Zohran Mamdani has won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, defeating Andrew Cuomo by 12 percentage points. The Associated Press confirmed the result after ranked-choice voting tabulation. Mamdani’s victory was anticipated since he led the polls last week.
Mamdani declared victory on 24 June and will compete against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, independent Jim Walden, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in the general election. Cuomo conceded defeat but is considering running as an independent.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state assembly, began his candidacy with a set of populist ideas. His campaign outpaced Cuomo’s as the latter, a more moderate Democrat, attempted to rebound from the sexual harassment scandal that led to his resignation four years ago. The preliminary results created a significant impact in the political arena.
Mamdani’s campaign, centered on reducing the cost of living, asserts it has developed a new strategy for Democrats, who have occasionally seemed without direction since Donald Trump’s return to power.
The Democratic establishment is cautiously supportive of Mamdani. While some back his campaign, his criticisms of law enforcement, use of “genocide” regarding Gaza, and “democratic socialist” label are contentious for others. If elected, Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and first of Indian American descent, as well as one of its youngest.
Cuomo missed the deadline to remove his name from the November ballot and is still considering running. Adams, despite being a Democrat, is running as an independent after pulling out of the primary in April due to a now-dismissed federal bribery case.
Mamdani, a socialist Muslim, has been at the receiving end of attacks from Republicans, bordering on Islamophobia. Trump has call him a communist and others in the GOP have begun to launch Islamophobic broadsides at him.
Congressman Randy Fine accused Mamdani of planning a “caliphate” in NYC without evidence, while Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene shared a cartoon of the Statue of Liberty in a burqa on X.
Michael Flynn, Former National Security Adviser, attacked Mamdani, arguing that Islam is a political ideology and “not a religion.”
