How the rise of Zohran Mamdani has divided Democrats

The Friday night before election day, Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist running for mayor of New York City, walked the length of Manhattan, from Inwood Hill Park at its northern tip to the Battery - about 20km. Along the way, he was greeted by a stream of New Yorkers enjoying the sticky summer night - men rose from their folding chairs to shake his hand, drivers honked in support and diners leapt up to snap a selfie with the would-be leader of their city.

- By Lauren Gambino and Alaina Demopoulos NEW YORK

A feelgood video of his trek, produced by Mamdani’s campaign, captures the “only in New York” quality of his ascendance, from little-known assembly member to the all-but-official Democratic nominee for mayor of America's largest city.

His stunning political upset, triumphing over the better-financed, establishment-backed former governor Andrew Cuomo, who conceded the race last Tuesday night with only the first round of votes counted, carries what many Democrats hope is an unmistakable message to their party’s old guard: it’s time to pass the torch.

Mamdani himself said he viewed the election as a referendum on a crumbling status quo. In his election party speech, he vowed “to govern our city as a model for the Democratic party a party where we fight for working people with no apology".

With a relentless focus on the cost of living, a relatable online presence and an army of volunteers tens of thousands strong, Mamdani - who would be the first Muslim mayor in the city's history-defied conventional wisdom that said Cuomo, the 67-year-old scion of a prominent New York political family with a massive war chest, was invincible. And he did it in a way that many Democrats believe might offer a roadmap for winning back voters.

"The establishment, at this point, is suicidally clinging to a version of power it no longer even has," said Amit Singh Bagga, a Democratic strategist and former New York City official. "We have made this choice to not evolve and if you do not evolve, you will walk your party, and potentially our democracy, up to the brink of extinction."