"What last night showed us is that Americans are tired of being told that their needs are unrealistic by politicians who have been bought by the wealthiest people in the country," said Mamdani, a democratic socialist. 

Democratic political consultant Ryan Adams, who grew up in Bethpage and has worked on elections at all levels of government, credited the Democrats’ success nationwide, in part, to having adopted the approach Mamdani took last year to clinch the mayoralty: relentlessly focusing on everyday problems along with outreach to voters beyond the party's traditional base.

"Mamdani-ism played a big role in the election," Adams said, noting how online memes across the country invoked the mayor.

At his news conference Wednesday, Mamdani praised successful Democrats for focusing on the types of everyday, relatable issues that he said voters care about: James Talarico in Texas, who won a U.S. Senate seat, advocating for universal childcare; Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won the Georgia governorship, promising to cut red tape to build housing faster; Jocelyn Benson, the incoming Michigan governor, campaigning on a moratorium on data centers.

"The commonality between working people in Austin and Ann Arbor, in Astoria, across this country, is one that should inspire also a commonality of purpose for what we do with this power," Mamdani said.

Mamdani, the city's first Muslim mayor, said he was especially heartened by Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, who will become the first Muslim U.S. senator after defeating a Trump-supported Republican.

"To see that victory in the face that all that he had to reckon with over the course of that campaign, whether in terms of the extraordinary amount of money spent to oppose him or the racism and slander that he was met with on a daily basis, it is incredibly exciting to see, as he said last night, that the good guys won," Mamdani said.

But the Democrats’ success Tuesday won’t guarantee Mamdani all of his wishes, particularly his push to raise taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, which has gotten a lukewarm reception so far from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Asked whether the election might make her more open, or hostile, to left-wing priorities such as the tax hike, Mamdani demurred.

"What I've found from the governor," Mamdani said, "is a commitment to a productive working relationship no matter what month it is and what year it is."

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.