New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani captured 82% of the LGBTQ vote in the general election race for mayor, exit polls show, highlighting his strong base of support among queer New Yorkers.
Mamdani’s performance within the LGBTQ community far outpaced his rivals, Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, according to NBC News’ exit polls. Just 15% of LGBTQ voters backed Cuomo, and such a small portion of those voters preferred Sliwa that the percentage did not register in the exit polls.
Overall, the polls show LGBTQ New Yorkers made up 14% of the electorate — and there was a stark difference between LGBTQ voters and non-LGBTQ voters. Mamdani had 46% of the vote among non-LGBTQ voters, while Cuomo pulled in 45% and Sliwa had 8%.
As of Nov. 5, Mamdani had 50.39% of the total vote in the mayoral race, according to unofficial election results. Cuomo had 41.59% of the vote and Sliwa had 7.11%.
The lopsided results among LGBTQ voters follow a general campaign season during which Mamdani was the only candidate to have a platform with policy proposals intended to support the queer community. In an interview with Gay City News just days before the election, Mamdani said he would strive to create an office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs and set aside $65 million in funding for gender-affirming care to replace funding that could be slashed by the federal government, among other policies.
Mamdani’s election night speech included a nod to trans New Yorkers.
“Whether you are an immigrant, a member of the trans community, one of the many Black women that Donald Trump has fired from a federal job, a single mom still waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their back against the wall — your struggle is ours too,” Mamdani said in his victory speech on election night.
The results also come at a time when the Trump administration has launched direct attacks on LGBTQ New Yorkers, bringing an even greater sense of urgency to the mayoral race. After the president signed an executive order targeting gender-affirming care, multiple private hospitals moved to cancel appointments or otherwise pull back on care for some trans individuals, and Trump subsequently announced he would pull millions of dollars in education funding over LGBTQ-inclusive policies — an issue that has since faced legal challenges.
Among other demographics, exit polls show Mamdani earned 50% of the vote among both men and women, along with 45% of white voters, 57% of Black voters, 52% of Hispanic voters, and 62% of Asian voters. Meanwhile, 78% of voters in the 18-29 age range voted for Mamdani, compared to 18% for Cuomo, while 66% of voters in the 30-44 range backed Mamdani and 28% supported Cuomo. Just 36% of voters 65 or over voted for Mamdani, with 55% going for Cuomo.
