Cuomo concedes NYC mayoral primary to left wing progressive Mamdani

Zohran Mamdani rallied young and left-leaning voters and landed endorsements from Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo were head to head in the primary until Mr Cuomo conceded.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo called to offer congratulations to Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday night after his progressive rival racked up a significant lead in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary.

Cuomo’s team said he would look at the numbers and “leave the door open for November,” suggesting he could run again in the general election, without ranked-choice voting.

Mamdani had about 43 per cent of the counted vote after polls closed at 9pm, according to preliminary results from the city’s Board of Elections. Cuomo had about 36 per cent of the ballots counted. Mamdani had over 425,000 votes, compared with Cuomo’s roughly 350,000, with nearly 95 per cent of votes counted, the elections board said.

“Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo told supporters. “Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night and he put together a great campaign and he touched young people and he inspired them.” City Comptroller Brad Lander was in a distant third place with around 12 per cent of the vote, followed by City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams with over 4 per cent, according to the elections board.

The Board of Elections isn’t expected to call the final result until at least July 1, the last day the board can receive mail-in ballots. Only registered Democratic voters were allowed to vote in the party’s primary, which had a field of more than a half-dozen candidates.

In the ranked-choice contest, voters can list up to five candidates in order of preference. A candidate needs more than 50 per cent support to win. If no one hits that benchmark, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated. Voters with that person as their top pick will have those votes transferred to their next highest ranked candidate. The process continues until one candidate reaches a majority. In 2021, Mayor Eric Adams won after several rounds.

A progressive favourite, Mamdani has rallied young and left-leaning voters with vows to make buses free, invest $70 billion in publicly subsidised housing, freeze rents on rent-stabilised apartments and more. He landed endorsements from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“This is marking kind of a generational shift in the politics of the greater New York City area,” said John Gershman, a public-service professor who works on democracy- and election-related issues at New York University.

Voters braved sweltering heat that topped 100 degrees (38C) in parts of the city to cast ballots for primaries that include City Council races and other positions, according to the city’s Board of Elections. More than 380,000 early votes were received between June 14 and June 22. The scorching temperatures raised concern that some voters, especially older ones, might stay home, which would likely affect Cuomo the most, analysts said.

Mamdani vs. Cuomo Emma Moore, a 27-year-old graphic designer who cast her ballot Sunday on the last day of early voting, said she supported Mamdani because of his promises to make the city affordable.

“It’s the first time I’ve been excited in a long time,” she said. Mamdani, 33, and Cuomo, 67, were the top contenders in a crowded mayoral race. Cuomo’s competitors encouraged voters to leave his name off the ballot to torpedo his chances.

The leading moderate candidate, Cuomo is fighting for his political redemption after he resigned as New York governor in 2021. His Albany ouster came after a series of sexual-harassment claims that he has denied and allegations of mishandling nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. He launched his comeback mayoral campaign in March and secured endorsements from some trade unions, former President Bill Clinton and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a prominent fellow moderate.

Cuomo had polled at the front of the field for most of the race, but surveys over the past month showed Mamdani closing the gap. On Monday, Emerson College Polling put Cuomo ahead of Mamdani by 3 points, within the margin of error, but projected Mamdani would win after eight rounds. In Emerson’s February poll, Cuomo was 32 points ahead of Mamdani.

Taylor Telyan, a 36-year-old tailor on the Upper East Side, said she ranked Mamdani No. 1. She said she didn’t think Cuomo would stand up to President Trump as he once had.

“He’s awful,” she said. “I think we had a lot of hope in him in the beginning of the pandemic, and then honestly, I think his ego got to him.” After the primary The Democratic primary winner will still face competition in the November general election. Along with the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, and an independent, Jim Walden, the Democratic nominee will need to beat Mayor Adams. The embattled incumbent opted to skip the primary and run in November under party lines he created: “Safe & Affordable” and “EndAntiSemitism.” He faces tough re-election odds after legal trouble last year.

Several progressive candidates, including Mamdani, cross-endorsed each other in the primary. Mamdani, Lander, Speaker Adams and Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie are on the progressive slate backed by the Working Families Party, which asked voters to rank all four. The “Don’t Rank Cuomo” strategy will likely help Mamdani the most as ranked-choice results are tallied.

Voters on Tuesday also ranked their choices for city comptroller, public advocate, borough president and City Council.

Gershman of NYU said it is possible Cuomo will also run in the general election in November under his own party, which he petitioned to get on the ballot in May.

“Although in most cases the primary is the election that matters, given our current situation we may have a very interesting general election,” he said.

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