10 hours ago
Andrew Cuomo concedes to democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in Democratic primary for New York's next mayor
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and state lawmaker, is on track to win the Democratic primary for New York City's next mayor, marking a major upheaval of the city's political landscape with all eyes on the future of the fractured party.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo — widely considered among pundits to be the front-runner against a field of progressive candidates who urged supporters to keep him off their ballots — called Mamdani to concede Tuesday night after more than one million Democratic voters cast their ballots for the next chief executive of the largest city in the United States.
'Tonight was not our night,' Cuomo said in remarks to supporters. 'Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.'
Mamdani's campaign — fueled by a groundswell of grassroots support that stretched across the boroughs — had 'inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote,' Cuomo said.
'He really ran a highly impactful campaign,' he said.
Mamdani received 43.5 percent of first-place votes in the city's ranked-choice voting system to Cuomo's 36.3 percent, according to early results from the New York City Board of Elections on election night.
The board will continue tallying votes from ranked-choice ballots, which allow New Yorkers to pick up to five candidates in order of preference, with votes for lower-ranked candidates adding to top choices in subsequent counts. The system is designed to avoid a runoff election by having voters rank their top five candidates for citywide races.
Cuomo has said that, if he loses the primary, he would consider running as an independent in November's general election on a ballot that will also include current scandal-plagued Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent.
Curtis Sliwa is expected to run as the Republican candidate for New York City mayor. Sliwa, who founded the nonprofit Guardian Angels, ran for mayor in 2021 and lost to Mayor Adams.
A poll released on Monday by Emerson College showed Cuomo leading with 35 percent on election night, followed by Mamdani at 32 percent, and New York City comptroller Brad Lander at 13 percent.
But in a simulation of the city's ranked-choice voting system, Mamdani came out on top throughout eight rounds, with 52 percent to Cuomo's 48 percent.
Unlike Cuomo, Mamdani worked alongside other Democratic challengers, including cross-endorsing with Lander, urging voters against ranking Cuomo at all.
Cuomo, who was pulling ahead in public opinion surveys in weeks leading up to the race, was powered by a multi-million dollar political action campaign that flooded mailboxes and the airwaves with anti-Mamdani advertisements.
Mamdani, meanwhile, relentlessly focused a campaign around affordability, including no-cost childcare, freezing rent in tens of thousands of rent-controlled apartment units, boosting taxes on the wealthiest residents to fund free buses, and creating city-owned grocery stores to avoid a growing cost of living crisis in one of the country's most expensive places to live.
His social media savvy campaign included more than 50,000 volunteers who canvassed across the city.
If elected, Mamdani would be the New York's first Muslim and Indian American mayor.
Cuomo, 67, had sought to revive a political career after the once-ascendent Democrat drew international attention for his state leadership designed to contrast Donald Trump's presidency at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.
He announced his resignation from the governor's office in 2021 in the wake of widespread reports of sexual harassment allegations, investigations into nursing home deaths, and the possibility of a weeks-long impeachment investigation should he remain in the state's capital.
In the years that followed, he launched an effort to defend himself and undercut the credibility of the women who accused him of misconduct.
Should he secure the Democratic nomination, Mamdani — buoyed by endorsements from prominent progressives including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — could join a crowded and complicated field of candidates in a general election despite the dominance of Democratic voters in New York politics.
The explosion of money into a campaign against Mamdani is likely to roll into a general election, with attacks targeting Mamdani for his opposition to Israel's war in Gaza and his support for pro-Palestinian activism.
But the primary race and Mamdani's massive upset against Cuomo's multi-million dollar machine serves as the highest profile Democratic primary election yet since Trump returned to the White House this year — and could serve as a litmus test for the kind of Democratic campaigns to challenge Trump as well as other Democrats that Americans believe have insufficiently stood up to a centrist establishment.
