Zohran Mamdani is set to become the Democratic candidate in New York City’s upcoming mayoral election, after delivering a shocking upset against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who long led polls in the primary race but conceded Tuesday night before the votes were even finished being counted as it became clear that Mamdani possessed a commanding and insurmountable lead.
“Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo told his supporters, adding of Mamdani: “Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]It’s unclear if Cuomo will run as an independent in the November election.
Mamdani, 33, is a Democratic Socialist state assemblymember. He emerged victorious from the contentious primary after running a largely grassroots campaign focused on reducing the cost of living for New Yorkers. The Uganda-born politician has touted plans including the launch of city-owned grocery stories, free buses, and free childcare for city residents up to age 5.
The Democratic candidate for New York City’s mayor will likely be the city’s next leader, as Democrats have won the last three mayoral elections. Mamdani’s success comes in part due to endorsements by popular progressive candidates, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Local groups including immigrant rights nonprofit Make The Road Action New York, and Teamsters Local 804 have also supported Mamdani. His campaign attracted thousands of individual donors and volunteers.
Read More: What to Know About New York Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani
The state assemblymember surged in the polls in recent weeks and was shown advancing ahead of Cuomo, who served as governor for a decade, in a major independent polling simulation survey by Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill published a day before the election. Polling for the survey took in mind the ranked-choice voting system used by voters.
Cuomo’s win would have marked his comeback to civil leadership after his 2021 resignation as governor following a series of sexual harassment allegations made by more than a dozen women. An investigation into Cuomo by the New York Attorney General’s Office found that he had sexually harassed a number of employees and made a “hostile work environment for women.” Cuomo has denied the most serious accusations levied against him, but has acknowledged that he “acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable.”
Mamdani will face current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is running in the race as an independent, as well as Republican Curtis Sliwa and another independent campaign by Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor, in November’s election.
Here’s what to know.
How does ranked choice voting work?
New York City uses a ranked-choice voting process to elect the mayor, comptroller, borough president, and other elected officials. Under this system, voters can rank their top five candidates for a position.
Voters also have the option to vote for one candidate, or rank fewer than five, if they so choose.
Candidates who receive more than 50% of first-choice votes win the election. But if there is no candidate that receives a majority of the first-choice votes, then votes are tallied in rounds. The candidate with the least amount of votes in the prior round is eliminated, and voters who ranked that candidate at the top of their remaining choices will instead have their vote count towards their next preferred choice. That process continues until it comes down to two candidates, at which point the person with the most votes will win.
What happens next?
Mamdani’s win is just the start of the general election. Tuesday’s vote was merely a primary to determine who will be representing the Democratic Party. The winner must now compete against Sliwa, the sole Republican candidate running in the race, as well as the independent candidates. Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, a group that encourages civilian patrol of the streets, has identified himself as an anti-Trump Republican who wants greater safety in the city.
Sliwa lost to Adams, whose term officially ends on Jan. 1, during the last election in 2021.
The next mayor will be chosen on Nov. 4. Voters will once again be able to rank multiple candidates in the general election.
What about Eric Adams?
Adams, who campaigned and won as a Democrat in 2021, was notably absent from Tuesday’s ballot, though he is still running for reelection.
Adams’s tenure in office has been clouded in scandal after he was charged with bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and taking campaign contributions from foreign nationals in his previous mayoral campaign. The federal indictment, which was unsealed last September, claims that Adams gave “favorable treatment” to officials who gave money or other contributions to his campaign. Though he faced pressure to resign, the mayor did not heed calls to step down and has maintained his innocence.
The Department of Justice, which levied the charges against Adams, dropped their case against the mayor in April, saying that it would interfere with his ability to implement the Trump Administration’s immigration policies. The judge that granted the dismissal called it “disturbing.” “Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” the judge wrote, according to the Associated Press.
That same month, Adams withdrew his candidacy for the Democratic primary, saying the legal battle had prevented him from effectively campaigning. “I’m in the race to the end. I’m not running on the Democratic line. It’s just not realistic to turn around my numbers and to run a good campaign [from] where we are right now,” Adams told Politico.
Adams says he still aligns with the Democratic Party.
How frequent are mayoral elections in NYC?
Mayoral elections for New York City are held every four years.
Mayors can serve up to two consecutive four-year terms. Term limits restrict candidates from running for a third term unless a different candidate has served at least one term in between the time the mayor “last held such office,” per the New York City Charter.
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