Dark-horse socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani staged a stunning upset Tuesday night by knocking off former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic mayoral primary.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight we made history,\u201d Mamdani told supporters at his victory party after midnight. \u201cIn the words of Nelson Mandela, \u2018It always seems impossible until it is done.\u2019 My friends, we have done it. I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old Queens assemblyman defied polls and expectations as he notched a likely insurmountable 7-point lead over Cuomo, the three-term governor who hoped to make a political comeback after resigning in disgrace in 2021.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight is his night. He deserved it, he won,\u201d a seemingly shell-shocked Cuomo, 67, said as he conceded to Mamdani.<\/p>\n
The first round of the ranked-choice voting contest had Mamdani ahead with 43.51% of votes, followed by Cuomo\u2019s 36.42% and city Comptroller Brad Lander\u2019s 11.31%, Board of Elections unofficial results show. Mamdani carried roughly 432,000 votes to Cuomo\u2019s 362,000, the results show.<\/p>\n
Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has taken the lead in the New York City mayoral race, unofficial tallies show. Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
The state lawmaker didn\u2019t crack 50% of votes, so the contest will still be decided July 1 once the other rounds of ranked-choice votes are calculated.<\/p>\n
But the first-round totals still put the avowed democratic socialist within sight of becoming New York City\u2019s next mayor.<\/p>\n
Cuomo conceded he lost the primary as he addressed his campaign\u2019s watch party \u2014 and signaled he may not run in the November general election on an independent line, as widely assumed.<\/p>\n
Cuomo delivered his concession speech at his mayoral primary election night event in New York City on June 24, 2025. John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Mamdani is surrounded by his mother Mira Nair and wife Rama Duwaji during his election night watch party. REUTERS<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight was not our night,\u201d Cuomo said, as he praised Mamdani\u2019s grassroots campaign, which mobilized young, far-left voters with catchy campaign promises and slogans focusing on affordability.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s affordability, stupid,\u201d quipped longtime New York City political operative Kevin McCabe, in a reference to Bill Clinton, about the issue that decided the race.<\/p>\n
A win by Mamdani is bound to have sweeping impacts beyond the Big Apple and signal the rising power of the Democrats\u2019 progressive wing, especially over aging party stalwarts such as Cuomo.<\/p>\n
His near-insurmountable lead hints he could be replicating what his backer and fellow progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did in 2018, as she ran as a charismatic outsider to topple entrenched Democrat Joe Crowley \u2014 only he did it across the whole city, a political veteran told The Post.<\/p>\n
The New York Post front cover for June 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
Workers dismantle the stage following New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo\u2019s election-night watch party for the Democratic primary on June 24, 2025 in New York City. Getty Images<\/p>\n
Cuomo could barely be seen actually on the campaign trail as he relied on his name recognition, backing of powerful unions and attacks against Mamdani\u2019s thin legislative record and ample history of criticizing Israel.<\/p>\n
The scandal-scarred ex-governor entered the race in March as the clear frontrunner<\/a>, but saw his polling lead steadily chipped away by Mamdani, who waged a social media-friendly campaign heavy on proposed freebies \u2014 which he plans to pay for by hiking taxes on billionaires and businesses.<\/p>\n \u201cHe should\u2019ve learned a lesson from the\u00a0terrible, Rose\u00a0Garden race that Joe Crowley ran against AOC. Like Crowley, Cuomo was arrogant and grossly underestimated his opponent,\u201d said Democratic operative Ken Frydman.<\/p>\n Zohran\u2019s parents gush over their son\u2019s apparent victory. \u201cHe always ran for every election since middle school,\u201d his dad said \u201cWe always knew he had something to say.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/sEuVMul2pE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Hannah Fierick (@HannahFNYP) June 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Mamdani out greeting voters with Comptroller Brad Lander on primary day in Manhattan on June 24, 2025. Photo by Michael M. Santiago\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Sources were baffled that Cuomo squandered a 40-point polling lead and that he only launched his field operation last week despite more than $25 million on hand between his own war chest and super PACs.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the money in the world and you don\u2019t know how to spend it,\u201d said one Dem source close to the campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n Billionaire former Mayor Michael Bloomberg<\/a> and his allies<\/a>, along with a swath of business leaders, funneled money into Cuomo\u2019s campaign and a powerful super PAC \u2013 Fix the City \u2013 that bombarded New Yorkers with anti-Mamdani ads in the runup to the primary.<\/p>\n Cuomo\u2019s comeback was also imperiled by progressives urging voters to \u201cDon\u2019t Rank Evil Andrew\u201d \u2013 or DREAM \u2013 on their ballots.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n