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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Projects Democrat Mikie Sherrill Elected NJ Gov; CNN Projects Zohran Mamdani Elected NYC Mayor; Democrats Sweep Three Major Races In NY, NJ, VA. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired November 04, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do those voters with with Sliwa, the Republican? Or do they hold their nose, and vote for Cuomo, as the President of the United States has asked them to do?
And lastly, if Cuomo is going to have any prayer, we're going to see it here in the Bronx. This is blue-collar voters. It is majority Latino. Cuomo won it in the primary. He needs it big tonight, Jake.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John. Thanks so much.
Polls are about to close in this marquee election of the night. As the Big Apple seeks to elect its next mayor, will Zohran Mamdani pull off a victory? We do have a key race alert.
And the polls in New York are closed, and it is too early to call. Too early to call in New York.
CNN's David Chalian -- well, let's go to New Jersey right now, if we can bring in those poll numbers.
There we go. New Jersey with 32 percent of the estimated vote in, Democrat Mikie Sherrill has 58.9 percent of the vote. Republican Jack Ciattarelli has 40.6 percent of the vote. Sherrill right now more than 188,000 votes ahead with an estimated 32 percent of the vote in. We're expecting a lot more votes to actually come in before we actually get an idea of what's happening with that contest.
CNN's David Chalian has some new exit polls from New York City, determining how key demographic groups in New York City voted.
David?
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: That's exactly right, Jake.
First, we're taking a look at young voters, 18- to 29-year-olds, they make up 11 percent of the electorate. If that holds throughout when we get the rest of the data in the exit polls, that's a slight uptick from what we saw four years ago. So, a slightly younger electorate? That could help Mamdani. He's winning young voters, 75 percent to Cuomo's 16 percent. He's walloping Cuomo with the young vote, and they make up a bit more than they did four years ago. Non-college voters, voters without a college degree. 42 percent of the overall electorate. Cuomo is winning them, but narrowly. 42 percent to Mamdani's 38 percent. Sliwa getting 16 percent.
African American voters in New York City, they make up 18 percent of the electorate. Nearly one in five voters are black. Mamdani is winning the black vote by 15 points. 52 percent for Mamdani. Cuomo at 37 percent. Sliwa down at 5 percent.
And among Jewish voters in New York. 15 percent of the New York City electorate is Jewish. So a big Jewish population, given what Jews are nationally. Cuomo is beating Mamdani two to one with Jewish voters in New York. 60 percent of the Jewish vote is Cuomo's right now. 31 percent going to Mamdani.
Jake.
TAPPER: All right. Thanks so much, John (ph).
And we have a key race alert.
With actual votes coming in, Zohran Mamdani has 51.5 percent of the vote. Governor Andrew Cuomo -- former Governor Andrew Cuomo has 39.7 percent of the vote. Republican Curtis Sliwa has 8 percent of the vote. And Eric Adams, the incumbent, who is no longer running, has 0.2 percent of the vote.
So right now, with 36 percent of the estimated vote in, that's more than a third, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, is more than 97,000 votes ahead of his closest competitor, Andrew Cuomo. And significantly, Mamdani does have, at this early hour, more than 50 percent of the vote. That is, again, with only 36 percent of the vote in.
And where is the vote coming in from, John?
KING: We have vote from everywhere.
I just want to make a very important point early on, is that Mamdani, by far, had a better organization. And we saw the early voting numbers off the charts, beating all records in New York City in past elections. And that was a key priority for the Mamdani campaign. Get their vote out early. So, when you see this, four of the five boroughs shaded in for Mamdani? That is a testament to the organization, a compliment to the organization.
We're also at 36 percent. So, let's wait until we get farther.
But you make a key point. At the moment, you come out of the box, you want to -- you know your organization is the better one. You want to come out of the box strong. He comes out at 52 percent.
Staten Island taking its place as the outlier, as it always is in New York City. It is the conservative outpost. Donald Trump won it all three times. Little bit of irony. If a Cuomo. A lot of Republicans on Staten Island-- TAPPER: Yes--
KING: --don't want to vote for a Cuomo. But if you look just at Staten Island, right now--
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: --this will be a conversation. You just hear Manu (ph) say someone got up a crank -- calling him a spoiler. The President of the United States, who's the head of the Republican Party in the final days, said, Don't vote for the Republican. Republicans are going to fight about this for a long time.
But this is just on Staten Island, with about 40 percent of the vote in, Cuomo is winning. But this is the most important, that -- this is the least populous of the boroughs. It's about 500,000 people. That's Oakland. That's Raleigh, North Carolina.
But Brooklyn would be the fourth largest city if it broke off on its own. And Mamdani is getting 60 percent of the vote. Again, early votes, about a third in of the vote there.
[21:05:00]
60 percent though, let's just wander around the boroughs, 60 percent in Brooklyn, 48 percent in Queens. Cuomo was born in Queens. Mamdani lives there now. His state assembly district is right here, Astoria along the river area there. That's where Mamdani represents. This is the most diverse of the boroughs. It is -- its politics are very complicated, because of how diverse it is.
Then you come up here, let's look at the Bronx. This would be key. If this stays? Cuomo won the Bronx in the primary. It's the only borough that's majority Hispanic. A lot of blue-collar voters here. Trump's support went up a lot, 10 points, in 2024. Still lost the Bronx, got blown out, but his numbers do go up 10 points.
If Cuomo -- again, this is the early vote. Mamdani is better- organized. So, let's watch. But if the Bronx stays Mamdani-blue, then that will tell you everything.
And then let's just come over to Manhattan. And in Manhattan, again, this is sort of young professionals to Mamdani base versus the big money in Manhattan, which doesn't want a democratic socialist, who says he's going to raise their taxes. Reasonably competitive with about 40 percent of the vote in. But again, Mamdani above--
TAPPER: He's still up a 9--
KING: --above -- yes, above 50 percent.
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: I say reasonably competitive, because the rest of it is not. But if you look at it right now, if it begins this way, if it ends this way, Mamdani is going to make history. TAPPER: So, I will just say, first of all, Mamdani is the story of the night, absolutely, a 100 percent.
KING: Yes.
TAPPER: But just to touch on the Staten Island issue of this.
KING: Yes.
TAPPER: It will be interesting to find out how many of these voters voted today versus voted early.
KING: Right.
TAPPER: Because with the head of the Republican Party, Donald Trump--
KING: Yes.
TAPPER: --the President saying, Don't vote for the Republican who won--
KING: Right.
TAPPER: --you know, he became the Republican candidate in a primary process.
KING: Right.
TAPPER: Vote for the Independent who lost in the Democratic primary process -- lost in Democratic primary--
KING: Right.
TAPPER: --became an Independent. If how many of them seemed to follow his lead--
KING: Yes.
TAPPER: --is interesting.
KING: It is interesting. I'd tell you, before Trump said that, I was out on Staten Island, I went to all five boroughs, about -- for 10 days, two weeks ago now. And the torment of Republicans was palpable. Some of them said they--
TAPPER: Yes, they hated -- they hate Cuomo.
KING: They didn't vote for his father when he was Governor or Attorney General in New York.
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: They didn't vote for Cuomo when he was at -- Andrew, when he was Attorney General or Governor. They're Republicans. Some of them said they never voted for a Democrat. But they didn't think Sliwa could win, and they didn't want Mamdani. And so, they were tormented by their choices.
Kevin Marshall's a retired corrections officer. He said, No way.
I met with an engineer, Matthew Dreiss (ph). He said he was probably going to vote for Cuomo, even though he voted for Trump, and he -- but he wanted to vote for Sliwa. He just said he didn't think he could win.
So those -- a couple of them were not sure.
And I think you raised a key question. I'll follow up with them. When Trump said it, did you say, OK, what do you do?
But, again, Donald Trump's the head of the Republican Party, and he's telling voters, Don't vote for the Republican. So, we'll see how it plays out.
But this is always the outlier, and it's an interesting story, a fascinating wrinkle. A Republican is going to vote for a Cuomo.
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: But I think--
TAPPER: This is the story. Yes.
KING: A 34-year-old young immigrant on his path to potentially being the first Muslim--
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: --mayor of America's largest and most diverse city, a global financial capital, just a melting pot of voters.
And again, a lot of Democrats cringe at the socialist label. They think Trump and Republicans will apply it nationally.
I will tell you, from being there, and seeing the organization, and watching what he does on social media? A lot like Trump. He's very different from Trump in most ways. But he's polarizing, like Trump, and he motivates, organizes and keeps his supporters engaged, on social media, in a way that Democrats can learn a lot of lessons from.
TAPPER: Yes, if you remove -- well, first of all, his focus on affordability--
KING: Right.
TAPPER: --which is the number one issue in New York--
KING: Yes.
TAPPER: --he was laser-focused on that.
And second of all, he is a charismatic on-message candidate, very, very disciplined. Let's go to Anderson Cooper in New York.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Jake, thanks very much.
Here with the team.
Mayor de Blasio, what are you looking at right now on Mamdani?
BILL DE BLASIO, (D) FORMER NEW YORK CITY MAYOR, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I love what I'm seeing. I think what our colleagues were just saying is really something that people need to take in.
Perfect message discipline. Total focus on the kitchen-table issues. Amazing organization. The enthusiasm that was created, particularly with younger voters and volunteers. When you look at all the pieces that make up a great campaign, there's basically nothing missing here.
And the fact that it was grassroots-focused. You could never accuse Mamdani of elitism. He never rested on laurels. Even when he was doing well, he kept going out into neighborhoods. People said he would go to any small gathering, right?
And he would go to places he did not do well in the primary. This is -- you're seeing these amazing numbers with black voters, for example. He didn't do as well with black voters in the primary. He went out to those neighborhoods, over and over again, in the general election, with humility, something Democrats bluntly, didn't always show, for example, in the 2024 election.
So, there are amazing lessons here. The trend line, the last thing I'd say, that trend line we're seeing, looking around the boroughs, there's no way Andrew Cuomo is going to catch up tonight. The Bronx, for example. The Bronx is the most Democratic borough. And this is a general election. This is not a primary. This is a general election. Democrats are going to come home to Mamdani tonight, in the Bronx.
COOPER: Ken, you would like this to be the story of the night.
Rahm, is this the story of the night?
[21:10:00]
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, (D) FORMER CHICAGO MAYOR: No, as we were talking earlier, it's not -- look, you're winning -- the story of the night is a repudiation of the President.
You're winning two of the Public Commission votes statewide in Georgia. You're winning the three Supreme Court races in Pennsylvania. You're winning the redistricting in California, after they did the reforms there. You're winning both gubernatorial races, I said, in New Jersey -- in Virginia, it's following history. In New Jersey, you're making history, because of the keeping of it, we haven't done in 60. Everywhere you're going, Democrats are outperforming in that area.
So, look, do I get what the White House wants to do, in the sense of making Mamdani the face of the party? But this is a repudiation -- because, when they look in the mirror, it's a repudiation of the President. That's what they're trying to avoid the story to be.
REP. NICOLE MALLIOTAKIS (R-NY): The story for tonight is actually that the socialist party is taking over the Democrat Party.
KEN CUCCINELLI, (R) FORMER VIRGINIA ATTORNEY GENERAL, (R) FORMER VIRGINIA GOV. CANDIDATE: Yes.
MALLIOTAKIS: And you know what? It was Andrew Cuomo. It was Kathy Hochul. It were the Democrats that were so afraid of their shadows, so afraid of the radical left, people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, kept moving, moving, moving, to satisfy them, and now they've been eaten alive. So, this is a lesson for the Democrat Party. They should have fought for their party. They never fought for their party. They catered to the radical left. And now we're going to see--
EMANUEL: That's--
MALLIOTAKIS: By the way, for people who think that they're voting for affordability, here, with Mamdani, a guy who believes in socialism? We're going to learn the hard way, in New York City, what socialism is. Your taxes will go up. And if you pay property taxes, you won't be able to afford to live in your home. And if you -- guess what? You rent? It's going to be passed on to you, in the form of your rent.
EMANUEL: Yes.
MALLIOTAKIS: Mandates. Look, mandates, fees, regulations, surcharges, we've seen it in this state, in this city, under one party rule for the last decade. It costs money. It gets passed on to you. So, if you think you're going to get a free ride with Mamdani, you're going to learn the hard way with socialism.
EMANUEL: That's why the answer to the affordability, the answers out of New Jersey and Virginia will not follow New York City. And when it comes to the elections, in 2026 and 2028, Virginia and New Jersey are going to be more important as a prognosis how to progress -- be a progressive and govern with the ability to create a majority.
COOPER: Rahm Emanuel--
CUCCINELLI: Well, but wait a minute. Both those candidates said they weren't progressives.
EMANUEL: I said it, the progressive -- they watched their agenda. They said they were moderates, and they're going to govern moderate. And you and I, we were talking earlier, so don't switch on it. Center- left. Not left-center.
CUCCINELLI: As well, and in Virginia--
EMANUEL: That's exactly how it could happen.
CUCCINELLI: In Virginia, we're seeing the House of Delegates races move in the Democrats' direction. EMANUEL: The Democrats are winning vastly.
CUCCINELLI: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. The people who are winning are -- this is -- this is truly the takeover in Virginia, the next generation of Democrats. And they are Jay Jones Democrats. Jay Jones fit right in there. And this is -- this is a very radical legislature that Abby Spanberger is going to be working with, and we'll see what comes out of there. I don't think it's going to be what you hear Rahm describing.
DE BLASIO: No, these younger candidates--
EMANUEL: It's going to be the radical-left.
DE BLASIO: These younger candidates are talking about the kitchen- table issues. It is an economic populism, let's be clear. It's the kind of populism that actually is reaching voters who are profoundly upset with the status quo.
So, I hear Nicole trying to shape it as some left, right ideological struggle. I think it's something simpler. I think it's a generational struggle. And I'll tell you something. Are you going to bet on the voters under 40 who are going to be the future of this country?
EMANUEL: Yes--
DE BLASIO: I sure would. And it's about going back to our roots--
EMANUEL: Anderson -- one other thing that--
DE BLASIO: --going back to the kitchen table.
EMANUEL: It's not what -- I agree on the affordability, what was said. No space for the cultural left-wing stuff. So, it's also what wasn't said.
MALLIOTAKIS: Who seemed--
EMANUEL: Everybody from the -- Mamdani to all the -- the two gubernatorial races, nobody touched the cultural issues that left Democrats out in an island by themselves.
COOPER: Want to bring in Audie, and then I got to go to Kaitlan.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR/SENIOR ANALYST: Oh sure, very quickly. I mean, you can hear the messaging. I think you like delivered, what that is going to be when people talk about Mamdani.
I do want to think back to the time when Trump entered the party, and there was a lot of questions about the Trump-like candidates who followed as candidate quality. Are they too extreme? Can they win a general? Some of this sounds really familiar, and I think that maybe people need to see some of the warning signs from a younger electorate that is making different decisions about what they think is pragmatic--
DE BLASIO: What they need.
CORNISH: --what they think is right.
DE BLASIO: Yes.
COOPER: I want to bring in CNN's Kaitlan Collins at the White House.
Kaitlan, you have new reporting on how the President is reacting to the mayoral race in New York.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson. As we've been watching all this play out, watching the returns come in, to what's going to happen in New York City. I should note, President Trump has been hosting a private dinner upstairs at the residence, this evening, as these results are coming in, that could prove to be a test of how his first nine months in office have gone and what voters think of it.
Obviously, they weren't surprised by what happened in Virginia with Abigail Spanberger. The White House was not hopeful about that race. That's why the President didn't really endorse Winsome Earle-Sears in that race.
But instead, the President has been hyper-focused on New York, Anderson, as you know well. And when he came out and endorsed Andrew Cuomo, yesterday, it wasn't just that endorsement of Andrew Cuomo that stood out. He also threatened to withhold federal funding from New York City, should Zohran Mamdani prove to be successful tonight, and prove to win.
And I've been talking to people around the President about that threat, and what exactly he has in mind. And one thing that they've made clear, Anderson, is that it's a threat that should be taken seriously.
[21:15:00]
They say that the President means it when he says that he's going to try to withhold federal funding. And they pointed to past moments and instances where he has either withheld federal funding or terminated contracts, and several of his Cabinet Secretaries have done so as well, from not just when it comes to those infrastructure projects in New York, but a lot of energy projects, even if they affect Republicans in some red states across the country.
And so, they pointed to his willingness to do that, something that has been a signature of his second term, Anderson, and said that he is willing to do that again, should Zohran Mamdani win tonight.
COOPER: Kaitlan Collins, at the White House. Kaitlan, thanks very much.
Mayor de Blasio. I mean, do you think there are, I mean, warning lessons for the Democratic Party in his victory? Or are you fully behind him as the face of the Democratic Party?
DE BLASIO: Well, I don't think he's going to be the face of the national party. I wouldn't say that at all.
What I'd say is, look at -- look at the turnout. Let's start with this.
COOPER: That turnout stuns you? The figure?
DE BLASIO: I have never seen anything like this. And I was, I think, 8-years-old when the last time we had 2 million people vote in a mayoral election in New York State. This is stunning. And what it says is Mamdani was able to bring a huge group, often young voters, but beyond young voters, immigrant voters, a whole host of people into the process.
Now, when you look at 2024, Anderson. Democrats lost in places that--
COOPER: And, by the way, I should say, we have not declared victory for Mamdani.
DE BLASIO: Fair. Fair enough. But let's--
COOPER: But certainly--
DE BLASIO: --just based on what we're seeing so far.
COOPER: Right.
DE BLASIO: Democrats lost in big urban counties around the country. Wayne County in Michigan is a great example of this, a place they should have had a much -- not -- well, I'm sorry. Didn't lose. Should have had a much higher vote count.
CORNISH: Yes, where she underperformed.
DE BLASIO: Very much underperformed. And it was a pattern. We saw it in Milwaukee. We saw it in Detroit. We saw it in crucial areas of Philadelphia.
Here's Mamdani, who comes around with a message that moves young voters, gets people to vote. 17 percent of the early vote was people who had never voted in a mayoral election before.
Now, if you're the Democrats, forget ideology for a moment. Forget face of the party. Just we will win if we motivate people, if we energize people to come out, our own, already registered Democrats. But imagine what we can do if we get a bunch of people who weren't even in the game to come in and get involved?
You know the last Democrat who did that? Barack Obama, 2008. Changed the playing field. Brought a huge number of young voters in. And the result changed this country.
So, I hope Democrats will look at tonight, to say, We're getting example of something we can do better. It might be different ideologies in different places, yes. But focus on expanding that electorate and energizing people, and we have actually an advantage for 2026 and 2028. COOPER: The votes are still coming in with key races still to call. New York Mayor. New Jersey governor. And later, California's big redistricting proposition.
Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: And we are back with a key race alert.
In the New York City Mayor's race, Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani is ahead, 49.6 percent of the vote. In second place, Independent candidate and former Governor, Andrew Cuomo, with 41.5 percent of the vote. Republican Curtis Sliwa is next with 8.1 percent of the vote. Incumbent Eric Adams, who is no longer running, with 0.3 percent of the vote.
So, Zohran Mamdani, right now, is just under 95,000 votes ahead of Andrew Cuomo. That's with 52 percent of the estimated vote in. Still a lot of votes to count out of New York. But a healthy lead for Zohran Mamdani.
In New Jersey, and the governor's race there, Democrat Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill has 56.6 percent of the vote. Republican Jack Ciattarelli with 42.9 percent of the vote. Sherrill right now with a significant lead of more than 265,000 votes. That's with an estimated 59 percent of the vote in.
So, a lot of the vote has come in, since we last spoke.
Let's go now to CNN's John King at the Magic Wall.
And John, you are tracking where these votes are coming in from. And let's start with the New York City Mayor's race.
KING: Right. Last time you were here, Mamdani was above 50 percent. He's fallen a little bit below. Still has the lead. One of the key questions, right, jumped out to that big lead. Again, he had the better organization. They put an emphasis on early voting. And so, the first votes we got were early voting. Now, the question is, as we get more and more, how much tighter does it get? So we're at 52 percent right now.
One of the fascinating things as you look at this is, you see, OK, Staten Island, that's the conservative outpost. It's voting for Cuomo, not the Republican. But that's the purple, I guess.
TAPPER: It's interesting.
KING: Yes, and you see all the blue here. I just want to go through and just show why everyone -- you know, if you're not from New York, and you haven't been to New York in a long time, you think, Oh, it's an overwhelmingly Democratic city. That is true. But its politics are complicated as you go borough to borough. So Jake, I'm going to ask you to just step back a little bit. I want to show something for--
TAPPER: Oh, OK.
KING: --we have for the first time here, and just bring it up on the side here.
So this is New York State versus the United States, right? That's the state. But let's go into the boroughs.
Let's just look right here. New York State is on your left. Brooklyn, largest population is white, 36 percent right there. 28 percent black if you round up. You see the diversity in Brooklyn, right? This is absolutely key to Mamdani. He won it in the primary. Tends to lean a little bit more liberal. Lot of newcomers are here. It's absolutely key to him. But you look at the mix right there, the demographic mix there.
Then you move over here, next door to Queens. Look at the melting pot here. Look how close that is. Latino population, the Asian population, the white population. The Asian population will pretty soon, I predict pass the Latino population. Just the politics are a little bit more complicated.
TAPPER: And it's closer.
KING: And--
TAPPER: And it's closer between Mamdani and Cuomo in Queens.
KING: Cuomo was born in Queens. Mario Cuomo was born in Queens. The family has a history in Queens. Mamdani's district is right up here, in this section of Queens up here.
[21:25:00]
So then you come up to the Bronx. The Bronx is the only borough that is majority Latino. And again, Andrew Cuomo won the Bronx. It's blue- collar. Trump's support increased by 10 or 11 points there from 24 -- from 2020 to 2024. A blue-collar borough there. Absolutely key as we watch more votes come in for Andrew Cuomo. If the Bronx stays Mamdani- blue, then Mamdani will be the next Mayor of New York City, I project.
And then you come over to Manhattan, which is the part of New York most people, if you're not from New York, you probably -- you probably know the best right there, Jake, and you see it right there, a larger white population, a Latino population, but just each bar is a little different, Jake.
TAPPER: All right, we can now make a major projection in the New Jersey governor's race.
CNN projects that Democratic Congresswoman, and former Navy helicopter pilot, Mikie Sherrill, will be elected the next Governor of New Jersey. Mikie Sherrill defeating Republican former State Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli. For the first time in 60 years, Democrats will hold on to the governor's seat in the Garden State for three consecutive terms. Sherrill will also become the state's first female Democratic governor. They previously had Republican governor who was a woman.
Again, CNN projecting that Democrat Mikie Sherrill will be elected Governor of New Jersey.
Let's go to CNN's John Berman, who is at Sherrill campaign headquarters, in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
John, are they watching CNN there? Do they know that we just -- we just awarded them the crown?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Jake, it's so loud in here, I can't even hear what you asked me. But I'm sure it was a very smart question.
What I will tell you is they just saw the announcement that this race has been projected for Mikie Sherrill, and this crowd went simply nuts. They've been sort of on standing on an edge, for the last 20 or 30 minutes, waiting for it to all happen. Now, it finally has.
The Sherrill campaign says this victory is a testament to her messaging, tying affordability to protecting against Donald Trump. They say, that combination drove really very high turnout, higher turnout than they've seen in a governor's race here in years and years, particularly high turnout in urban areas.
Newark, New Jersey, the most populous city in the state, they say saw the highest turnout since 2005. They say they've targeted black voters. Black voters have turned out. They say there's been a relentless focus on Latino voters. And Latino voters have turned out.
When Democrats look at this race, particularly those associated with the Sherrill campaign, they think they're beginning to see the recipe of a way to fight back against Trumpism. To talk about the economy. To talk about affordability. But also, at the same time, to tie it to Donald Trump.
Voters want to hear prescriptions about what you're going to do about the future, they say. They say that's what Mikie Sherrill has been doing. They think she was underestimated, a lot, over the course of the campaign. They say people thought this race would be close. And they're not so sure by the end of the night that it will be that close, Jake.
TAPPER: All right. John Berman, at Sherrill headquarters, in East Brunswick, New Jersey.
So to recap again. We have two winners that we've projected already.
Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill will win the governor's office in the Garden State of New Jersey, and we're calling it relatively early, giving an idea of her margin of victory.
And in the Commonwealth of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, the former Congresswoman, handily winning the governor's race there.
And I have to say, I mean, a historic night for women, a historic night for Democrats. And we cover the news every day. And Democrats have been very demoralized for maybe, like, the last year and a half, two years.
KASIE HUNT, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: That's three (ph) tonight, Jake.
TAPPER: And like yes, the Democrats finally have some good news.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: They have good news, and the fact that it's these two women is noteworthy, because these are two women who came into Congress, in 2018, taking Republican seats. So they came in on a Democratic wave. And they both have national security credentials.
They were part of a self-described badass caucus of other female national security members, and they were roommates. And of course, I'm talking about Spanberger and Sherrill. They were roommates here in Washington. And they decided, both, independent of one another, but at the same time, to leave Congress and run for governor, in New Jersey and Virginia. And they both are successful tonight.
TAPPER: And it really is just crazy that Virginia has never had a woman Governor until now. I mean, just, that's just such a wild statistic.
Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey might be the second woman governor.
HUNT: Christine Todd Whitman.
BASH: Christine Todd Whitman.
[21:30:00]
TAPPER: Yes, but still, it's nothing to crow about.
BASH: Yes.
TAPPER: But at least, finally some gender equity, a touch of it, at least.
HUNT: Well, I will say, Jake, Virginia is part of the South as well, and we've seen some trends nationwide, as far as how soon women have made those kinds of strides. But I think, first of all, the breadth of the Democratic victories, tonight, have all of the Democrats that I'm talking to, extraordinarily relieved and bordering on excited. I think there has really been this depressed period.
TAPPER: Just bordering on it?
HUNT: Well, I think they were so -- they have been so down, for the past year, after President Trump won in the wake of January 6th, that -- you know, we sometimes joke about how Democrats can't necessarily get too excited. They're always concerned and anxious about things. But I think the night is turning out the way they really wanted it to.
And I'm interestingly hearing from Republicans, who see this as perhaps the first example of President Trump really experiencing something negative that could lead to lame-duck status. When -- one person, one Republican, who has not been pessimistic about Trump in recent years, said to me, Well, the King may not be dead, but he is starting to have no clothes.
BASH: And just on that note, quickly, Jack Ciattarelli completely tied himself to Donald Trump, which was definitely a risk. He was banking on the fact that that is the way to make sure that so-called low- propensity Republican voters get out and support him. But he was doing it in New Jersey.
And I was just texting with a Republican who knows New Jersey very well, who said, There just aren't enough of those voters. And to do that at a time when -- yes, Donald Trump is president, and he's riding high still among the Republican base -- people are hurting, as we've been talking about all night. And she, Mikie Sherrill, jumped on that, the fact that Ciattarelli had no daylight between himself and Donald Trump. And it didn't work for him.
TAPPER: Yes, I mean, and I guess if there is a lesson here for Democrats, it is to talk about how Trump's leadership is affecting how they live their lives, not necessarily whether or not they're offended by him, whether or not -- not necessarily by whether or not they like his behavior, but more about, Well, what is he actually doing for you.
KING: Right. As you go deeper into these results, this is definitely a warning shot. Across the bow of the White House, and, I would say, the Republican Party. Donald Trump won big just a year ago. 2024. This is America saying, We're still not happy, and you're in charge now, and we're not happy.
Look at the scope of this victory. We're not quite there yet. 63 percent. Election Day vote tends to be more Republican. That's what we're waiting on. This margin is likely to narrow.
However, I just want to show you something as we go through this, and then I want to go to Virginia. Just what message, what message, right? The Democrats, you know, the Democrats are going to have a debate now. A centrist governor of New Jersey. A centrist governor of Virginia. We'll see what happens in New York City, perhaps a democratic socialist there. The Democrats will still have a debate about how to do things. But in three races where they focused on affordability, they're winning. So we'll see what happens in New York. But they're winning at the moment.
You watch this one here. I just want to show you a couple of things here, as you come through this. Number one, did Mikie Sherrill outperform Kamala Harris? You notice nothing changed. That means everywhere. In every single county, in New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill overperformed Kamala Harris.
Here's another way to look at it. Donald Trump made New Jersey close last time, right? Because he flipped some counties. He flipped five counties.
Tonight, we're not completely done yet. But at this moment, with 63 percent of the vote in, Mikie Sherrill has won all five of those counties that Donald Trump just a year ago, flipped from red -- from blue to red. And so that's called, Never mind, right? Never mind, we're going back to vote for the Democrats. And that includes, at the moment, Passaic County, which was the big county -- if this is a plurality Latino county.
TAPPER: Right.
KING: Republicans were saying, That's our ticket to the future. We're bringing men of color and voters of color into our party.
Again, it's one election. However, when you see that, only 38 percent, we'll see if it holds up. That's one thing.
But in New Jersey, you see her progress, running better than Harris, bringing back counties that went for Trump.
Now let's move down to the Commonwealth of Virginia, because I want to show you something similar, the Democrats will talk about heading in. OK, so you come into here, and you say, Did Abigail Spanberger outperform Kamala Harris? Not everywhere, but in very, very key places. In the Washington suburbs, where the people live, down here along the coast, right, that county, the Virginia Beach County, Glenn Youngkin won that four years ago for governor. Spanberger wins it tonight, and outperforms what Kamala Harris did in the presidential election.
This is what strikes me as most significant, right here. In most of these rural counties, it's only by a little bit. So, I don't want to overstate it. In most of them, it's a percentage or two, a point or two.
[21:35:00]
But this -- that's West Virginia. That's Kentucky. This has been the death of the Democrats in rural America in the Trump age. Abigail Spanberger is running a little bit better than Harris, in many of these rural counties.
Again, I don't want to overstate it. But the Democrats, at some point, if they're going to fix their problem, in a lot of these, as you start moving into the heartland, they need to perform better in rural America. And so one point, two points, and three points is a step in the right direction. We'll see how it goes right here.
And again, I don't want to overstate it. I'm going to comment on one right here. This is Augusta County, 2025. She's getting 26.2 percent. Just go back to the presidential race and look at Kamala Harris. It's 25 percent. You come over here. Harris got 32 percent. And Jake, I'll come back here. She's getting a little bit higher there.
But the small progress in the rural counties would be a huge step for Democrats, if they can apply those lessons elsewhere, Jake. TAPPER: All right, John.
And we can now make a major projection in the New York City Mayor's race.
CNN projects that democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, will be elected the next Mayor of New York, New York, defeating former New York Governor turned Independent, Andrew Cuomo, and Republican Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani's victory marking an historic moment in the city. At the age of 34, he will be the city's youngest mayor in a century. He will also be New York City's very first Muslim Mayor.
Again, CNN projecting that Zohran Mamdani will be the next Mayor of New York, New York.
And CNN's Abby Phillip is at Mamdani headquarters in Brooklyn, New York.
Abby, a huge win for Zohran Mamdani.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: It is a major win from Zohran Mamdani, a candidate that was basically unknown to the city about a year ago, and now is now elected mayor.
We just heard the crowd behind me yelling, screaming, clapping at the news that you just announced on CNN. This room is really filling up with supporters now. They are anxious, anticipating hearing from Mamdani tonight. And it's been a long journey for many of these supporters who have stuck with Mamdani, despite the unlikeliness of his candidacy, from the very beginning.
In these final days of the campaign, this race has turned sharply negative. A lot of his supporters believe these attacks against him were Islamophobic. They were -- from -- you hear it there.
(CHEERING)
PHILLIP: They are screaming one more time, as the race is called, and the news is spreading.
(CHEERING)
PHILLIP: But these supporters are elated tonight, as you can hear them, by the news, by the opportunity for this city to be elected by someone that, frankly, it's never been elected by -- never been run by before. Mamdani is both young, he is a Muslim, he is an immigrant, and he is someone who represents a sharp break from the past.
Jake, this crowd is really waiting to see also, as the results come in. I know we're still watching those numbers. He is very close to hitting that 50-percent mark. And there are many people in this room, and in his campaign, who want to see him surpass that, because what it would mean is that it's not just a minority of the city that Mamdani has won over. But if he's able to get a majority, he might have the opportunity to argue that he has some kind of mandate in the city.
I'm going to come to my colleague, Gloria Pazmino here. She's been covering Mamdani for the last few months.
And Gloria, you know very well how this has felt like an underdog victory in the making for Mamdani's supporters.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, this is a candidate who started running out in the primary and was literally polling at 1 percent. I was having a conversation with someone, earlier today, who was talking about how hard it was to get press coverage to care about Zohran Mamdani, in the early days of the primary.
PHILLIP: Yes.
PAZMINO: And today, you couldn't even get near him from the amount of coverage that he is getting. It was an underdog campaign, and he ran like an underdog. I think that is really a huge lesson of this campaign--
PHILLIP: Yes.
PAZMINO: --no matter what you think of the candidates.
PHILLIP: But the pace of the campaign really picked up in the last few weeks, as it often does. But I mean, he was walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, at sun up yesterday, I believe it was.
And as we were just talking, the New York Attorney General, Letitia James just walked right past you. She was pumping her fists in the air. She has been one of the New York elected officials that stood by Mamdani, even when he was being derided as a communist and a socialist by some in his own party, in the Democratic Party.
[21:40:00]
And the shadow of Donald Trump in this race also is a pretty big deal. Trump weighed in, in the last few -- in the last few days, to endorse Andrew Cuomo. He has been going after Letitia James, a prominent supporter of Mamdani's. He has promised to withhold funds for the City of New York. How big of a factor has Donald Trump been?
PAZMINO: He's been a huge factor in the positive and in the negative, right? Donald Trump is weighing in on this race. We know from our reporting that he has been talking about this race even more than the other races that are happening in New Jersey and in Virginia. The Trump threat to cut federal funding is something that Zohran Mamdani and his team take extremely seriously.
PHILLIP: Yes.
PAZMINO: But you've heard what he has said, that he believes the city currently, under the current mayor, Mayor Eric Adams, has not done enough to respond to those threats. And he says he will do so when he's elected.
PHILLIP: All right.
So Jake, as we wait to hear what Mamdani says, as he comes out into this room, a very energized supporters, later tonight, we'll be waiting to hear not only what he says to New Yorkers and about how he is going to govern this city, but also what he says about the very real threat from President Trump, that New York will be even more in the crosshairs of his efforts to defund the city to -- and to challenge Mamdani's leadership of the city going forward, Jake.
TAPPER: Fascinating stuff, Abby Phillip, and Gloria Pazmino. Thank you so much.
And it's a historic night for not just Zohran Mamdani, but for the Democratic Party, which has been so demoralized since the 2024 election.
We have three big wins that we've projected already.
In New York City, Zohran Mamdani will be the mayor, defeating Independent candidate, Andrew Cuomo.
In New Jersey, Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill defeats the Republican Jack Ciattarelli. She'll be the next Governor of New Jersey, the very first Democratic woman governor of New Jersey.
And then in Virginia, the very first woman Governor of Virginia. Former Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, defeating the incumbent Lieutenant Governor.
Just a big night for Democrats who have had not a lot to smile about in the last year.
Anderson Cooper is in New York. Take it away.
COOPER: Jake.
Jake, thanks very much.
Here with the team.
David Axelrod, what is the message for -- from this race to the Democratic Party? Or is there a message?
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST, FORMER OBAMA SENIOR ADVISER: Well, the biggest message should be to the President, I think.
It was interesting, I was spent -- I spent a lot of time going over the CNN poll, yesterday, and the cross tabs of that poll. And you could actually see the outlines of what was going to happen today, in that poll, because, overwhelmingly, people said the economy and the cost of living was their chief concern.
They gave today's economic conditions a 28 percent favorable rating, and they gave really negative ratings to the President's economic policies as contributing to that. And those were -- those were ticking time bombs for the Republican Party--
COOPER: So, if you're in the White House tonight, and you're seeing this, not -- I mean, not just the race in New York, but also obviously in these other states, what -- do you start to make any changes?
AXELROD: Well, I'll tell you one thing that I would do -- what I would not do. I would not go out as the President does, repeatedly, and tell people that this has been a historically successful year, and that the economy is strong and it's the envy of the world.
And if you're sitting at home, and trying to pay your bills, and buy your groceries, and pay your rent, and you're looking at your kids and wondering how they're going to make it? You don't want to hear that.
And if he doesn't believe that? Go talk to Joe Biden, because that's what he did, and it was a terribly destructive strategy for him.
So, I think, look, you had good candidates. These gubernatorial candidates were fresh and had great biographies, and they leaned into those issues. I thought Spanberger made a terrific speech tonight that really was a contrast to the politics that people have become so despairing about.
But at the end of the day, when you have the conditions that we have in this country, and you're the incumbent president, and you run everything, and you make a point of running everything? Then you're going to get blamed for stuff. And tonight, the voters did blame him.
COOPER: Scott, do you think the White House should be listening?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST AND CORPORATE PR ADVISER: I mean, look, these are blue states, and Democrats were supposed to win. So, I wouldn't overread it.
Virginia, in particular, has never been a great bellwether. I don't think a lot of folks had a lot of confidence in the Virginia campaign that was run on the Republican side. And New Jersey is New Jersey.
So, I would hesitate to overread it. I don't think the concerns you raised are a legitimate political strategy concerns.
[21:45:00]
I think, just want to offer condolences to Chuck Schumer. Honestly, what I'm reading here in New York City is that AOC is going to be the next Senator from New York, after she gets done whooping his rear end in the 2028 Democratic primary, and for his Senate races, in 2026.
I see the energy in the Democratic Party tonight behind a socialist, and I see the energy in Virginia, Democrats looking the other way on a violent candidate for Attorney General who says he wants to murder Republicans and their children. If you think you're getting rid of Graham Platner in Maine now? Think again. This is a terrible night for national Democratic image, given what is happening inside their party. Mamdani is an avowed socialist. It's not what people say that he is.
It's what he says that he is. He's now the leader of their party. That's their energy. And Chuck Schumer's got to--
COOPER: He's the leader of the Democratic Party?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Let's swear him in.
JENNINGS: He's -- he -- what -- there is no -- who is the leader? Can someone tell me?
AXELROD: He's a -- he's a life raft for Republicans who have to go on TV--
JENNINGS: Oh, no. Oh, no.
AXELROD: --and get their asses kicked in. That's where he is.
JENNINGS: You own this. You own this now.
VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER OBAMA ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well--
JENNINGS: You all own this now.
JONES: We've had progressive mayors that I'm thinking, right, de Blasio is--
JENNINGS: He's the best actor you all have, is he not?
JONES: Listen--
JENNINGS: Mamdani.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Come on--
JONES: Here's what -- here's what I'll say. I'm a lot happier than you are sad. You're saying I'm happy. You know why? Buyer's remorse from Independents. Independents gave Donald Trump a shot. Buyer's remorse. The Latin community gave him a shot. You see buyer's remorse. Black men gave Trump a shot. They've come back home. Buyer's remorse. Why? Because people are sick of the status quo. That's why they voted for Trump the first time. That's why they voted him out the second time. That's why they voted him back in.
People want change. And Donald Trump said he was going to do something about grocery prices. He's done everything, but. He's putting in gold toilets in the White House he's tearing up. He's gallivanting around the world. And you're seeing buyer's remorse in places where you would -- Republicans have some hope.
This thing is starting to settle out now. This is about basic needs that people have, and basic rights people expect. That's what seems to be under fire from this administration. And if they think they can spin and talk, and spin and talk, and nobody is going to notice that? They just got proven wrong tonight. People's basic needs are not being met.
One of the things that I think people are seeing, not just from Mamdani, but from the moderates as well, this focus on kitchen-table issues. We used to talk about this in weird ways. Income inequality. Wealth disparity. Economic justice. People who went--
AXELROD: Didn't say it that way.
JONES: Look, but -- but we had a lot of syllables, man. It was people describing a problem they didn't have. OK? Now you got people who are talking like the people who have the problem. I can't afford nothing. And somebody who can talk that way, whether the left of our party, or the middle of our party, is going to have a big audience. And this buyer's remorse that's setting in now from other people is a big problem for Republicans.
FARAH GRIFFIN: I think two big takeaways. So listen, I think there's this divide within the Democratic Party. Is the future of the party, Mamdani? Is it democratic socialism? Is it more in the likes of AOC and Bernie Sanders? He, no doubt, ran a good campaign. I interviewed him. He's got -- he is a very formidable force in American politics.
We had two female governors who were just elected, Democrats who ran as consummate centrists. Both of them were talking about uniting the country, that there's more that unites us than divides us, both with very credible resumes.
So, what direction are you going to go? Because you guys need to focus on winning a national election again. It's been a minute since that's happened. And I think you're going to get a lot farther with the Mikie Sherrill and with the Abigail Spanberger approach. But let me--
AXELROD: But also--
COOPER: Well, hold on. Hold on. I got to go to--
FARAH GRIFFIN: OK.
COOPER: No, soon as you're done.
FARAH GRIFFIN: We'll get -- we'll get to the Mamdani, a bit later.
COOPER: OK.
Just want to go to Kaitlan Collins at the White House. She's got some new reaction to all these wins.
Kaitlan, what are you hearing?
COLLINS: Well, Anderson, actually, it's been pretty quiet here at the White House, which is telling in and of itself. The President himself has not posted on Truth Social in about four hours since earlier tonight, when he was announcing a staffing decision. That is obviously something that you likely wouldn't hear, had there been any major Republican victories tonight. But this is a key question of how the White House and how the President will be interpreting these big Democratic wins tonight, in New Jersey and in Virginia, and in the New York City Mayor's race, all three of which the President was involved to some degree.
Yes, he did not outright endorse in Virginia there, for the Republican candidate, in the gubernatorial race, but he certainly did there in New Jersey. He hosted multiple tele-rallies for Jack Ciattarelli. The Republican National Committee poured a lot of money into that race.
And obviously, he got directly involved in the New York City's mayor's race, last night, when he endorsed Andrew Cuomo.
And so, it'd be really telling to see how the White House interprets these results tonight. Because earlier, when I had been speaking with officials, as whether or not they saw this as a referendum on the President's first nine months in office. Anderson, basically what they were saying is that they were in wait-and-see mode. They wanted to see how these results turned out tonight, before they tied any of them closely to the President.
We've seen some reaction coming in already tonight from former Trump campaign advisers, saying that they believe this is a candidate quality issue, and that Republicans need to run better candidates who are more in line with the President, in order to secure victories.
[21:50:00]
But we'll be able to hear from the President himself, tomorrow. He's actually hosting Republican lawmakers, Republican senators, to be exact here, Anderson, for breakfast at the White House. And reporters will be able to go into the room there and ask the President himself, what does he make of these victories by Democrats tonight.
COOPER: All right.
Kaitlan, thanks very much.
Is this a candidate quality issue?
AXELROD: Well, I think that there were questions about the candidate in Virginia, and the President was sort of never really did officially endorse her, did he?
JONES: No.
AXELROD: But, in Jersey, he fully embraced the candidate and praised him as a great candidate. And now, it was a candidate quality problem? I mean, that is, sometimes, the spin is so obvious that you shouldn't even bother, because people can recognize it for what it is.
I mean, the fact is, there -- you know, there is -- there is a mood in this country of dissatisfaction. As Vance said, they took a shot on Trump, because they were unhappy with the conditions, the economic conditions under Biden. They felt he was ineffectual in dealing with them. Trump promised to focus on those. And that's not what he's done. JONES: Yes.
AXELROD: And they're sending a message. So, you can try and spin your way through that, or you can try and rearrange your priorities and focus more on the things that affect people's lives.
COOPER: It's interesting in New York, and on this exit polling asked, Is crime where you live a major problem, minor problem, not a problem? The majority, 51 percent said a minor problem. Which kind of surprises me, in New York.
AXELROD: Well--
COOPER: And also, given the attention that the President is putting.
JONES: Well, but that was part of -- of Cuomo's problem, is that Eric Adams, whatever you want to say about him, had actually done a reasonably good job of bringing some of the crime down.
AXELROD: Yes.
JONES: The subways were getting a little bit safer.
COOPER: Right. The Police Commissioner also who Mamdani says he will -- will keep on.
JONES: Will keep on. And so, crime was actually moving in the right direction. Cuomo comes out, he's going to do a campaign that's mainly about public safety, but it felt -- fell a little bit flat.
And I think the other thing that you have to understand is, not only did Mamdani run a campaign that's going to be studied forever. Cuomo could have been Mamdani's co-chair of Mamdani's campaign. He did a terrible job. He was bubble-wrapped. I've talked to grassroots people who said that he would basically ghost grassroots groups. He would insist, If I come, you can't have your cell phones. It was like he was entitled to this, and he was going to deign to show up at the grassroots level. That actually does not work. You've got to be in the -- at the community level, and that's why he lost.
COOPER: We've got another projection to make. Let's go back to Jake.
TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson.
Yes, we can now make a projection in the Virginia Attorney General's race. And CNN projects that Democrat Jay Jones will be elected Attorney General of Virginia, the Democrat defeating the sitting Attorney General, Republican Jason Miyares.
This means Democrats have won all three statewide races in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Because, CNN has projected the former Democratic Congresswoman and CIA Case Officer, Abigail Spanberger will be elected Governor of Virginia, with Democrat Ghazala Hashmi winning the second top job of Lieutenant Governor.
Three huge victories for Democrats tonight. Nationally. We have two women elected governors in Virginia and New Jersey. And then Zohran Mamdani becoming New York City's first Muslim mayor, the Democratic candidate there, defeating Independent and Republican candidates.
Also tonight, we are, of course, keeping watch on California. Polls close there in just over an hour.
Something new tonight. Join us on CNN.com and the new CNN app. All Access subscribers are watching an all-star group, including Ben Shapiro and Charlamagne Tha God. They're reacting in real time to all of tonight's results. Again, you can watch that live now, on CNN.com and the new CNN app.
We'll be right back.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Huge night for Democrats on the East Coast, winning two Governor mansions, and the New York City's mayoral race.
It is Election Night 2025 on CNN. I'm Anderson Cooper in New York.
TAPPER: And I'm Jake Tapper, in Washington, D.C.
Three key victories for Democrats.
In New York City, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani makes history as the city's youngest mayor in generations.
In Virginia, Abigail Spanberger is elected the Commonwealth's very first woman Governor ever.
And in New Jersey, Republican hopes dashed, as Mikie Sherrill becomes the first Democratic woman elected the Garden State's governor.
And now, we turn our attention to California, as voters decide whether to adopt a new House map that could help Democrats win five more congressional seats, in next year's midterm election.
Right now, we're going to go to CNN's Abby Phillip, at Mamdani headquarters, in the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, New York.
Abby, Mamdani has pulled it off.
PHILLIP: He certainly has. And right now, I was hearing some supporters starting a chant of, Run up the score. They really want to see that number go as high as it can be tonight.
[22:00:00]
They are looking for a mandate on the central issue that he ran on, which is affordability in this city. New York is obviously one of the most expensive places in this country to live. And Mamdani, from the very beginning, had a laser focus on that issue. And because of that, I think there are actually very sky-high expectations for what he ought to deliver for Americans.
