New Yorkers are expected to pick leftist Mamdani

If elected, the 34-year old would be the city's first Muslim mayor

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New Yorkers were projected to elect Democrat Zohran Mamdani as mayor, opening a new front in opposition to Donald Trump and raising the spectre the president will retaliate against the city where he made his name.

While Mamdani's rise is dominating headlines, off-year elections for governor in Virginia and New Jersey will be seen as even more critical gauges of the US political mood, nearly 10 months into Trump's bruising reign.

Important signals