Democratic socialist, 33, tops primary for NYC mayor

Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday night toppled former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary race with nearly all of the votes counted. As of Tuesday night, Mamdani had 43.5% of the vote, Cuomo received 36.4%, Brad Lander won 11.3% and Adrienne Adams secured 4.1% of the votes. Though formal results have not been released, the former governor on Tuesday night conceded the election and called Mamdani to congratulate him. If Mamdani wins, the Muslim lawmaker would be the youngest New York City mayor in over a century.

New York City uses ranked-choice voting, meaning voters rank candidates on the ballot by their preference. If one candidate does not secure at least 50% of the votes, the lowest scoring candidate is removed from the tabulation and ballots with that candidate scored first are recounted with votes going to the second choice candidate. The process continues until one candidate wins at least half of the votes. 

Who is Mamdani? The three-term New York State Assemblyman was born in Uganda and raised in New York City, according to his campaign website. Mamdani ran on the priorities of freezing rent, building affordable housing, establishing city-owned grocery stores, and implementing free childcare as part of his platform. He also vowed to raise the corporate tax rate, raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, and make New York City a so-called sanctuary city for LGBTQ individuals.

While Mamdani garnered strong voter support through his hands-on campaign, some critics have said he is not qualified to lead. Cuomo agreed with a New York Times article that questioned Mumdani’s lack of experience and progressive agenda. 

What happens next? If Mamdani secures the primary win after the results are made official, he will move on to the general election in November. There he will face off against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels citizen patrol organization. 

Dig deeper: Read Christina Grube’s report about a judge dismissing corruption charges brought against Mayor Adams.