Muslim socialist Zohran Mamdani is on track to secure the Democratic nomination for mayor, after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to him Tuesday night.
Mamdani was leading 10 other Democrats — including his top opponent, scandal-ridden Cuomo — in the first round of the ranked-choice election as of late Tuesday night.
Mamdani’s policy proposals include rent freezes, ‘free’ buses, and city-run grocery stores, all funded by $10 billion in new taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
Mamdani received nearly 44% of votes with 90% of votes counted as of 10:30pm on Tuesday, per AP.
Cuomo received 36% of votes.
WCuomo said he called Mamdani Tuesday night to concede and congratulate him on his expected victory.
“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said at a watch party. “He deserved it. He won.”
A Monday Emerson poll showed Cuomo and Mamdani in a statistical tie, four weeks after the same poll gave Cuomo a 12-point lead.
While Cuomo drew support from prominent establishment Democrats and major donors, Mamdani electrified a young generation of voters with populist policies and charismatic messaging.
The general election is on Nov. 4.
The Democratic primary winner will face the incumbent mayor Eric Adams. Adams has decided to run as an independent amid public backlash against corruption charges dismissed by the Trump administration last month.
Cuomo has also left the door open to running as an independent, saying in his concession speech that he will be giving “some thought” to what comes next.
The Republican mayoral candidate is Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, a crime prevention nonprofit.
New York City’s next mayor will navigate the city through three years of the Trump administration.
President Trump tried to end Manhattan’s congestion pricing policy, and his crackdown on immigration could target hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants in New York.
New York City uses ranked-choice voting in its primary. In a 2019 ballot measure, 74% of New York City voters voted yes for ranked-choice voting.
Under this system, first-choice votes are counted first. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, that candidate wins.
If no candidate earns more than 50% of votes, counting continues for additional rounds.
At the end of each round, the last-place candidate is eliminated. Voters who chose that candidate then have their vote counted for their next choice. The process continues until there are two candidates left.
