*Event date: 2025-06-24*
Zohran Mamdani has taken a surprise lead in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, putting the 33-year-old state assembly member on course to defeat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a race that had been expected to be much closer to the party establishment's preferred outcome, AP reported. With 95% of first-place votes counted, Mamdani was ahead 44% to 36%, and Cuomo conceded less than 90 minutes after polls closed.
The result was still not final when Cuomo stepped aside, because the city uses ranked-choice voting and an instant-runoff count would be needed in July to make the outcome official. But the shape of that runoff already appeared to favor Mamdani. He was expected to pick up support from voters who ranked Brad Lander, the city comptroller, second. Lander finished third with 11% of first-place votes and had cross-endorsed Mamdani, urging supporters to rank the other first and second.
Mamdani's rise marks a generational and ideological shift. At 33, he is running as a Democratic Socialist and promises to freeze rents in regulated apartments and make buses free. Cuomo, 67, campaigned as a centrist and argued for more police and more private housing construction. The two men represented opposite poles in an 11-candidate field, turning the primary into a referendum on affordability, public safety and how aggressively New York should confront President Donald Trump. If Mamdani wins the general election, he would become the city's first Muslim mayor and its first Asian American mayor.
The campaign drew extraordinary money into Cuomo's corner. A super PAC backing him spent $24 million, much of it raised from donors who also support Trump, including hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, real estate executive Steven Roth and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. That level of spending underlined how much business interests and political veterans viewed the race as a fight over the city's direction. It also made Mamdani's lead more striking because he was powered less by that kind of institutional machine and more by a sharply focused message on affordability.
Cuomo's path had already looked like a comeback story after he resigned as governor in 2021 amid scandals involving nursing home deaths and allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies. He moved back to New York City after years away and entered the race as an early front-runner. But his edge faded as Mamdani built momentum, and late polls suggested the challenger could even win the instant-runoff round. The result on primary night made that possibility feel far more real.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams was absent from the Democratic primary altogether, having dropped out to run as an independent in the general election. He has been weakened by sagging approval ratings and a 2024 federal corruption indictment that was later dropped by the Justice Department. Cuomo has also left himself an opening to continue as an independent under the newly created Fight and Deliver Party line, and he said he would consult others before deciding whether to stay in the race.
The political response was immediate and sharp. Republican leaders denounced Mamdani as too far left, with state GOP Chair Ed Cox calling the result alarming and Rep. Elise Stefanik describing him in highly charged terms. Mamdani has walked back earlier use of the phrase "defund the police" and denies antisemitism accusations related to his criticism of Israel's policies toward Palestinians. In his victory speech, he stressed partnership, sincerity and affordability, saying the city should be governed as a model for the Democratic Party and led by working-class priorities rather than elite consensus.
For now, the biggest story in New York politics is that Mamdani moved from insurgent to apparent nominee in one night. The official result still depends on ranked-choice counting, but Cuomo's concession made one thing plain: the race has already shifted from whether Mamdani could win to what his lead says about the future direction of the city's Democrats.
