Zohran Mamdani, 34, a Uganda-born state assembly member, is the projected winner of Tuesday's general election to become the first Muslim and South Asian mayor of New York City.

Mamdani, who ran as a Democrat, used his campaign to rally New Yorkers against his main opponents: independent candidate and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations that he denied, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, a radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels.

"The MAGA movement's embrace of Andrew Cuomo is reflective of Donald Trump's understanding that this would be the best mayor for him," Mamdani said at a campaign event following the president's endorsement of Cuomo.

The mayoral election has been closely watched nationally as one that could help shape the Democratic Party's image as it seeks its identity in opposition to Trump.

Republicans have attacked Mamdani's candidacy throughout the campaign, with Trump casting him as a communist.

“If Communist Candidate Zohran Mamdani wins the Election for Mayor of New York City, it is highly unlikely that I will be contributing Federal Funds, other than the very minimum as required, to my beloved first home,” the president said in a post on Truth Social. “I don’t want to send, as President, good money after bad.”In his acceptance speech in Brooklyn, NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani had words for the president: "If anyone can show a nation betrayed by Donald Trump how to defeat him, it is the city that gave rise to him. And if there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power," Mamdani told a raucous crowd of supporters.

"So Donald Trump, since I know you're watching, I have four words for you: turn the volume up."

Contributing: USA TODAY's Edwardo Cuevas and James Powel; Reuters

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won NYC's hotly contested mayoral election?

Reporting by Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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