Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral race as Democrats sweep the first major elections of Donald Trump's second term - how the night unfolded at a glance
Mamdani, 34, becomes the first Muslim mayor and youngest person in over a century to lead the largest city in the US - we cover his key policies here
"In this moment of political darkness, New York will be the light," Mamdani says in a victory speech where he outlines his policies and addresses Trump directly
Trump, who had threatened to cut NYC's federal funding if Mamdani won over independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa, writes on social media: "And so it begins"
Mamdani has sealed a remarkable victory, but real challenges lie ahead and his successes - and failures - will be closely scrutinised, writes Anthony Zurcher
Meanwhile, Democrats are projected to win governor races in Virginia and New Jersey
Californians vote to redraw the state's congressional districts to favour the Democratic Party ahead of elections next year
It is 20:00 ET and polls have now closed in the New Jersey governor’s race.
Stay tuned as we wait to see whether Democrat Mikie Sherrill or Republican Jack Ciattarelli prevails in the garden state gubernatorial election.
Democrat Abigail Spanberger wins the Virginia gubernatorial race, the BBC's US partner CBS News reports.
The congresswoman for the state’s 7th district beat Republican Lt Gov Winsome Earle-Sears, becoming the state’s first female governor.
More follows…
Image source, Getty Images
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Only about a quarter of the Virginia vote is in, but at this point Democrat Abigail Spanberger has the upper hand over her Republican opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears.
I’m closely watching the results in Chesterfield county, a suburban and rural area that stretches south and west from state capital Richmond. Four years ago, Republican Glenn Youngkin carried the county by 4%. At the moment, Spanberger is ahead there by 14% with 44% of the vote in.
If Spanberger goes on to win, it won’t be a shock. The party out of the White House typically wins this off-year race. But it is a sign that those typical trends still matter.
What could be more important for politics in this battleground state is if Democrats expand their narrow majority in the state’s House of Delegates. Those results will take more time to come in, however.
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from New York
New Jersey: Polls will close there in about 10 minutes. Voters in the garden state will be deciding between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli for the position of governor.
The race has high stakes for Democrats, who will be hoping that a win for their party will help set the stage for the 2026 midterm elections to tilt Congress in their favour.
Virginia: Polls there closed 50 minutes ago. Residents there were also voting for a new governor today. CBS exit polls lean towards Democrat Abigail Spanberger over her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
California: In a race that could have a substantial impact on the makeup of the House at Congress, Californians will be voting in a special election on Proposition 50, a proposal to redraw the state’s congressional districts to benefit Democrats.
The prop is Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s answer to congressional redistricting in Texas that gives Republicans five more House seats.
New York: A heated campaign has been waged over the next mayor of the biggest city in the US. Democrat Zohran Mamdani faces off with independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Back with the Virginia governor’s race, an exit poll from the BBC’s US partner CBS News shows Democrat Abigail Spanberger performing better with certain groups than Democrat Terry McAuliffe did in 2021 when he lost to Republican Glenn Youngkin.
In a race that will end with the state’s first female governor, Spanberger leads with women by double-digits, a voter group that McAuliffe won by just 7 points in 2021. Top of mind for women voters is the economy. Those who picked that as a key motivator in their decision are backing the Democrat.
She is also doing better with black voters and voters under 30.
Republican Winsome Earle-Sears is getting strong backing from White evangelical voters and conservatives.
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from Brooklyn
The polls have not even closed in New York, but already people around the city are lining up to pack bars for watch parties.
Here in Gowanus in Brooklyn, dozens are waiting in line to get into a “Gays and Girls for Zohran” watch party.
Natalie James is one of them. A member of the United Autoworkers union, which has endorsed Mamdani, James traveled an hour from Manhattan to go to the watch party.
“This is a monumentally important election, and I put a lot into it,” says the 45-year-old, who has canvassed for Mamdani.
Mamdani, she says, has the “political will and political backing” of New Yorkers to follow through on his plans.
CBS News, the BBC's US partner, estimates that the race for governor of Virginia leans Democratic. The polls there have only recently closed, so it's still too early to know.
We'll keep an eye on how the results develop in Virginia, but in the meantime there's about 45 minutes to go until polls close over in New Jersey.
Stick with us, there's plenty of action to come.
It is 19:00 ET and polls have now closed in the Virginia governor’s race.
The Democratic candidate is Rep Abigail Spanberger and the Republican is Lt Gov Winsome Earle-Sears. Whoever wins will be the state’s first female governor.
Stay tuned…
Kayla Epstein
Reporting from New York
Image source, Kayla Epstein / BBCI’m outside the Astoria, Queens polling site where Mamdani cast his vote today and where many of his constituents will vote too.
Mamdani currently represents this neighborhood in the state assembly and is a familiar face.
Unsurprisingly, many people voting here tonight cast their ballot for Mamdani.
"I've been following him for a while, so it's nice to see him gaining momentum and stepping up," says Kevin Kozlowski, 37.
Mamdani’s opponents have criticised him for being too young for the job, but voters tell me his age as an asset.
"I think it’s great we have someone that’s so young," says Jane Mylin, 26.
"It’s really refreshing to see someone our age have that energy… he’s in touch with our generation."
Both Jane and voting buddy Keren Hernandez, are Christian, and said Mamdani’s focus on helping the working class aligned with their beliefs.
Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles
California’s redistricting vote is the state’s way of “fighting fire with fire,” according to Gov Gavin Newsom.
And that message clearly resonated with voters outside a Hollywood polling station as they described why they voted yes to redrawing California's congressional districts to favour Democrats, directly quoting the governor’s talking points.
“When you come up against someone like Trump, you have to fight fire with fire,” says Brenda Mattox who describes herself as a social democrat originally from Kentucky.
Gov Newsom has framed Prop 50 as a partisan attempt to block President Trump’s plans to redraw maps in Texas to favour Republicans.
About 100 people waited in line outside the Las Palmas Senior Centre polling station to cast their ballots. Everyone the BBC spoke to there said they voted yes on Prop 50, as a way to counter President Trump’s control.
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from New York
Lucy, a stay-at-home mother and voter in the Upper West Side, tells me she’s voting for Cuomo because he’s an experienced leader.
Lucy also thinks Cuomo has a good plan to tackle housing by expediting the building process.
And, he’s focused on safety in the city, which she is concerned about for her two daughters.
"Honestly, Cuomo is not my favourite person in the world, but I see a vast ocean of difference between him and Mamdani," she says, adding that she does not agree with Mamdani's socialism.
Capitalism is the reason the US is the land of opportunity, Lucy says. "It's not because of socialism. Socialism has always taken opportunity and it's also made life worse for the most vulnerable."
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from New York
Matthias Howley, 26, is a housing counsellor, the same job Zohran Mamdani had before being elected to the state assembly.
Howley says he casted his ballot for the front runner today in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
“With the current federal administration, I like that New York is kind of the antidote. We’re kind of struggling against what’s going on in the rest of the country,” he said.
He believes in Mamdani’s Democratic Socialist vision, especially on affordable housing, he said
“If he wins, we’re going to be the socialist capital of the country,” Howley said. “That goes against everything the current federal administration stands for.”
He says this election gives him hope.
“We can actually vote for people who are important,” he said.
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from New York
Image source, Grace Eliza GoodwinOutside a busy polling site on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, there's a cluster of canvassers promoting Mamdani and Cuomo.
The scene is a bit heated, and I can hear people arguing.
Julie Manheimer, a 53-year-old psychotherapist, is passing out flyers for Cuomo. Manheimer says she’s voting for Cuomo because he’s experienced and well-prepared for any emergency that could arise in the city.
Manheimer says that she’s against Mamdani because she believes he is antisemitic. Mamdani has been criticised for speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza, but he has repeatedly said he’s not antisemitic.
"I’m a child of a Holocaust survivor. I think what's happening now, what's been happening in the last couple of years in this country and really around the world is really, really scary," Manheimer tells me.
She also says she wants Cuomo for mayor because she believes in capitalism, not socialism.
"You also have to work hard at buying the beautiful house and paying for things. And that's what capitalism is about."
"Socialism is against all that."
Early exit polls from CBS, the BBC’s US partner, are showing us some of the key issues for voters across the US today.
One name is top of mind for voters - President Donald Trump.
When asked if Trump was a factor in their vote, the answer was seemingly yes in Virginia (52%), New Jersey (51%) and California (58%). However, 59% of New York voters responded that Trump was not a factor.
In New Jersey, where they are voting for a new governor, 40% of those polled said they feel angry about the state of the country, compared to 15% saying they were enthusiastic.
In Virginia, where voters are also choosing a new governor, it was 36% of those polled who were feeling angry, with 17% enthusiastic. The rest of those polled in those states were either satisfied or dissatisfied with the state of the country.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from New York
Image source, Sakshi Venkatraman / BBCI’m in New York’s Washington Square Park, where Mamdani supporters have gathered with a large light-up sign supporting their candidate.
You can really feel their enthusiasm for the Democratic front-runner here, and several younger people told me they were excited to get out and vote today.
Grace Eliza Goodwin
Reporting from New York
Raymond Jackson, a 55-year-old Bronx resident, tells me he’s voting for Andrew Cuomo.
"He knows how to run a government," Jackson says of Cuomo, adding that he thinks Zohran Mamdani is too young and inexperienced.
Sakshi Venkatraman
Reporting from New York
Manhattan’s Lower East Side is starting to buzz as people get off work and head to the polls.
Ken, a 50-year-old arts administrator who has lived in the area for four decades, says he voted for Mamdani because of how he’s seen the area change in his lifetime.
“A lot of very wealthy people live around here now,” he tells me. “And it’s a problem, because I’m not wealthy.”
He says he likes Mamdani’s focus on affordable housing, something he feels the other candidates didn’t campaign on until the end. But he feels criticisms of the 34-year-old’s lack of experience are fair.
“If he gets even a quarter done of what he wants to do, that’s good,” he says.
Yousef Hashmi, 41, who works at a bodega - small convenience stores which are iconic in NY, says he voted for Mamdani today because he believes he can change quality of life in the city.
"He’s the guy," Yousef said. "He’s young and he has ideas."
He likes Mamdani’s plans for public transit and housing, he said. When I asked him if he considered Sliwa or Cuomo, he put it plainly. "No," he said. "It’s Mamdani."
Image source, Sakshi Venkatraman / BBCYousef Hashmi says Mamdani 'is the guy'
Madeline Halpert
Reporting from New York
Image source, Getty ImagesTonight's election comes after current Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race for re-election.
His campaign floundered after he was indicted on federal charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions, among other allegations.
The justice department charges were later dropped after Trump took office, with Manhattan's top federal prosecutor accusing Adams of striking a deal with the administration to dismiss his case in exchange for immigration enforcement.
Adams opted out of the Democratic primary in June and ran as an independent, dropping out when he trailed heavily behind Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani's critics had hoped Adams stepping down from the race would help coalesce support around Cuomo, but Mamdani has maintained a double-digit lead over his rival in the polls.
Perhaps confusingly for voters, Adams remains on the ballot as his announcement that he was dropping out on 28 September came after they were finalised.
We've been hearing a lot about New York City and California, but there are two other closely-watched races happening elsewhere.
Voters in Virginia are choosing a new governor today, with polls showing Democrat Abigail Spanberger maintaining a consistent lead over her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears.
In every Virginia governor’s race since 1977, with one exception in 2013, voters have chosen the candidate of the opposite party as the current president. So if history and polling are any indicator, things are looking good for Spanberger.
Meanwhile, the citizens of New Jersey are deciding between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli to be their governor. In most independent polls, Sherill is leading Ciattarelli by five to 10 points but a poll out of Emerson College shows the candidates tied in a dead heat.
This is a high stakes race for Democrats, who will be hoping that a win for their party will help set the stage for the 2026 midterm elections to tilt Congress in their favour.
Stay tuned, we'll bring you the results as they happen with polls closing at 19:00 and 20:00 local time respectively.
Sarah Smith
North America editor
Image source, ReutersThe race for the mayor of New York is the most closely watched of today’s elections thanks to the young, radical, charismatic Democratic candidate, Zohran Mamdani.
He has built a substantial lead in the polls – despite lukewarm support from senior Democrats who view him as too left wing-because of his promises of free childcare, free bus travel and rent freezes.
Zohran Mamdani said today that he would make New York affordable, and told voters: "We are on the brink of making history in our city - on the brink of saying goodbye to a politics of the past, a politics that tells you what it can’t do when really what it means to say is what it won’t do."
Donald Trump has called Mamdani a ”communist lunatic” and threatened to withhold millions of dollars of federal funding from New York city if he wins.
The president is backing the former Democratic governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.