Brooklyn’s Ballots: Breaking down the primary election vote

Last week’s Primary Election drew more than 1 million voters across the city, and more than 500,000 Brooklynites — more than in any other borough — headed to the polls to make their voices heard.

A week later, the ranked-choice results have been finalized : Zohran Mamdani is officially the Democratic mayoral nominee, having raked in 56% of vote in the third round of ranked-choice voting. Former governor Andrew Cuomo, who had been the frontrunner to win the race, trailed behind with 44%.

The results were fairly clear even on Election Day, as Mamdani emerged with 43.5% of the vote, enough for Cuomo to call and concede before the ranked-choice process was complete.

How the mayoral candidates fared across Brooklyn

In Brooklyn, Mamdani dominated the mayoral primary, earning 50% of the Election Day vote to Cuomo’s 32%, according to unofficial Board of Elections results . Comptroller Brad Lander, a former Park Slope Council Member, earned 12% of the vote in his home borough.

Mamdani’s strongest support came from northern and central Brooklyn, from Greenpoint to parts of Flatbush.

The Democratic socialist earned the highest percentage of votes — 75% — in Assembly District 53, which includes East Williamsburg and Bushwick; he earned the most votes – 20,098 — in AD57, comprising Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and parts of Bed-Stuy in Crown Heights.

Queens Assembly Member and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani at a June rally in Sunset Park. File photo by Gabriele Holtermann

Those districts also have particularly diverse populations. According to U.S. Census data , in AD57, about 40% of residents are white, 31% are Black, 7% are Asian, and 14% are Hispanic. In AD53, about 48% of the population is Hispanic, 31% is white, 10% is Black, and 8% is Asian.

But he also won in some of southern Brooklyn’s more conservative-leaning districts where Republicans have in recent years unseated longtime local Democratic politicians — despite the fact that those districts largely have more registered Democratic voters than Republicans.

In AD46, which includes parts of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Gravesend, Seagate, Coney Island, and Brighton Beach, and is represented by Republican Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny, Mamdani earned 43% of the vote to Cuomo’s 36%. In AD49, which covers parts of Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, and Dyker Heights and is represented by Republican Assembly Member Lester Chang, he won 56% of votes.

Cuomo, meanwhile, found his footing in Orthodox Jewish communities and with support from Black voters in the southeastern part of the borough.

Cuomo earned support in parts of southern Brooklyn. File photo by Lloyd Mitchell

He earned the highest number of votes — 9,426 — and the highest percentage — 78% — in the same district, AD48, which covers Midwood and Borough Park and is represented by conservative Democrat Simcha Eichenstein. Cuomo also carried Sheepshead Bay, Madison, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach and Gravesend.

Local Jewish leaders largely endorsed Cuomo, and that support was reflected in his numbers in Borough Park, Midwood, and South Williamsburg.

Across the city, Cuomo earned more support than Mamdani from Black voters , and he won in several of Brooklyn’s predominantly-Black neighborhoods. In AD58, which covers Flatbush and Canarsie and where 78% of residents are Black, he earned 61% of the vote. The numbers were similar across AD59 and 60, which cover Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Mill Basin, East New York, and Starrett City and are both majority-Black.

The fate of local candidates in citywide races

Lander wasn’t the only local pol to take on a citywide election, as current Brooklyn Council Member Justin Brannan threw his hat in the ring for Comptroller.

Neither candidate won their primary — but both enjoyed fairly strong support in Kings County.

Justin Brannan concedes the election for New York City Comptroller. Photo by Gabriele Holtermann

Lander, who cross-endorsed Mamdani days before the primary, earned about 11% of the vote citywide and 12% in Brooklyn. While he didn’t outright win any districts, his former constituents threw their support behind him, and he earned 29% of the vote in AD52, which includes his former stomping grounds of Park Slope, Gowanus, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights and Carroll Gardens.

Meanwhile, Election Night totals showed that Brannan earned more votes in Brooklyn than in any other borough, and that Brooklyn was the only borough where he outperformed Mark Levine, who ultimately won the primary.

What comes next?

The winning candidates in both citywide and local primaries are now facing the general election in November. While Cuomo lost the Democratic primary to Mamdani, both he and Mayor Eric Adams plan to run in the general as independents, Curtis Sliwa will appear on the Republican party line.

Levine, meanwhile, will run against Republican Peter Kefalas. Locally, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso — who won the Democratic primary by a landslide — is expected to face Republican Janine Acquafredda. Many of Brooklyn’s council races will be uncontested, though a contentious contest is expected in District 47 , where Democrat Kayla Santosuosso and Republican George Sarantopolous will compete for Brannan’s current seat.