Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded to socialist state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the New York City Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday night after the first round of voting showed Mamdani ahead by several points.
The final ranked choice voting result will be tabulated next week, as no candidate crossed 50% of the vote. With 93% of the vote counted on Wednesday morning, Mamdani secured 43.5% of the vote, compared to Cuomo’s 36.4%.
Cuomo said he called to congratulate Mamdani.
“I called Assemblyman Mamdani to congratulate him on tonight‘s victory,” Cuomo said in a statement shared with the Washington Examiner. “I also thank my team, which did a great job during this campaign. I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November.”
Who is Zohran Mamdani, the socialist candidate challenging Eric Adams to be NYC mayor?
The first-round result shocked many political observers, with most expecting Cuomo and Mamdani to be neck-and-neck. While the ranked choice voting tabulation next week could bring them closer, Mamdani, who earned cross-endorsements from city comptroller Brad Lander and Michael Blake, will likely earn more support across his coalition than Cuomo.
While Cuomo had the support of mayoral candidates State Sen. Jessica Ramos and Whitney Tilson, neither garnered much support Tuesday night. Most of the other mayoral contenders condemned Cuomo at one point and ordered their supporters not to rank him.
Lander, who will likely finish third in the race, seemed giddy when he said Cuomo wouldn’t be mayor.
“Andrew Cuomo is in the past. He is not the present or future of New York City,” Lander said to supporters. “Good f**king riddance.”
Cuomo had the backing of much of the city’s establishment, several Democratic power players, and millions of dollars in super PAC money that far outpaced Mamdani’s. But it wasn’t enough to beat Mamdani, who rode his progressive movement to a position where he is potentially months away from being elected to City Hall in New York.
If Mamdani wins, he’ll be the Democratic nominee and will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and others, potentially including Cuomo, in November.
New York-based Democratic strategist Max Burns told the Washington Examiner that Mamdani’s triumph was more of an indictment of his campaign than the Democratic establishment.
“It’s a rebuke of laziness. Cuomo thought a campaign that went heavy on media and saturated the zone could win without a field. PACs only invested in the paid field for him in the last few weeks,” he said.
“He took it for granted and got outworked and out-strategized,” Burns said.
He compared Mamdani’s likely win to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) shock win over former Rep. Joe Crowley of the Working Families Party in 2018.
“There are a lot of parallels between Cuomo’s assumptions and Crowley’s assumptions in 2018, and failing to see the ground shift under you,” he added.
Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) backed Mamdani, who voters seemed to favor over anyone else due to his free buses, free childcare, and government-run grocery store plans. His win also signaled that voters in the city, which has the largest Jewish population in the United States, didn’t think his anti-Israel stances were enough not to cast their ballots for him.
Mamdani received ample criticism for his failure to condemn the “globalize the intifada” phrase associated with violence against Jewish people and his support of the BDS movement. David Hogg, who was pushed out of the Democratic National Committee this month as vice-chairman, campaigned with Mamdani and celebrated his win.
“Young people got a clear message tonight,” Hogg said in a post on X. “Do not listen to the naysayers and two face politicians who say you can’t win when you challenge a broken and corrupt system. It has never been more clear- the establishment has never been more weak than they are now. You need to run and Leaders We Deserve is here to help you.”
Mamdani’s likely win triggered a New York Republican freakout.
Both Republican favorites for New York governor in 2026, Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY), posted about Mamdani while bashing Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY).
“Tick tock, tick tock Kathy Hochul… We know you are in full blown panic mode as you frantically draft and send out the congratulatory tweet to the antisemitic, jihadist, Communist candidate you helped elect in your party’s Democrat primary because of your silence, weakness, and ineptitude. You own this dangerous insanity and are incapable of defeating it. So next year, New Yorkers will defeat you to save our state,” Stefanik said.
Lawler said, “Kathy Hochul and New York Democrats embraced the absolute worst of their party.”
“And make no mistake – Kathy Hochul and NY Democrats will pay the price for this insanity at the ballot box this November and next – when we elect our first Republican Governor since George Pataki,” he added.
New York GOP chairman Ed Cox said Mamdani’s victory “is the most alarming signal yet of how far left and out of touch the Democratic Party has become.”
Hochul acknowledged Mamdani’s primary victory in a social media post early Wednesday morning. She congratulated him on the victory and said it meant that New Yorkers voted for “a more affordable, more livable New York City.”
While Republicans feared Mamdani’s victory, several months ago, seeing the Democratic socialist win the Democratic nomination for mayor in the largest U.S. city would’ve been seen as impossible. An Emerson College poll in February showed Cuomo with 33% of first-choice votes and Mamdani with just 1% support.
As Cuomo entered the race the next month, Mamdani surged and continued his momentum right up until election day. His progressive movement triumphed against Cuomo’s centrist, pro-Israel, and pro-Democratic establishment supporters.
Mamdani’s supporters appeared to savor Cuomo’s loss just as much as Mamdani’s win.
MAGAWORLD PAINTS APOCALYPTIC PICTURE OF ZOHRAN MAMDANI MAYORSHIP AS NEW YORK CITY VOTES
As Cuomo appeared on screen at Mamdani’s election watch party, they let him have it.
“Nah nah nah nah,” they chanted rhythmically, “Nah nah nah nah. Hey hey, goodbye.”
