Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded a hotly contested New York Democratic mayoral primary, leaving Zohran Mamdani as the presumptive winner of the race.
The Associated Press has not officially declared a winner as New York uses ranked-choice voting, which asks voters to rank the candidates in order. Candidates are eliminated one by one until someone emerges with 50% of the vote. As of early Wednesday, Mamdani had 43.5% of the vote to Cuomo's 36.4%.
The candidate who emerges from the Democratic primary is expected to be favored in November's general election. Cuomo has hinted that he might still mount a general election campaign, running as a third-party candidate.
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"Tonight was not our night," Cuomo said. "Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night, and he put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote, and he really ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him. I congratulated him. I applaud him, sincerely, for his effort."
Mamdani declared victory on Tuesday.
“Today, eight months after launching this campaign with the vision of a city that every New Yorker could afford, we have won," he told supporters.
The 33-year-old has been in the New York State Assembly since 2021. He considers himself a Democratic Socialist and has aligned himself with the likes of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ocasio-Cortez congratulated Mamdani for winning the primary.
"Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city," she said. "Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system."
Among those likely not advancing to the November general election was New York Comptroller Brad Lander, who was detained earlier this month outside an immigration court.
What's next?
Election officials said it could take a few weeks to certify a winner from the primary.
Assuming Mamdani won Tuesday's primary, he will face current New York Mayor Eric Adams in the general election. Adams, previously a Democrat, opted to run as an independent and bypass the Democratic primary.
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Adams recently had his bribery and fraud charges dropped by the Trump administration.
Cuomo has said he would launch an independent campaign as he also vied for the Democratic nomination, claiming he can earn votes from Republican and independent voters.
Cuomo's entry into the mayoral election came four years after he resigned following an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who concluded that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Numerous Democratic Party leaders, including President Joe Biden, urged Cuomo to resign. Cuomo was about halfway through his third term as governor when he resigned.
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Mamdani was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, moving to New York at age 7. After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science and later Bowdoin College, he became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2018.
In 2021, he became the third Muslim to ever serve in the New York State Assembly. Prior to elected office, he was a foreclosure prevention housing counselor, "helping low-income homeowners of color across Queens fight off eviction and stay in their homes."
