In a shocking twist late Tuesday night, former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) conceded the Democratic primary race for New York City Mayor to Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D) before votes were even finished being tallied. Mamdani received 43% of the vote, while Cuomo received 36%. Due to no one candidate receiving 50% of the vote, the race will be formally decided by the ranked choice system.
Eleven candidates competed in the Democratic primary to challenge incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who earlier this year announced he would run as an Independent following an indictment on bribery and other charges. Mamdani and Cuomo were the front runners leading up to the primary. While Cuomo’s wide name recognition and significant funding had originally put him in a comfortable position in the polls, the lesser-known Mamdani closed the gap in the days leading up to the primary as his campaign gained traction, particularly on social media. The primary was the third time New York City used ranked choice voting due to an amendment in the City Charter approved in 2019. Under this system, voters are allowed to rank up to five candidates, and if their first-choice candidate is eliminated, then their vote is transferred to their next chosen candidate. This system applies only to primary and special elections.
Mamdani is currently serving his third term representing New York’s 36th Assembly District. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City at the age of 7. Prior to his time in the Assembly, Mamdani worked as a foreclosure prevention housing counselor.
For his mayoral campaign, he has positioned himself as a Democratic Socialist candidate, vowing to address housing, safety, affordability, small business, libraries, and education. He has named affordability as one of his top priorities, with proposals to create city-owned grocery stores, eliminate the city bus fare, ban non-compete clauses, and implement free childcare between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years old. To address the housing crisis, Mamdani has promised to freeze the rent for all stabilized tenants, construct 200,000 new affordable housing units over the next 10 years, and create a new Office of Deed Theft Prevention. His revenue plan includes raising the corporate tax to 11.5% and enacting a flat 2% tax on those earning above $1 million annually.
Community activist Curtis Sliwa (R) – founder of the Guardian Angels – ran unopposed in the Republican primary and will appear on the ballot in the November general election. Sliwa has framed himself as the “outer borough mayor” and has focused his campaign on public safety and property rights. He previously launched an unfavorable bid for mayor in 2021, ultimately losing to Adams by a margin of 43 percentage points.
It is uncertain whether Cuomo plans to run in the November election on an Independent ticket.