Cuomo concedes to upstart Mamdani in New York mayor primary

New York: Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo has conceded to his upstart rival Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary in the race to become mayor of New York City.

Mamdani, 33, and Cuomo, 67, have offered New York voters starkly different visions on taxes and policing in a race that has at times mirrored the divisions roiling the Democratic Party nationally.

Zohran Mamdani, a former state legislator, has run a grassroots campaign that has tapped into voter dissatisfaction.Credit: Bloomberg

The election has also become a microcosm of New Yorkers’ views on ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, with Cuomo pledging support for Israel as Mamdani criticised the wars in Gaza and Iran.

“Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo told supporters on Wednesday AEST. “I want to applaud the [Mamdani] for a really smart and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”

The former governor, the oldest and most experienced candidate, pitched himself as a seasoned moderate who could manage the city’s problems – from subway crime to a universally acknowledged housing affordability crisis.

Mamdani, a former state legislator, has run a grassroots campaign that has tapped into voter dissatisfaction while connecting to wider political causes in the Middle East.

The race’s ultimate outcome could say something about what kind of leader Democrats are looking for during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Jubilant Mamdani supporters celebrate as election results trickle in.Credit: AP

As news broke of Cuomo’s concession, Mamdani supporters erupted into the chorus from Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.

The race will ultimately be decided by a ranked-choice tabulation after neither Democrat got a clear majority. With more than 90 per cent of ballots counted, preliminary results showed democratic socialist Mamdani ahead of Cuomo by 43.5 per cent to 36.3 per cent in the first round of voting.

Mamdani was also ranked second on more ballots than Cuomo, narrowing Cuomo’s path to catch up.

The next rounds of vote tallying are due to take place on July 1.

But a tally for Cuomo below 40 per cent would mean the former governor is in “real trouble” in the later stages, said veteran political consultant Jerry Skurnik of campaign consultants Engage Voters US before the results were known.

Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected.

Incumbent Democrat Mayor Eric Adams skipped the primary and will run as an independent in the general election amid the fallout over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by Trump’s Justice Department.

‘The surge by Mamdani is something I’ve never seen before in New York City politics’

J.C. Polanco, political analyst

Cuomo also has the option of running as an independent in the general election.

“We are going to take a look and make some decisions,” Cuomo said. The vote takes place about four years after he resigned as New York governor following sexual harassment allegations, which he denied.

Despite that, Cuomo has been the favourite throughout the race, with his deep experience, name recognition, strong political connections and juggernaut fundraising apparatus.

The party’s progressive wing, meanwhile, has coalesced behind the fresh-faced Mamdani, a relative unknown when the contest began.

Mamdani has gained momentum by running a sharp campaign laser-focused on the city’s high cost of living, and has won the backing of two of the country’s foremost progressives, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.

Mamdani’s grassroots campaign has connected with voters unhappy at the cost of living and shortage of affordable housing. Credit: AP

“The surge by Mamdani is something I’ve never seen before in New York City politics,” J.C. Polanco, a political analyst at the University of Mount Saint Vincent, said before the results were known.

“It’s been an incredible campaign that understood social media and marketing like no other.”

Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, will also be on the ballot in the November general election.

The rest of the pack has struggled to gain recognition in a race where nearly every candidate has cast themselves as the person best positioned to challenge Trump’s agenda.

Cuomo served as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under president Bill Clinton, who has endorsed him in his mayoral run, and New York state attorney-general. He served nearly three terms as governor before resigning.

Rent freeze and free buses

If elected, Mamdani has pledged to freeze rents, make city buses free by raising the state corporate tax rate, and impose a 2 per cent income tax on city residents who earn more than $US1 million a year. The moves would require state approval.

Andrew Cuomo says Mamdani’s plans would trigger an exodus of wealthy New Yorkers.Credit: AP

Cuomo says Mamdani’s plans would cause an exodus of wealthy residents to states like Florida and Texas.

“You elect a socialist who tries to give everything away free, doubles the taxes on the wealthy, and the wealthy say, ‘That’s it, I’m gone,’” Cuomo said in an interview on Bloomberg Radio on June 9.

Mamdani, an activist for Palestinian causes, has also faced questions over his ability to lead the largest population of Jews outside of Israel.

He has refused to say that he supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum issued a statement condemning Mamdani’s defence of the use of the phrase “globalise the intifada,” a reference to the armed Palestinian uprisings against Israel.

Bloomberg, AP

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