More than three million Americans voted early

"If Mamdani becomes mayor, I'm going to have a hard time giving New York a lot of money," Trump said

American voters in the federal states of New York, New Jersey and Virginia went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their votes for mayoral and gubernatorial candidates. However, all eyes will be on the largest American city, which is"threatened" by a political earthquake if the current favorite, the young democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, who has already come under fire from US President Donald Trump, wins the mayoral elections.

Mamdani's rivals in the race for New York boss are:

• independent candidate and former governor Andrew Cuomo and
• Republican Curtis Sliva

Where are all the elections held?

• New Jersey is holding a gubernatorial election between Democratic candidate Micky Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciatarelli. Polls show Sherrill has a slim lead.
• In Virginia, former congresswoman Abigail Spanberger has a clear lead over Republican Lt. Gov. Vince Earl-Sears.
• In California, voters are deciding on a proposal that would give Democrats more control over redistricting, which could affect the future balance of power in Congress, according to analysts.

More than three million Americans voted early.

According to the city's Board of Elections, 735,000 voters cast ballots in New York, more than four times the number of voters in 2021.

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Obama supports Mamdani

Former US President Barack Obama appeared at the final rallies of the Democratic candidates in New Jersey and Virginia, urging voters to"reject Republican lawlessness" and support the Democrats.

- The state of the Democratic Party is bad and they need every sign of encouragement they can get - said director of the Center for Politics of the University of Virginia Larry Sabato.

Obama also endorsed Mamdani in the race for New York's first man, praising his campaign based on the issue of affordability. On Saturday, he offered to be his"consultant", if the 34-year-old favorite wins the elections.

What does Mamdani stand for?

Mamdani's political program envisages:

• increase taxes on New York's wealthiest and corporate profits
• freeze rent-stabilized apartments
• increase publicly subsidized housing
• also proposed free child care and free city buses.

Mamdani - a young Ugandan immigrant born to prominent Indian director Meera Nair and Ugandan academic Mahmoud Mamdani - polls significantly ahead of his main rival Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid accusations of sexual harassment by a dozen women in 2021. Cuomo is running for mayor of New York as an independent candidate after convincingly losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary choices.

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Since then, Mamdani has garnered support from party opponents such as former US Vice President Kamala Harris and New York Governor Kathy Hokul, as well as a steady stream of financial support from small donors.

According to the"Atlas" poll, Mamdani leads with 40.6 percent of support, followed by Cuomo with 34 percent and Republican Curtis Sliva with 24.1 percent.

High stakes

If he wins New York, Mamdani could become the first Muslim to head the city.

The stakes are high, as the next mayor will govern a city of 8.5 million people, where the cost of living is extremely high and is facing a potential budget deficit and Trump's threats to withdraw federal funds if New Yorkers elect"Communist Mamdani."

On Monday, Trump repeated those threats, stating that he would rather support Cuomo than Mamdani, which he eventually did. The American president, in an interview with CBS, called Mamdani a"communist" and assessed that he is "far worse than a socialist."

- If Mamdani becomes mayor, it will be difficult for me to give New York much money. If you have a communist in power, all you do is waste the money you send there - Trump said.

"Better a bad democrat than a bad communist"

Mamdani himself said that New York will continue to receive federal funds because it is a legal obligation, not a matter of the president's will. He previously warned that his opponent, former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo, would be"Trump's puppet" if he wins. Cuomo, in contrast, claimed that Trump would"take over" New York and send the military into the city if Mamdani won, which the US president dismissed as"crazy".

Trump also stated that, although he is not a"fan" of Cuomo, in the case of a choice between a"bad Democrat and a Communist, he would always choose the" bad Democrat".

A Reuters/Ipsos poll shows 57% of Americans disapprove of Trump's performance, while voters are almost evenly split between support for Republicans and Democrats ahead of the 2026 congressional elections.

Platform for the left

Political analysts estimate that the results of key elections in America will serve as an"early indicator" of the political scene there, but will not necessarily predict the outcome of the next national elections.

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The mayor of New York is probably the most prominent in the whole country, and if Cuomo wins his version of left-wing politics will get a prominent platform, writes"The Guardian".

"Politico" previously reported that, on the eve of the election, the European left flocked to New York to follow Mamdani's meteoric rise and that party strategists across Europe crossed the Atlantic to learn from the millennial who went from anonymity to the very top of the most important city in the USA with lightning speed.