New York. Zohran Mamdani has won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, a new vote count confirmed Tuesday, cementing his stunning upset of former Governor Andrew Cuomo and sending him to the general election.

The Associated Press called the race after the results of the city’s ranked-choice voting tabulation were released and showed Mamdani trouncing Cuomo by 12 percentage points.

Mamdani said he was humbled by the support he received in the primary and has started turning his attention to November.

“Last Tuesday, Democrats spoke in a clear voice, delivering a mandate for an affordable city, a politics of the future, and a leader unafraid to fight back against rising authoritarianism," he said in a statement.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state Assembly since 2021, was virtually unknown when he launched his candidacy centered on a bold slate of populist ideas. But he built an energetic campaign that ran circles around Cuomo as the older, more moderate Democrat tried to come back from the sexual harassment scandal that led to his resignation four years ago.

Mamdani's win had been widely expected since he took a commanding lead and declared victory after the polls closed a week ago, but fell just short of the 50 percent of the vote needed to avoid another count under the ranked choice voting model. The system allows voters’ other preferences to be counted if their top candidate falls out of the running.

He will now face a general election field that includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams as well as independent candidate Jim Walden and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

The Former Governor, Down but Not Out
Cuomo conceded defeat on the night of the primary but is contemplating whether to run in the general election on an independent ballot line.

After the release of Tuesday's vote count, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said: "We’ll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps.”

“Extremism, division and empty promises are not the answer to this city’s problems, and while this was a look at what motivates a slice of our primary electorate, it does not represent the majority," Azzopardi said.

The results of the primary have already sent a shockwave through the political world.

Mamdani’s campaign -- focused on lowering the cost of living, promising free city buses, free child care, a rent freeze for people living in rent-stabilized apartments, government-run grocery stores and more, all paid for with taxes on the wealthy -- claims it has found a new blueprint for Democrats who have at times appeared rudderless during President Donald Trump’s climb back to power.

The Democratic establishment has approached Mamdani with caution. Many of its big players applauded his campaign but don’t seem ready to throw their full support behind the young progressive, whose past criticisms of law enforcement, use of the word “genocide” to describe the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and “democratic socialist” label amount to landmines for some in the party.

Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani came to the United States at age 7 and became a citizen in 2018. If elected, he would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its first of Indian American descent. He would also be one of its youngest.

Cuomo's campaign centered on his extensive experience, casting himself as the only candidate capable of saving a city he said had spun out of control. He focused heavily on combating antisemitism and leaned on his name recognition and juggernaut fundraising operation rather than mingling with voters. He denied the sexual harassment allegations that ended his tenure as governor, maintaining that the scandal was driven by politics and that voters were ready to move on.

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