Democratic socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani appears to have defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eight other candidates in the Democratic NYC mayoral primary to replace Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday night, according to unofficial city Board of Elections tallies.
Mamdani, who represents a portion of western Queens, garnered about 43.5% of the vote, short of the over 50% majority of the vote needed to win outright in the first round, so New Yorkers will likely have to wait at least a week for ranked-choice voting to confirm the contest’s winner. However, he is likely to claim the majority of secondary votes from other progressive candidates in the race given his cross endorsements with other left-leaning contenders — chiefly city Comptroller Brad Lander.
The lead the Queens lawmaker had built was such that Cuomo offered his concession in a phone call Tuesday night.
“Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign, and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote, and he really ran a highly impactful campaign,” Cuomo told supporters at the Carpenters Union headquarters in SoHo. “I called him, I congratulated him.”
Mamdani: ‘Not my victory,’ but ‘ours’
Mamdani took the stage after midnight at his Election Night party in Long Island City to thunderous cheers and applause, following other notable speakers including state Attorney General Letitia James and US Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn/Queens).
“Today, eight months after launching this campaign, with a vision of a city that every New Yorker can afford, we have won,” Mamdani told the jubilant crowd gathered at the Greats of Craft brewery. “We have won from Harlem to Bay Ridge…We have won from Maspeth to Chinatown. We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford.”
Mamdani was ahead with nearly 44% of the vote at 10:30 p.m. with almost 94% of scanners reporting. His unexpected Election Night lead comes after his long-shot bid surged due to young left-leaning voters energized by his affordability-focused platform. It also follows months of negative attacks on Cuomo by Mamdani and his fellow progressive candidates.
Mamdani credited his victory to his supporters, including an army of over 50,000 volunteers.
“This is not my victory, this is ours,” he said. “It is the victory of the Bangladeshi auntie who knocked on door after door until feet throbbed and her knuckles ached. It is the victory of the 18-year-old who voted in her first ever election.”
James said that Mamdani’s victory represents a “resounding win” for change in the Big Apple.
“I saw in my beloved Brooklyn and all throughout the city that this campaign was fueled by the power of the people,” James said. “People heard his message, and we all came together. And I want those listening … who are afraid, I want all of you to know that after this campaign is over, we will all come together. We will heal this city. You need to understand that Zohran is a man who respects the humanity of everyone.”
Lander said Mamdani’s campaign had given the city hope in a time of despair.
“Our cross-endorsement unleashed a sense of hope in the city, for hopeful politics against Andrew Cuomo’s dark misery,” he said.
Where does Cuomo go from here?
Though he already secured an independent ballot line in the November general election, Cuomo said Tuesday he and his team would look at the full ranked-choice voting results and “give some thought about the best way to help address” the issues raised during the campaign, along with “the best way to help the party, but most of all, the best way to help the city, and that’s what we’ll be thinking about.”
According to the campaign, the door is still open for the general election, though they did not confirm a third-party line run.
“He’s gonna leave the door open for November,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. “He wants to look at the final numbers, he wants to look at the issues and to the best way to contribute to the many issues facing the city and how to put it back on the right track.”
Cuomo, who attempted a political resurgence after resigning in 2021 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that he denies, was behind Mamdani with 36.32% of the vote; while Lander was in third at 11%, and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams came fourth at 4%.
Under ranked-choice voting, additional rounds of counting are held in the instance no candidate secured a majority of the first-round vote. The lowest vote-getter in each round is eliminated, with ballots cast in their favor going to whomever their voters ranked second. The candidate who receives a majority of the vote through ranked-choice tabulations is the winner.
The BOE will not begin ranked-choice tabulations until Tuesday, July 1.
How we got here
Election Day, early voting, and some absentee results began pouring in after polls closed at 9 p.m. on a swelteringly hot Tuesday. Turnout from early voting and Election Day combined appeared on pace to exceed that of the 2021 mayoral election.
The Election Night results capped off a packed and acrimonious Democratic primary sparked by the scandals that consumed current Mayor Adams’ first term — including his now-dismissed indictment on federal corruption charges and political alliance with President Trump.
Hizzoner was not on the ballot Tuesday since he chose to run as an independent in the November general election instead — meaning he will face whomever ultimately wins the primary.
Mamdani, a previously little-known state lawmaker, far exceeded expectations in becoming the race’s progressive standard bearer and likely winner.
His simple campaign message — built around freezing the rent for the city’s one million stabilized tenants, making public buses free and fast, and expanding free child care to be universal — galvanized young supporters.
While Mamdani’s campaign at first seemed like a pipe dream, he caught up to Cuomo in the polls in the final weeks of the race and surpassed the former governor in a Monday Emerson College poll.
Mamdani has been a prolific fundraiser, hitting the $8.3 million public matching funds spending cap before any of his rivals. His campaign says it has knocked on over 1 million doors across the city and has over 50,000 volunteers.
The Assembly member also successfully consolidated other progressives in the race behind his campaign. In addition to US Sen. Bernie Sanders, he was the top choice of the New York Working Families Party and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx).
The WFP also encouraged voters to rank Lander, Speaker Adams, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, and former Bronx Assembly Member Michael Blake in the second, third, fourth, and fifth spots.
Cuomo’s concession comes after he had dominated the race since making his late-stage entrance in early March. He consistently led in the polls up until the days prior to the election, swept up support among establishment Democrats and labor unions, and raised millions of dollars both through his campaign and a super PAC backing it — named “Fix the City.”
The former governor ran on the message that he will “save” a city “in crisis,” referring to issues such as fears around crime, homelessness, and the high cost of living. He argued that his 11 years as governor made him the best candidate to quickly make the city safer, build more affordable housing, and beat back threats posed by President Trump.
The final weeks of the campaign saw increasingly ugly attacks between Cuomo, Mamdani, and other candidates aligned against the former governor. Both candidates have accused the other of not being fit to be mayor.
Cuomo went all out in painting Mamdani as a political novice who would get steamrolled by Trump. The former governor also slammed the lawmaker’s frequent criticisms of Israel, implying that he is antisemitic.
Cuomo got a powerful assist from Fix the City, which has been blanketing the airwaves with ads depicting Mamdani as dangerous for the city.
In turn, Mamdani ripped Cuomo as a corrupt and disgraced politician beholden only to the wealthy.
He had blasted Cuomo over Fix the City raising more than $25 million — the most of any such PAC in city history. The independent expenditure has drawn contributions from billionaire donors, including former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Ackman, a Trump-aligned hedge fund manager.
Mamdani, along with other progressive candidates, had also relentlessly slammed Cuomo for his sexual harassment scandal and his widely criticized handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
