at this point it's clear mamdani will win and NYC deserves him.
I can't see him losing at this point either. Sliva only had a chance in a 3 way race (as does any Republican in NYC at this point due to demographics). Cuomo is still too hated, and Sliwa spent most of his time in the debates tearing him down. Sliwa, having been a media figure since the 70s and having done radio had some great zingers and a Trump/Vance-like way of saying meme shittalking, but Trump not endorsing him was a death sentence.
Zoltar will win because he's the darling of the moment. He has the pop culture momentum, the far leftist woke commies love him, and the middle of the road Dems want to support him to prove to themselves that they are still hip and have leftist bonafides.
What he does in the next few years will be interesting. NYC Mayor is one of the most powerful and high profile political positions in the US, on par with Senators and Governors. It's the only mayoral job that has a realistic shot of running for President (sorry Mayor Pete!)--but he wasn't born here so he can't run. He probably couldn't run for Governor and win anything Upstate, so outside of a Cabinet sinecure in a theoretical future D administration, this is the endpoint of his political career.
So what does he do? I predict he spends the next 2 years grandstanding against Trump, defying him as much as possible, being very vocal in the media, and turning NYC into even more of a communist experiment while wringing as much money out of Albany as he can to do so. More gibs, DIE, sanctuary city policies, and ratchet up taxes on the rich. He'll try to vie with Newsom as the national leader of the #RESISTANCE and make himself a Kingmaker for the Democrat Party. He'll want his endorsement for President to be a coveted thing--for Newsom, Kamala, AOC, Hoschul, Schiff, probably Leticia James--and he will charge dearly for that.
I also see, especially if Pelosi leaves, a very good chance of the Democratic Socialists wholesale taking over the party. As Boomers die, middle of the road leftists will have less power in the party, making the radical commie/trans/woke/Theater Kid/pro-Hamas wing more influential. Remember when AOC came in and on Day One was protesting in Pelosi's office, then Pelosi smacked her down and put her in her place? She's largely been under control for the last few years. Pelosi is now nominally no longer the HNIC of the House Dems, but she has some influence. By 2028 she will be gone, Schumer may be gone too, and AOC will be old enough to run for President.
If Zoltar endorses her and she wins, the DNC will just be a skinsuit worn by the DSA at that point.