More evidence that Mamdani’s coalition relies on the working class
Let's talk about class and this race:
If you move beyond exit polls and look at the places each candidate won, and who lives there, Mamdani won most precincts where residents don't have college degrees, as well as those who do. He won working class and renter precincts, while Cuomo swept the places with wealthier people and homeowners. Mamdani won in places where most folks take public transportation, while Cuomo swept areas where people drive private cars. Mamdani swept minority-majority precincts for blacks, Hispanics and Asians alike, while Cuomo won majority-white precincts.
If you compare the Democratic Primary to the General Election, Mamdani saw major gains in areas with non-whites and working class people while Cuomo ran up his margins even more in wealthy areas.
If you look at donations, big money was lined up decisively behind Cuomo. He had far more billionaires behind him and external backers outspent Mamdani supporters by a ratio of 7:1
If you switch to exit polls, you see that (as in the primary) Cuomo won the very poorest and the very richest New Yorkers, while Mamdani won the working class, middle class, and upper middle classes decisively.
Long story short: Mamdani rode a broad class coalition to victory.