Zohran Mamdani secures win to become NYC mayor, defeating Cuomo who recently pledged crypto innovation

Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani secured a win in the race for New York City mayor against long-time Democrat and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. 

Mamdani led in the polls 50.6%  to Cuomo's 41.2 % with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa further behind, according to the Associated Press . 

Last month, Cuomo set out a plan to create the role of a chief innovation officer to lead blockchain and crypto innovation in the city. Cuomo said the role, a senior administration position, would work to guarantee that the city supports emerging industries and fosters public-private collaboration by utilizing new technologies.

Rebecca Liao, co-founder and CEO of Saga, called Cuomo an "establishment Democrat." Saga is a Web3 and artificial intelligence protocol. 

"Establishment Democrats have traditionally had a very good relationship with the tech sector and they want to find ways in which to promote it," Liao said in an interview with The Block. Liao was also a member of former President Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.

For Mamdani, crypto isn't a big enough issue for his core demographic, Liao said. 

Cuomo lost the Democratic primary over the summer to Mamdani and subsequently decided to run as an independent in the mayoral race. Current NYC Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race in September, citing campaign finance woes and media speculation as his main reasons for suspending his campaign.

Adams had been very pro crypto as he took his first three paychecks in bitcoin and in October signed an executive order creating an office focused on digital assets and blockchain, marking the "first-ever mayoral office of its kind in the nation."

The gubernatorial race in New Jersey was also one to watch, Liao said. Democrat Mikie Sherrill defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli 57% to 42.4%, according to multiple news reports.  

Crypto advocacy group Stand with Crypto said it was "mobilizing New Jersey’s crypto voters to play a pivotal role" in that election. 

"Notably, New Jersey is home to more than 80,000 Stand With Crypto advocates — almost exactly the margin of victory in the last New Jersey governor’s race," the group said in a statement on Monday. "These crypto voters could be a make-or-break voting bloc for the next governor come Election Day."

Crypto voters helped Rep. Sherrill secure the Democratic nomination in June, the group said, adding that "pro-crypto stances resonated with Democratic voters." 

Stand with Crypto gave Sherill an A on its scorecard for strongly supporting crypto, citing her previous votes for crypto bills. Ciattarelli was not scored, but the group cited a post on X the candidate made in July touting the need to make crypto more mainstream.