Zohran Mamdani clinches Democratic NYC mayoral primary in ranked-choice instant runoff

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NEW YORK − State Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani has won the the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor after instant runoff results showed the young progressive winning 56%-44% over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Although Mamdani has been the presumed winner since he finished 7 percentage points ahead of Cuomo on June 24, his 44% of first-place votes fell short of the majority needed to actually win.

Under the city's ranked choice voting system, with voters allowed to rank up to five candidates in their preferred order, the New York City Board of Elections released calculations showing Mamdani, 33, picked up more votes than Cuomo from those who had ranked one of the other nine candidates first. The Associated Press called the race for Mamdani on July 1 shortly after those results were announced.

The nomination will become official on July 14 after affidavit ballots, which are not going to change the outcome, have been counted.

Mamdani's victory, which the former governor conceded on election night, marked a shocking upset in Democratic politics.

The latest results gave Mamdani an even more decisive win as votes from the nine candidates who received fewer first-place votes were transferred to whoever they ranked higher, Mamdani or Cuomo. More than 1 million New Yorkers voted in the election, with large increases among younger voters.

"This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable," Mamdani tweeted. "And we will do it together."

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, drew national attention for beating Cuomo, the 67-year-old Democrat and the initial frontrunner. The victory now makes Mamdani, once the leftist long shot in the primary, the leader in the crowded race for mayor in the Nov. 4 general election, which also includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.

Adams, a centrist Democrat, avoided the primary and is running as an independent after being mired in scandals.

In the days since his victory, Mamdani has faced attacks from Republicans and conservatives for his faith as a Muslim, been falsely labeled a communist, and received a tepid welcome from many mainstream Democrats. President Donald Trump, a New York City native, has launched attacks against the Democratic nominee, including calling for his arrest and falsely suggesting he is in the United States illegally. Mamdani, born in Uganda, is a naturalized citizen.

Endorsed by fellow democratic socialists Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mamdani campaigned heavily on a message of addressing affordability in the notoriously expensive city.

His policy proposals include freezing rents on rent-stabilized apartments, free city buses and expanding child care. Critics have questioned how the mayor could enact such policies without the ability to levy taxes absent the state government's permission.

Mamdani's campaign drew large numbers of new voters, while making gains in Asian American, Latino and progressive white communities. He and a slate of candidates began to cross-endorse each other under the city’s ranked choice system to block what was seen as an inevitable Cuomo mayoralty.

Mamdani formed a key alliance with city Comptroller Brad Lander, who stood by Mamdani’s side on election night. Lander, an experienced, progressive politician who is Jewish, could help Mamdani in the days ahead to help secure support among many Jewish New Yorkers in the city with the largest Jewish community outside of Israel. Results showed Mamdani expanded his coalition among many Jewish communities.

Mamdani faced criticism for his opposition to Israel as a Jewish state while refusing to condemn controversial phrases such as "globalize the intifada." Although Mamdani doesn't use the phrase, he has critiqued Israel's treatment of Palestinians and said Israel has a right to exist with equal rights for all.

Cuomo, a three-term governor who resigned in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment and abuse of power, received substantial support among outer-borough Black, Latino and Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods, as well as ultra-wealthy enclaves like Manhattan's Upper East Side. However, Cuomo did little outreach to voters or other candidates to expand his support.

Cuomo’s name will remain on the ballot in the November election. Cuomo hasn’t decided whether he will fully campaign as a third-party candidate against Mamdani and a slate of other independent and Republican candidates.

In a statement, Cuomo said young voters and others who had never voted before that changed the overall electorate. He didn't commit to staying in the race to November, though he pointed to receiving more votes than Adams, who won the primary in 2021, the first time the city used ranked choice voting. That election had lower turnout.

"We’ll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps," Cuomo said.

Adams, the scandal-plagued moderate incumbent, remains deeply unpopular after corruption probes ensnared his administration. Federal prosecutors also indicted Adams in a corruption case, before he was accused of negotiating with the Trump administration to drop the criminal charges. Adams denies any wrongdoing.

Trump spoke highly of Adams as "a very good person," in his July 1 press conference.

"I helped him out a little bit," the president said of Adams, referring to the mayor's legal trouble.

Adams hopes to rebuild the working-class coalition of Black, Latino and Orthodox Jewish New Yorkers that narrowly won him the Democratic primary.

In the race to November, Adams also hopes to draw in Republicans opposed to Mamdani, though Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the GOP nominee, has said he won't drop out.

As Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa jockey for moderate or conservative lanes, the Democratic nominee − in this case, Mamdani − is usually the prohibitive favorite in the heavily Democratic city.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.