With the election now in the rear view mirror, data shows significant shifts in the Bronx that helped propel the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, to victory.
In the June primary, former Governor Andrew Cuomo easily won the borough, defeating Mamdani 54% to 36%.
But on Nov. 4, the tables turned — Mamdani won 51.5% of the vote, compared to Cuomo’s 40%.
Mamdani’s success is at least partly attributable to party loyalty in the borough with well over half a million active registered Democrat voters.
In the Bronx, Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by more than nine to one, and more than three times the number of those with no party affiliation, according to state elections data.
Mamdani also received far more votes on the Democratic line (104,177) than on the Working Families Party line (10,690).
However, factors beyond than party loyalty appear to have handed Mamdani the win over Cuomo.
Voter registration surges
It appears that Mamdani’s campaign may also have been successful in driving registration. Data from the city and state Board of Elections show that Bronx election districts with the biggest increases in registered voters from Feb. 2025 tended to vote for Mamdani in the general election. Mamdani won the 10 districts in the Bronx with the biggest surge in registered voters by more than 20 percentage points each.
Johnny Chavarria cast a vote for Mamdani in his first mayoral election last week. Chavarria, originally from Honduras, lived in Bedford Park for 10 years before becoming a citizen. He told the Bronx Times that after watching from the sidelines for so long he didn’t want to take the opportunity for granted.
“ Oh my God, finally someone with some sense, you know?” Chavarria said. “So, I think it’s pretty easy to vote for him [Mamdani].”
He also said that his identity as an immigrant influenced his decision heavily. “ As a Latino man, I wanna make sure I’m on the right side of history,” Chavarria said.
He told the Bronx Times that he knew people on the West Coast had been struggling with the presence of ICE in recent months.
“That’s another reason to vote, [to elect] someone that is gonna stand up to Trump’s bullying and not be afraid to speak truth to power,” Chavarria said.
But Chavarria said that it went beyond the immediate issues — to the core of a U.S. political system that he feels is no longer serving voters effectively.
“ The two party system: it’s cool, but it’s played out,” Chavarria said. “There’s a younger voting audience and we need more options and people who actually do care in politics, instead of businessmen in politics that only care about money.”
New perspectives
At an Oct. 5 event in Mott Haven, excited supporters greeted Mamdani outside Mill Brook Houses and peppered him with questions about improving 311, housing costs and more.
The event demonstrated his appeal to a wide range of people, including those who said his young age (34) and lack of government experience were assets, not detriments.
Martha Santiago, who has lived at Mill Brook Houses for 58 years and raised her four children there, was among those who told the Bronx Times she was “tired of these old people with the same old ideas.”
“It’s about time to get a change,” Santiago said.
Andre Easton, 38, a high school English teacher in the South Bronx, was also seeking sweeping change in this year’s election and beyond.
Not only did he vote for Mamdani “with enthusiasm,” he’s also challenging Rep. Ritchie Torres for Congressional District 15 as an independent candidate, officially a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation.
Easton did not work with Mamdani’s campaign but spoke with many voters in the borough during election season, he said. His main takeaway from Mamdani’s victory is the collective power of regular people — nearly 100,000 of whom volunteered for the campaign throughout the city.
“When the community is organized … there is no force on earth that can stop or deter them,” Easton said. He said he’s pleased to have socialism “back in the popular lexicon,” thanks to the mayor-elect. Even in New York City, often regarded as the American center of capitalism, socialism is now “no longer a fringe position.”
He said that socialism means working-class people — not profit motives — are the “driver of society,” and the working class includes everyone who labors for wages, whether high or low. Mamdani proved that now is a good time for such principles in the city, Easton said.
Partly but not exclusively due to the Trump presidency, many feel societal protections they’ve long enjoyed have been “grenaded,” the cost of living is unsustainable and the wealth gap is worse than ever, he said.
Easton said Mamdani skillfully narrowed in on policies that a wide range of people could agree with and easily name: a rent freeze, fast and free buses and universal childcare. The sweeping campaign “spoke to the needs that people in the Bronx resonated with” — and may even help build trust in politics, Easton said.
As a candidate, Mandani met with communities far beyond his own, spoke multiple languages and was a consistent, often viral presence on social media. As a result, many New Yorkers got involved in his campaign in “sustained” ways, where they previously sat on the sidelines, said Easton.
“He’s a relatable guy, you know?” he said. “Mamdani came out with bold proposals and openly identified as a socialist, and I think that level of boldness inspired people to at least take a chance.”
Easton said he was excited that so many in New York City “received that approach well” and handed Mamdani a decisive victory of more than one million votes.
Mamdani is also credited with attracting Gen Z and Millennial voters through a strong social media campaign and a massive volunteer canvassing squad that churned out record numbers of youth engagement.
While available numbers for the Bronx don’t reflect the same intensity of engagement for younger voters as Brooklyn, the hub for Mamdani’s base, then-candidate Mamdani also appealed to Gen Z and Millennial Bronxites.
Caro Salguero is in her 20s and works in construction. She told the Bronx Times that she supports Mamdani’s strong focus on affordability, say that its not just important to her, but everyone in her community. “Food prices and rent prices are definitely at the top of the list for me,” Salguero said.
She also expressed something that other Mamdani voters echoed: he’s a candidate that she supports with enthusiasm, not because there’s no one better.
“I’ve been voting in every election since I was legal to vote, and it’s always been a decision that I’ve felt not completely happy about with the candidates that I have to choose from,” Salguero said.
But this election, she told the Bronx Times, something had shifted.
“I feels good for honestly the first time in my life to have voted for someone that I think actually has a chance to win as a candidate that I actually like and not just a decision that I made begrudgingly because of choosing between the lesser of two evils,” Salguero said.
Not all of the Bronx agrees
But data suggests not all Bronxites are enthusiastic about Mamdani’s impending leadership. Pockets of the borough in the Northwest Bronx in Riverdale and Kingsbridge and the Northeast Bronx in Pelham Bay Park, City Island and Throggs Neck voted consistently for former Governor Andrew Cuomo or Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Several districts in Riverdale and Kingsbridge, within the 81st Assembly District, voted strongly in favor of Cuomo, turning out in high numbers to vote for the former governor. But its unclear if those votes were for Cuomo or against Mamdani.
The ongoing war in Gaza may was likely a major factor in certain neighborhoods. Jewish Bronxites make up about 22% of the population in Riverdale and Kingsbridge, according to a 2023 community survey by the UJA Federation of New York.
Some Jewish New Yorkers have questioned Mamdani’s public criticism of Israel, including the district’s state representative, Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz. In a statement ahead of the primary election, Dinowitz urged his constituents not to rank Mamdani calling out his inexperience and railing on his criticism of Israel.
“His continuing fanatical hatred of Israel and support for BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) and a “global intifada” is absolutely disqualifying for someone who wants to lead the city with the largest Jewish population outside of Israel,” Dinowitz said in a statement posted to social media.
Mamdani also failed to garner support on the East side of the borough in more conservative neighborhoods like City Island, Pelham Bay Park and Throggs Neck.
District 13 made history in 2023 when they elected republican Kristy Marmorato, flipping the district red for the first time in two decades. But while this year’s race saw the district slide back to the political left with Democrat Shirley Aldebol unseating Republican incumbent Marmorato, Mamdani’s democratic socialist agenda may have been too far left for most, as they tended to vote for Cuomo over Mamdani.
The votes have been counted, but the Bronx is likely to be one of Mamdani’s biggest tests once taking office. His campaign centered on affordability— and the city’s crisis is centered in the Bronx. Combined with Mamdani’s lukewarm showing in the primaries and flipping the borough by just over a point in the general election, Bronxites are sure to have a consequential voice in the public discussion of the new mayor’s performance.
