{"id":12813,"date":"2025-06-25T06:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12813\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T06:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:33:12","slug":"mamdani-comes-out-strong-over-cuomo-in-nyc-mayoral-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/12813\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani comes out strong over Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary"},"content":{"rendered":"

Democratic socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani appears to have defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eight other candidates in the Democratic NYC mayoral primary<\/a> to replace Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday night, according to unofficial city Board of Elections<\/a> tallies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mamdani, who represents a portion of western Queens, garnered about 43.5% of the vote, short of the over 50% majority of the vote needed to win outright in the first round, so New Yorkers will likely have to wait at least a week for ranked-choice voting to confirm the contest\u2019s winner. However, he is likely to claim the majority of secondary votes from other progressive candidates in the race given his cross endorsements with other left-leaning contenders \u2014 chiefly city Comptroller Brad Lander.<\/p>\n

The lead the Queens lawmaker had built was such that Cuomo offered his concession in a phone call Tuesday night.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight was Assemblyman Mamdani\u2019s night, and he put together a great campaign, and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote, and he really ran a highly impactful campaign,\u201d Cuomo told supporters at the Carpenters Union headquarters in SoHo. \u201cI called him, I congratulated him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"QueensQueens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani with family and supporters after his apparent win in the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary on June 25, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses
\nMamdani: \u2018Not my victory,\u2019 but \u2018ours\u2019<\/p>\n

Mamdani took the stage after midnight at his Election Night party in Long Island City to thunderous cheers and applause, following other notable speakers including state Attorney General Letitia James and US Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Brooklyn\/Queens).<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, eight months after launching this campaign, with a vision of a city that every New Yorker can afford, we have won,\u201d Mamdani told the jubilant crowd gathered at the Greats of Craft brewery. \u201cWe have won from Harlem to Bay Ridge\u2026We have won from Maspeth to Chinatown. We have won because New Yorkers have stood up for a city they can afford.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mamdani was ahead with nearly 44% of the vote at 10:30 p.m. with almost 94% of scanners reporting. His unexpected Election Night lead comes after his long-shot bid surged due to young left-leaning voters energized by his affordability-focused platform. It also follows months of negative attacks on Cuomo by Mamdani and his fellow progressive candidates.<\/p>\n

Mamdani credited his victory to his supporters, including an army of over 50,000 volunteers.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not my victory, this is ours,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is the victory of the Bangladeshi auntie who knocked on door after door until feet throbbed and her knuckles ached. It is the victory of the 18-year-old who voted in her first ever election.\u201d<\/p>\n

James said that Mamdani\u2019s victory represents a \u201cresounding win\u201d for change in the Big Apple.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw in my beloved Brooklyn and all throughout the city that this campaign was fueled by the power of the people,\u201d James said. \u201cPeople heard his message, and we all came together. And I want those listening \u2026 who are afraid, I want all of you to know that after this campaign is over, we will all come together. We will heal this city. You need to understand that Zohran is a man who respects the humanity of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ZohranQueens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander at Mamdani\u2019s victory party on June 25, 2025.Photo by Dean Moses<\/p>\n

Lander said Mamdani\u2019s campaign had given the city hope in a time of despair.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur cross-endorsement unleashed a sense of hope in the city, for hopeful politics against Andrew Cuomo\u2019s dark misery,\u201d he said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Where does Cuomo go from here?<\/p>\n

Though he already secured an independent ballot line in the November general election, Cuomo said Tuesday he and his team would look at the full ranked-choice voting results and \u201cgive some thought about the best way to help address\u201d the issues raised during the campaign, along with \u201cthe best way to help the party, but most of all, the best way to help the city, and that\u2019s what we\u2019ll be thinking about.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the campaign, the door is still open for the general election, though they did not confirm a third-party line run.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s gonna leave the door open for November,\u201d Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. \u201cHe wants to look at the final numbers, he wants to look at the issues and to the best way to contribute to the many issues facing the city and how to put it back on the right track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cuomo, who attempted a political resurgence after resigning in 2021 following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct that he denies, was behind Mamdani with 36.32% of the vote; while Lander\u00a0 was in third at 11%, and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams came fourth at 4%.<\/p>\n

\"\"Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded the Democratic primary after apparently losing to Queens Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n

Under ranked-choice voting, additional rounds of counting are held in the instance no candidate secured a majority of the first-round vote. The lowest vote-getter in each round is eliminated, with ballots cast in their favor going to whomever their voters ranked second. The candidate who receives a majority of the vote through ranked-choice tabulations is the winner.<\/p>\n

The BOE will not begin ranked-choice tabulations until Tuesday, July 1.\n<\/p>\n

How we got here<\/p>\n

Election Day, early voting, and some absentee results began pouring in after polls closed at 9 p.m. on a swelteringly hot Tuesday. Turnout from early voting and Election Day combined appeared on pace to exceed<\/a> that of the 2021 mayoral election.<\/p>\n

The Election Night results capped off a packed and acrimonious Democratic primary sparked by the scandals that consumed current Mayor Adams\u2019 first term \u2014 including his now-dismissed indictment on federal corruption charges<\/a> and political alliance with President Trump.<\/p>\n

Hizzoner was not on the ballot Tuesday since he chose to run as an independent in the November<\/a> general election instead \u2014 meaning he will face whomever ultimately wins the primary.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, a previously little-known state lawmaker, far exceeded expectations in becoming the race\u2019s progressive standard bearer and likely winner.\n<\/p>\n

\"\"\n<\/p>\n

His simple campaign message<\/a> \u2014 built around freezing the rent for the city\u2019s one million stabilized tenants, making public buses free and fast, and expanding free child care to be universal \u2014 galvanized young supporters.<\/p>\n

While Mamdani\u2019s campaign at first seemed like a pipe dream, he caught up to Cuomo in the polls in the final weeks of the race and surpassed the former governor in a Monday Emerson College poll<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mamdani has been a prolific fundraiser<\/a>, hitting the $8.3 million public matching funds spending cap before any of his rivals. His campaign says it has knocked on over 1 million doors across the city and has over 50,000 volunteers.<\/p>\n

The Assembly member also successfully consolidated other progressives in the race behind his campaign. In addition to US Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/a>, he was the top choice of the New York Working Families Party and US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens\/Bronx).<\/a><\/p>\n

The WFP also encouraged voters to rank<\/a> Lander, Speaker Adams, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, and former Bronx Assembly Member Michael Blake in the second, third, fourth, and fifth spots.<\/p>\n

Cuomo\u2019s concession comes after he had dominated the race since making his late-stage entrance in early March.<\/a> He consistently led in the polls up until the days prior to the election, swept up support among establishment Democrat<\/a>s and labor unions<\/a>, and raised millions of dollars both through his campaign and a super PAC backing it \u2014 named \u201cFix the City.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former governor ran on the message that he will \u201csave\u201d a city \u201cin crisis,\u201d referring to issues such as fears around crime, homelessness, and the high cost of living. He argued that his 11 years as governor made him the best candidate to quickly make the city safer, build more affordable housing, and beat back threats posed by President Trump.<\/p>\n

The final weeks of the campaign saw increasingly ugly attacks<\/a> between Cuomo, Mamdani, and other candidates aligned against the former governor. Both candidates have accused the other of not being fit to be mayor.<\/p>\n

Cuomo went all out in painting Mamdani as a political novice who would get steamrolled by Trump. The former governor also slammed the lawmaker\u2019s frequent criticisms of Israel, implying that he is antisemitic.<\/p>\n

Cuomo got a powerful assist from Fix the City,<\/a> which has been blanketing the airwaves with ads depicting Mamdani as dangerous for the city.<\/p>\n

\"\"Assembly Member and mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters at his Election Night party in Long Island City, Queens. Wednesday, June 25, 2025.Photo By Dean Moses<\/p>\n

In turn, Mamdani ripped Cuomo as a corrupt and disgraced politician<\/a> beholden only to the wealthy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He had blasted Cuomo over Fix the City raising more than $25 million<\/a> \u2014 the most of any such PAC in city history. The independent expenditure has drawn contributions from billionaire donors, including former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Bill Ackman, a Trump-aligned hedge fund manager.<\/p>\n

Mamdani, along with other progressive candidates, had also relentlessly slammed Cuomo for his sexual harassment scandal and his widely criticized handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Democratic socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani appears to have defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and eight other candidates…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,5297,13572,13573,13574,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,9895,80,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-12813","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-andrew-cuomo","10":"tag-assembly-member-zohran-mamdani","11":"tag-board-of-elections","12":"tag-democratic-primary-in-nyc","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-nyc-mayors-race","20":"tag-politics","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114742611785230609","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}