Zohran Mamdani “put together a great campaign,” his chief opponent, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, said on Tuesday night.

Zohran Mamdani, a little-known state lawmaker whose progressive platform and campaign trail charisma electrified younger voters, stunned former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City on Tuesday night, building a lead so commanding that Mr. Cuomo conceded.

Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, tapped into a current of anxiety around New York City’s growing affordability crisis. His joyful campaign brought new voters into the fold who rejected the scandal-scarred Mr. Cuomo’s ominous characterizations of the city and embraced an economic platform that included everything from free bus service and child care to publicly owned grocery stores.

The decisiveness of New Yorkers’ swing toward Mr. Mamdani reverberated across the party and the country, at a time when Democrats nationally are searching for an answer to President Trump and are disillusioned with their own leaders.

The outcome was not official, but Mr. Cuomo acknowledged his apparent defeat in a concession speech. “He won,” Mr. Cuomo told his supporters roughly 80 minutes after polls had closed and said he had congratulated Mr. Mamdani.

“Tonight was not our night,” he said, appearing deflated. “Tonight was Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s night.”

With 92 percent of the results in, Mr. Mamdani was the first choice of 43.5 percent of voters. Mr. Cuomo was in second place as the first choice of 36.4 percent of voters.

The official outcome still awaits the tabulation next Tuesday of ranked choices under the city’s relatively new voting system. Mr. Cuomo, who has collected signatures to run on a third-party line in November, conspicuously did not vow to carry on his campaign in the general election.

“I wanted to look at the numbers and the ranked-choice voting to decide about what to do in the future, because I’m also on an independent line,” he said in an interview with The New York Times. “And that’s the decision.”

Image Credit… Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times

A candidate must clear 50 percent of the vote on primary night to be declared winner; the final result is not expected until July 1, when voters’ alternative choices are taken into account.

It is expected to be exceedingly difficult for Mr. Cuomo to narrow the gap in the ranked-choice elimination rounds. Several candidates encouraged their supporters to list Mr. Mamdani on their ballots and to leave Mr. Cuomo’s name off, as did the Working Families Party and other left-leaning groups.

Political strategists agreed with Mr. Cuomo that he could not overcome Mr. Mamdani’s lead.

“This is the biggest upset in modern New York City history,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist.

The race had been volatile and bitter, with the two leading Democrats offering starkly different visions for the city and reflecting a generational divide in their party. Mr. Mamdani embodied energy and charisma, attracting droves of young, left-leaning New Yorkers; Mr. Cuomo represented the party’s older guard and ran a conservative rose-garden campaign, limiting his public appearances to churches and synagogues and supportive union halls.

The contest seemed to invigorate voters, with more than twice as many New Yorkers choosing to cast their ballots early in this year’s mayoral primary compared with the last mayoral primary in 2021.

In his concession speech, Mr. Cuomo congratulated Mr. Mamdani for running “a great campaign.”

“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,” Mr. Cuomo said. “I called him, I congratulated him. I applaud him sincerely for his effort.”

Image Mr. Mamdani galvanized young voters who were eager for change. Credit… Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Cuomo, 67, both pledged to stand up to President Trump and to alleviate voters’ concerns over affordability and public safety. But they have diverged over how to accomplish those goals and fiercely attacked one another over their experience, character, donors and the conflict in the Middle East. Millions of dollars in negative television advertisement have filled the airwaves this month.

Mr. Mamdani’s left-leaning policies and open socialist affiliation would represent a sharp directional change for New York City, and some of his proposals would be likely to face opposition from Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers. Mr. Mamdani has proposed paying for his proposals, which also include freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments and publicly financing vast amounts of new housing, by raising $10 billion in new revenue through taxes on businesses and the wealthy.

The race has captured national attention as a battle between the left wing of the Democratic Party and more traditional moderates. Mr. Mamdani, who would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and the youngest in a century, was endorsed by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York; Mr. Cuomo was endorsed by former President Bill Clinton and much of the local party establishment.

The former governor also benefited from a $30 million crush in outside spending from wealthy business interests, including former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, which buried Mr. Mamdani in attack ads. Mr. Mamdani, in contrast, had the highest number of individual donors in the race.

Mr. Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 following allegations of sexual harassment that he denies, led in the polls for months. But Mr. Mamdani gained momentum with younger voters by focusing on a message that the city was unaffordable, spreading it through viral social media videos.

Brad Lander, the city comptroller, was in third place on Tuesday night with 11.3 percent; Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, was in fourth place with 4.1 percent.

If Mr. Mamdani wins the primary, he will be positioned as the de facto front-runner in the general election in November. Other candidates include Mayor Eric Adams, who has record low approval ratings and is running as an independent. Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, is the Republican candidate. Mr. Cuomo may run on an independent ballot line; Jim Walden is also running as an independent.

Voters seemed deeply divided as they visited the polls in sweltering weather on Tuesday. Many younger New Yorkers expressed enthusiasm for Mr. Mamdani.

Yadelis Avila, 22, a daughter of Dominican immigrants in Washington Heights, in Manhattan, said she ranked Mr. Mamdani first and was worried about housing costs.

“I just feel like he’s someone that I could identify with,” she said, adding, “His parents are immigrants, so it’s just like I see myself in him, and I trust him.”

Hakeem Shaheed, 49, a health care worker who voted in Harlem, said he liked Mr. Mamdani’s proposal to freeze rents on nearly one million rent-stabilized units.

“The rent is really important to me because everything else means nothing if you can’t live here,” he said.

Other voters said that Mr. Cuomo had the right experience to be mayor. Elise Fernandez, 45, who lives in Jamaica, Queens, said she wants to the next mayor to address homelessness and traffic woes.

“No one is perfect, but he managed a whole state, so I can see he has the experience to manage and to do good for New York City,” she said.

Rosanne Elibox, 63, a nurse who lives in Co-Op City in the Bronx, ranked Mr. Cuomo first and said she cared most about public safety, sanitation and standing up to Mr. Trump.

“He’s doing some crazy stuff,” she said of the president. “I’m not saying Cuomo is going to turn the table upside down, but he’s more experienced, and I feel that he’ll be steady.”

The primary is the second time New York City has used ranked-choice voting in a mayoral primary. The campaigns scrambled to educate voters about the system, which almost led to an upset against Mr. Adams in 2021. He won the Democratic primary by less than 8,000 votes over Kathryn Garcia, a city sanitation commissioner who was endorsed by another candidate, Andrew Yang.

Mr. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, has had a turbulent first term. He was indicted last year on federal corruption charges that were later dropped by the Trump administration after he struck an alliance with President Trump. Many of the mayor’s advisers were investigated and resigned; others resigned in protest over his cooperation with Mr. Trump.

Several candidates have worked together to try to beat Mr. Cuomo. Mr. Lander cross-endorsed Mr. Mamdani, encouraging his supporters to rank Mr. Mamdani second on their ballots.

Reporting was contributed by Dana Rubinstein , Samantha Latson , Sean Piccoli , Molly Longman , Nate Schweber and Amogh Vaz .

More than 546,000 New York City voters flooded the polls Tuesday despite punishing heat — as a crowded field of mayoral candidates duked it out for the Democratic nomination.

Some 546,167 New Yorkers had cast their ballots as of 7:30 p.m. — an hour-and-a-half before polls closed — with the total turnout coming to a whopping 976,102 when including mail-in and early voting tallies, the city Board of Election said.

An influx of nearly 100,000 votes flowed in just between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., the BOE numbers showed, with many more expected to come out after work hours — putting the total on pace to meet 2021’s roughly a million ballots.

Election workers in some cases were armed only with paper fans – and no air conditioning — to meet the throng of voters as temperatures outside reached nearly 100 degrees in the record-breaking hottest day of the year.

4 A classroom thermometer indicating an inside temperature at a polling station at Taylor Wythe Community Center that is close to 96 F. Gregory P. Mango

“What’s one day sweating if it’s gonna help people?” said Queens voter Dhyan Rajami, who cited high rents as his most important issue — one that has taken center stage in the crowded Democratic mayoral primary.

“I feel like it [voting] had to be done. I care about getting people the resources they need and it’s going to be hot the rest of the summer,” said Rajami, a supporter of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani.

Another voter at air conditioner-less Russell Sage High School in Forest Hills made her voice heard despite suffering heat-related health issues earlier in the day.

“It’s absolutely horrible, I had an asthma attack on the way to work,” Jada, 48, told The Post. “But all day long I’ve been thinking about voting.”

At the Taylor Wythe Community Center polling site in Brooklyn, staffers and voters languished without AC and little water — as the indoor temperature clocked in at 99 degrees in the afternoon.

4 A first time voter shows off her voting sticker after she cast her ballot. Gregory P. Mango

“I just turned 75, I shouldn’t even be out in this kind of heat,” a worker, who did not want to be named, said. “We’ve been here since 5 a.m. It’s cooler outside than it is in here.”

Some workers who live in the NYCHA building went upstairs to get fans from their own homes with the BOE only delivering handheld paper fans for comfort.

“It’s hot as the devil in here,” another poll worker said.

Later in the afternoon, city Emergency Management workers parked an MTA bus outside the site so poll workers could cool off inside on their breaks.

Earlier in the day, panic temporarily set in at Frank Sinatra High School in Queens when the heat and humidity caused ballots to stick together, leading to signal issues with scanners.

The poll site coordinator told The Post they made it work, but the momentary snafu left them “on edge.”

Candidates were also sweating for every last vote as they made 11th-hour pleas for support.

Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander — who cross-endorsed each other earlier this month in a bid to stymie former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — made a final joint appearance at the 72nd Street subway station on the Upper West Side.

The 33-year-old Queens assemblyman scoffed at Cuomo dismissing a new poll that showed the two hopefuls in a near dead-heat after the former governor had led the pack for months.

“Ultimately, what he’s having a hard time getting to grips with is that we are exactly where we want to be,” Mamdani said.

4 Voters on line in the Democratic primary. Michael Nagle

Lander called the joint partnership with Mamdani “something really remarkable” and made clear the top goal was to “add votes together to block Andrew Cuomo.”

“So that we don’t wind up with a corrupt, abusive, bitter, sour politics of the past,” he said, pulling no punches.

The primary is expected to come down to how Lander’s votes split between Mamdani and Cuomo once the comptroller is eliminated from one of the final rounds of ranked-choice voting.

Prior to the cross-endorsement, the majority of Lander’s votes were falling to the ex-gov, but the Emerson College/PIX11 poll released Monday had the ballot breaking for Mamdani, putting him over the edge in the eight round.

Lander’s message was echoed by state Attorney General Letitia James — an arch rival of Cuomo since her office investigated the sexual harassment claims against him that led him to resign in 2021.

James slammed Cuomo in a primary day robocall, accusing him of failing the black community.

“When you vote today, please rank five candidates for mayor. But do not make Andrew Cuomo one of them,” James said.

But Cuomo appeared confident as he voted on the 5th floor of the Art and Design School in Midtown East while accompanied by two of his daughters and his son-in-law.

“It all comes down to today and people have to vote,” he said. “If you look at history, when people don’t vote and only a small number of people vote that’s when you get outcomes that the majority disapproves of.”

He also waved off the heat — which had been believed to work against him as much of his centrist voter base skews older.

“Is it a little warm today? It’s a little warm,” Cuomo insisted. “Is it oppressively hot like they said? I don’t believe so.”

4 Poll workers at one spot without AC were given paper fans. Desheania Andrews/NY Post

Mamdani’s campaign, meanwhile, has been propelled by younger New Yorkers and celebrities, including model Emily Ratajkowski, despite his freebie-filled socialist agenda widely being panned as far-fetched.

“We know it’s hot, but the time is now,” Ratajkowski posted to her 29 million Instagram followers Tuesday while wearing a “Hot Girls For Zohran” T-shirt.

Other races on the ballot included primaries for comptroller, public advocate, Manhattan borough president and several City Council races.

The full results of the ranked-choice primary are not expected until July 1, as only the first round totals will be tabulated on Tuesday night.

One notable name missing from the mayoral primary ballot was Mayor Eric Adams, who is a registered Democrat but is running for re-election on an independent line in the November general election.

The winner of the Democratic nomination will face off then against Adams, GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden. Even if they fail to cinch the Dem nomination, Cuomo and Mamdani could still appear on the general election ballot on different party lines.

Adams still voted at his Brooklyn polling site Tuesday and claimed, perhaps jokingly, he was writing in his name in five times.

“One, two, three, four, five – Eric Adams,” he said. “Five times. I’m looking forward to November.”

— Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts, Zoe Hussain, Mikella Schuettler and Reuven Fenton

Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani arrives at the NBC studios to participate in a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary watch party, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP Supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cheer as they watch results come in at his primary election party, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in New York. Heather Khalifa/AP Supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani fan themselves to keep cool as they watch results come in at his primary election party, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in New York. Heather Khalifa/AP Joined by his daughters, from left, Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, Cara Kennedy-Cuomo, Mariah Kennedy-Cuomo and son-in-law Tellef Lundevall, mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo, center, speaks to supporters during a Democratic primary watch party, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in New York. Yuki Iwamura/AP

NEW YORK (AP) — Zohran Mamdani had a significant lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary Tuesday night, leaving the young liberal upstart poised to land a stunning upset in a race still to be determined by a ranked choice count.

Cuomo, who was trying to make a comeback from a sexual harassment scandal, conceded the contest less than two hours after the polls closed, saying he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.

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“Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” Cuomo told supporters.

The race’s ultimate outcome will be decided by a ranked choice tabulation after neither Democrat got a clear majority in the vote. Mamdani, 33, a democratic socialist member of the state Assembly, held a significant lead with about 90% of ballots counted. Mamdani was also ranked second on more ballots than Cuomo, narrowing Cuomo’s path to catch up.

As news broke of Cuomo’s concession, Mamdani supporters erupted into the chorus from “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”

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Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams skipped the primary. He’s running as an independent in the general election. Cuomo also has the option of running in the general election.

“We are going to take a look and make some decisions,” Cuomo said.

The race’s ultimate outcome could say something about what kind of leader Democrats are looking for during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The vote takes place about four years after Cuomo, 67, resigned as governor following a sexual harassment scandal. Yet he has been the favorite throughout the race, with his deep experience, name recognition, strong political connections and juggernaut fundraising apparatus.

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The party’s progressive wing, meanwhile, had coalesced behind Mamdani. A relatively unknown state legislator when the contest began, Mamdani gained momentum by running a sharp campaign laser-focused on the city’s high cost of living and secured endorsements from two of the country’s foremost progressives, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The primary winner will go on to face incumbent Adams, a Democrat who decided to run as an independent amid a public uproar over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by Trump’s Justice Department. Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, will be on the ballot in the fall’s general election. There is also a possibility that Cuomo runs on the November ballot as an independent candidate.

The mayoral primary’s two leading candidates — one a fresh-faced progressive and the other an older moderate — could be stand-ins for the larger Democratic Party’s ideological divide, though Cuomo’s scandal-scarred past adds a unique tinge to the narrative.

The rest of the pack has struggled to gain recognition in a race where nearly every candidate has cast themselves as the person best positioned to challenge Trump’s agenda.

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Comptroller Brad Lander, a liberal city government stalwart, made a splash last week when he was arrested after linking arms with a man federal agents were trying to detain at an immigration court in Manhattan. It was unclear if that episode was enough to jump-start a campaign that had been failing to pick up speed behind Lander.

Among the other candidates are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson and former city Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Mamdani’s energetic run has been hard not to notice.

His army of young canvassers relentlessly knocked on doors throughout the city seeking support. Posters of his grinning mug were up on shop windows. You couldn’t get on social media without seeing one of his well-produced videos pitching his vision — free buses, free child care, new apartments, a higher minimum wage and more, paid for by new taxes on rich people.

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That youthful energy was apparent Tuesday evening, as both cautiously optimistic canvassers and ecstatic supporters lined the streets of Central Brooklyn, creating a party-like atmosphere that spread from poll sites into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Outside his family’s Caribbean apothecary, Amani Kojo, a 23-year-old first-time voter, passed out iced tea to Mamdani canvassers, encouraging them to stay hydrated.

“It’s 100 degrees outside and it’s a vibe. New York City feels alive again,” Kojo said, raising a pile of Mamdani pamphlets. “It feels very electric seeing all the people around, the flyers, all the posts on my Instagram all day.”

Cuomo and some other Democrats have cast Mamdani as unqualified. They say he doesn’t have the management chops to wrangle the city’s sprawling bureaucracy or handle crises. Critics have also taken aim at Mamdani’s support for Palestinian human rights.

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In response, Mamdani has slammed Cuomo over his sexual harassment scandal and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In one heated debate exchange, Cuomo rattled off a long list of what he saw as Mamdani’s managerial shortcomings, arguing that his opponent, who has been in the state Assembly since 2021, has never dealt with Congress or unions and never overseen an infrastructure project. He added that Mamdani couldn’t be relied upon to go toe-to-toe with Trump.

Mamdani had a counter ready.

“To Mr. Cuomo, I have never had to resign in disgrace,” he said.

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Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a report commissioned by the state attorney general concluded that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women. He has always maintained that he didn’t intentionally harass the women, saying he had simply fallen behind what was considered appropriate workplace conduct.

During the campaign, he has become more aggressive in defending himself, framing the situation as a political hit job orchestrated by his enemies.

The fresh scandal at City Hall involving Mayor Eric Adams, though, gave Cuomo a path to end his exile.

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___

In a remarkable upset, 33-year-old state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani has outperformed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic New York City primary for mayor. Mamdani leads Cuomo 44% to 36% among first-place votes with 96% of ballots counted.

While the outcome won’t be official until the instant runoff conducted with ballots that rank up to five choices is announed in July, Cuomo conceded the nomination less than 90 minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m.

“Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” Cuomo said.

Mamdani’s lead is likely to grow in the instant runoff, because in polls he had far more lower-ranked votes than Cuomo from supporters of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who came in third with 11% of first-place votes.

The Democratic nominee will begin the general election as the favorite in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.

Cuomo, 67, and Mamdani, 33, represented ideological poles in the 11-candidate field, with ex-governor − a centrist who appointed many Republicans to his administration − on its right, and Democratic Socialists of America-member Mamdani on its left.

Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor and its first Asian American mayor.

While Cuomo pledged to hire more police and increase private housing construction, Mamdani excited progressives with promises to freeze rents in regulated apartments and make buses free.

The battle between the two of them, and a host of other local officials, on who can best stand up to President Donald Trump, lower the city’s housing costs, and remove homeless people from the streets and subways drew big spending from billionaires on Cuomo’s behalf. A Super PAC backing Cuomo spent $24 million, much of it raised from Trump donors such as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and real estate executive Steven Roth, along with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Winning would have been a startling resurrection for Cuomo, a three-term governor who resigned in 2021 amid scandals including covering up nursing home deaths and numerous allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.

Cuomo recently moved back to New York City for the first time in three decades, and launched a run for mayor, becoming an instant frontrunner. Many elected officials who condemnded him in 2021 endorsed him for mayor this year.

But while he led in polls throughout the race, Cuomo’s lead gradually diminished. A June 23 Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released June 23 showed Mamdani edging him out in the final round of the instant runoff that will use the city’s ranked-choice voting system to determine a winner. Betting markets, which showed Cuomo with a far greater chance of winning until just the day before the election, tightened considerably.

Notably absent from the ballot was incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who dropped out of the primary to run as an independent in the general election. Adams has seen sagging approval numbers since his 2024 criminal indictment on federal corruption charges. He subsequently aligned himself increasingly with Trump, whose Department of Justice dropped the charges.

Adams won’t be the only independent candidate in November. In addition to attorney Jim Walden, Cuomo currently has a line on the November ballot as the nominee of the newly invented Fight and Deliver Party ballot line. It is not clear if he will continue that campaign.

Cuomo said he “would make some decisions” in his concession speech.

‘He gave us something to believe in’

Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a left-leaning Democrat who represents a Brooklyn-based district, spoke at Mamdani’s election night party. She said Mamdani won with a simple message of affordability for all.

“He gave us something to believe in,” Velazquez said.

“The billionaires are watching this moment, and they are going to spend everything they’ve got to stop Zohran,” Velazquez said. This campaign threatens business as usual and they are scared.”

“But here’s the thing: The city has changed,” Velazuez concluded. “Zohran knew it.”

Cuomo releases statement

Cuomo’s campaign released a statement late on June 24 conceding the primary but deferring a decision on whether he will run in the general election.

“I called Assemblyman Mamdani to congratulate him on tonight‘s victory,” Cuomo said. “I also thank my team, which did a great job during this campaign. I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November.”

Zohran Mamdani’s mom is a famous film director

Mamdani is the son of Mira Nair, an Indian-American filmmaker best known for “Mississippi Masala,” a cross-cultural romance movie that starred Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury. The film, released in 1991, explored the expulsion of the Indian minority from Uganda during the reign of Idi Amin.

While location-scouting for the film, Nair met Mahmood Mamdani, the mayoral hopeful’s father, who was among the Indian minority expelled. The elder Mamdani is an author and academic. The family moved to Manhattan when Zohran was 7 years old.

Nair’s other major credits include 2001’s “Monsoon Wedding” and “Salaam Bombay!” which was nominated for both an Oscar and a BAFTA in 1988. She is also behind “Queen of Katwe,” a 2016 hit film on which the future mayoral candidate helped his mother with both casting and directing.

-Anna Kaufman

A good night for Democratic Socialists

Mamdani was not the only member of the Democratic Socialists of America to perform well on June 24. Council Member Shahana Hanif, the first Muslim woman to serve on the Council, fended off a primary challenge from Maya Kornberg. With 94% of the votes counted, Hanif won 64% to 26%.

The race in the 39th District, which spans western Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Kensington, Windsor Terrace and Park Slope, hinged on some of the same issues that defined the mayoral. Like Mamdani, Hanif has been a harsh critic of Israel. Kornberg, who works for the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank affiliated with New York University, ran as a more progressive candidate than Cuomo, but she was backed by some of the same well-heeled donors.

-Ben Adler

Mamdani pulls off upset

Zohran Mamdani slayed New York political juggernaut Andrew Cuomo, besting him in the first-round of ranked choice voting 43%-36% with over 94% of the vote in. Mamdan is in by far the strongest position to take the Democratic nomination for mayor once ranked choice tallies are tabulated.

Cuomo essentially conceded the race saying, “tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”

Once considered a longshot, the young upstart led a coalition of progressives seeking to block the former three-term governor from moving into Gracie Mansion.

The race serves as a bellwether for the larger Democratic Party as the coalition seeking to repel Cuomo framed the choice facing New Yorkers as one between an older, moderate political establishment and a youthful, progressive vision for the party that lost the White House in November.

The former governor could continue onto the general election under the newly invented Fight and Deliver Party – joining Mamdani, the incumbent Eric Adams running as an independent and Republican gadfly Curtis Sliwa – but did not address it in the concession speech.

James Powel, Eduardo Cuevas Ben Adler and Fernando Cervantes Jr.

Cuomo concedes

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded the Democratic nomination to state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani.

“Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo said he “would make some decisions” in a speech at a campaign party but did not address if the clear defeat would stop him from running on the under the newly invented Fight and Deliver Party.

James Powel, Eduardo Cuevas

What are Cuomo’s scandals?

Cuomo’s once-dominant campaign was dragged down constant criticism from his opponents for a number scandals from his tenure as governor.

In 2021, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned after several women accused him of sexual harassment in the workplace. Cuomo denied any misbehavior. He said he never touched anyone inappropriately while acknowledging he made jokes and sometimes asked his staff about their personal lives.

The scandal — detailed in state Assembly and Attorney General Letitia James’ reports — was thought to have ended his political career before his mayoral run.

Many looked to his steady public messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic, when President Donald Trump downplayed the health crisis and dabbled in conspiracy theories. But in the pandemic, Cuomo’s administration withheld the true COVID-19 death toll inside nursing homes, according to a probe by James’ office. About a month before the June 24 primary, the U.S. Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo over his congressional testimony on his handling of the pandemic, the New York Times reported.

He also faced investigations for a $5 million book deal he received while in office. Prosecutors accused him of using state resources to write the book, which chronicled his handling of the pandemic. He wrote the book at the height of the health crisis. In 2024, an appeals court sided with Cuomo to keep his book earnings amid ethics concerns.

Some in his inner circle have also faced corruption charges. Top aide Joseph Percoco and state university official Alain Kaloyeros self-dealed and rigged bids on projects before the state. Percoco and Kaloyeros served prison time.

-Eduardo Cuevas

Why isn’t Eric Adams on the ballot?

Mayor Eric Adams won the mayoralty after winning in the 2021 Democratic primary, when New York City first used ranked choice voting. He’s still running for re-election in November, but he dropped out of the Democratic primary after a scandal-plagued tenure caused his approval ratings to plummet.

-Eduardo Cuevas

Disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner trails in City Council race

Anthony Weiner, the disgraced former New York congressman, trails far behind in the Democratic primary for an open City Council seat in lower Manhattan.

Assemblymember Harvey Epstein, made nationally famous for a “Saturday Night Live” skit starring John Mulaney, was up handily in early tallies. Epstein led with 39% of votes in the 2nd Council District, with nearly 87% of scanners reported. Two candidates, Sarah Batchu and Andrea Gordillo, trailed Epstein at around 21% each.

Behind them was Weiner, at less than 11%.

Weiner, 60, was once considered a promising candidate for New York City mayor. In 2011, he resigned from Congress after he sexted and sent sexually suggested photos to several women. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to a charge for sexting a 15-year-old girl, which resulted in a 21-month sentence in federal prison and for Weiner to register as a sex offender after his release.

The City Council primary was seen as a way for Weiner to restart his political career. Before he was in Congress, he served on the Council in a Brooklyn district.

Eduardo Cuevas

NYC tries again at ranked choice voting. Here’s what voters said.

June 24 is New York City’s second time using ranked choice voting to elect its mayor. The city’s first time using the system, in the 2021 Democratic primary, had more voided ballots in areas with higher numbers of non-English speakers, lower income communities and households with lower educational attainment, than past elections research showed.

Voters at one polling site in the Bronx’s Fordham neighborhood, which is predominantly working-class, immigrant and Latino and Black, gave USA TODAY a mixed review of the system.

Isabella Cruz, 24, a cashier, said she preferred the old voting method of selecting just one candidate. But she made sure to rank state Mamdani first because of his focus on affordability and rent. She also liked that he campaigned nearby on Fordham Road. She ranked three others, including city Comptroller Brad Lander, another left-leaning candidate.

Bassarou Ali Zatchi, a 43-year-old nurse, had voted in ranked choice once before and found it easy. He declined to say who he ranked, though said he chose his top three and randomly selected the last two.

He rushed out of work, picked up his 8-year-old son, and went to the polls.

“You can’t just stay home,” he said. He made a point to take his son to show him the importance of voting. “That’s the future of this country.”

– Eduardo Cuevas

At 85% counted Mamdani ahead

Mamdani remains ahead of Cuomo in the unofficial results as the New York City Board of Elections reports that over 85% of the votes have been counted.

The Assembly member stands at 43.6% of the first-round vote while the former governor has 35.9%. Comptroller and Mamdani ally Lander is in a distant third at 11.5% as of the 9:45 ET update.

If the totals hold Mamdani will not win outright in the first-round but is in a strong position to take the Democratic nomination once ranked choice tallies are released.

James Powel

Alvin Bragg wins Democratic primary for district attorney

Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor who oversaw President Donald Trump’s hush money case, won the Democratic nomination for Manhattan district attorney, according to the Associated Press.

Trump was convicted in 2024 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election. Daniels has alleged that she and Trump had a sexual encounter in 2006, a claim Trump denies. Bragg brought the case against Trump.

In 2022, Bragg’s office also won convictions against two parts of the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer. Allen Weisselberg was sentenced to five months in prison after pleading guilty to 15 charges in a scheme to avoid taxes. Two Trump corporations were fined a combined $1.6 million for convictions of 17 felonies.

Bragg will face Republican Maud Maron in the general election in the heavily Democratic borough.

-Sudiksha Kochi and Bart Jansen

Possible polling error?

Mamdani is eight percentage points ahead of Cuomo with 81% of the first-place votes counted.

That raises the question of why his lead wasn’t reflected in polls. An Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released on June 23 found Mamdani beating Cuomo by a few percentage points in the final round of the instant runoff thanks to supporters of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander who ranked him second, but losing to Cuomo among first round voters.

A New York City mayor polling average from Race to the White House updated on June 24 found Cuomo as voters’ first choice with Mamdani in a close second. Cuomo earned 36.4% of voters’ support while Mamdani earned 28.6% of voter support.

Previous polls have also found Cuomo in the lead.

-Sudiksha Kochi and Ben Adler

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams fends off challenge from Mayor Adams ally as incumbents keep seats, projections show

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams is projected to win the Democratic primary for reelection, according to the Associated Press.

Williams, a progressive Democrat who has served since 2019, faced a challenge from state Assembly Member Jennifer Rajkumar of Queens, an ally of moderate Mayor Eric Adams.

The public advocate role acts as a city watchdog. The public advocate is next in line for mayor, which had been key when there were calls for Adams’ resignation, or for Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove him from office, following federal corruption charges.

Williams is a former city councilman from Brooklyn.

Spectrum News also called the races for Bronx borough president for incumbent Vanessa Gibson and Brooklyn borough president for incumbent Antonio Reynoso.

Eduardo Cuevas

First results have Mamdani ahead

The early unofficial results released by the New York City Board of Elections shows Mamdani ahead of Cuomo, though below the 50% threshold to win outright in the first round.

The upstart state Assembly member has just under 43% of the vote to the former governor’s 35.5%. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is in third in the early tally at 12%. City Council Speaker Adrianne Adams, state Sen. Myrie Zellnor and former Comptroller Scott Stringer are far behind.

The results as of 9:20 p.m., account for approximately 44% of the total votes, according to the board.

-James Powel

Rushing to get all votes before polls close

Minutes before polls closed, Dakota Hampton, 29, sat eagerly on the Bx12 bus from the Bronx to Manhattan. The doctoral student at Fordham University planned to vote for Mamdani before polls closed.

“I identify as a leftist, so I want to see more social programs in the city,” he said.

Among those were making buses free, since Hampton takes the bus daily, and rent control to support tenants and small businesses.

At the end of the bus line in Manhattan’s Inwood neighborhood, which is predominantly Dominican, canvassers for Uptown Community Democrats yelled out to any who would listen that polls were closing at 9 p.m. In the days before the primary, Mamdani campaigned in Inwood, where President Donald Trump made large gains among Latino voters in 2024.

-Eduardo Cuevas

Polls close in New York City primary

Lines for the polls have closed in the New York City primary election.

The city’s board of elections stated in a post on X that voters who were in-line prior to 9 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

The board will release results from the first round of ranked choice voting tonight. In the likely event that no candidate crosses the 50% threshold, Democratic voters will have to wait for the unofficial results released on July 1 to see who won the marquee race between Cuomo and Mamdani for the party’s mayoral nomination.

Official results will likely come out on July 14.

-James Powel

How to watch NYC Democratic mayor primary: TV coverage, livestream info

Spectrum News said viewers can watch their primary election coverage on its website and app starting at 8 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

For people without a Spectrum subscription, coverage of Tuesday’s primary will be available on the Spectrum News app and online on the Spectrum News website.

After polls close, “Capital Tonight” anchor Susan Arbetter will give live updates and analysis on results. The Spectrum News app will also offer election results.

PBS News will provide a live results tracker that will continuously update as new vote totals are reported by the New York City Board of Elections once polls close.

-Fernando Cervantes Jr.

NYC mayor primary: See map of wait times, polling sites, closing times

The clock is ticking for New Yorkers to vote in the city’s primary election. Election Day polls close at 9 p.m. ET for the New York City primary.

To find estimated wait times of polling sites around New York City, click on the dots on the below map provided by the NYC Board of Elections.

-James Powel

Primary vote total nears 1 million

The New York City Board of Elections reported on X that over 930,500 New Yorkers have voted in the primary as of 7:30 p.m. ET.

That total includes the check-ins on election day as well as early voting with the latter closing at an unofficial count of 384,338 votes on June 22. Mail ballots add over 50,000 votes the board reported earlier in the day.

Brooklyn led the five boroughs in check-ins with 336,387 votes cast overall and 193,652 from election day so-far. Manhattan follows with 272,884 ballots cast in person with 122,642 of them from early voting. The Bronx accounts for 97,632 check-ins, an alarm bell for Cuomo who needs a strong showing from working class voters in the borough to have a shot at Gracie Mansion.

Polls close at 9 p.m. ET.

-James Powel

Brad Lander and Mamadani cross-endorsed for second choice

City Comptroller Brad Lander and Mamdani have endorsed each other in the mayoral race. The two even appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” the night before the primary. Mamdani has also cross-endorsed with Michael Blake, the Democratic National Committee vice chair.

Under ranked choice, candidates can cross-endorse each other to encourage their voters rank other candidate lower on the ballot. It’s a smart tactic, former mayoral candidate Andrew Yang previously told USA TODAY. It can expand candidates’ voter coalitions, and Yang’s late endorsement of Kathryn Garcia was seen as giving her a boost in her narrow loss to Mayor Eric Adams in 2021.

Experts say ranked choice voting creates an incentive for this kind of collaboration and discourages negative campaigning to form these coalitions. But as the race between Cuomo and Mamdani has tightened, negative campaigning between the two, with accusations of antisemitism and Islamophobia has tinged the race.

-Eduardo Cuevas

How ranked-choice voting works in New York City

New York City first used ranked choice voting in 2021, after voters approved the system in 2019. The elections system is based on choosing up to five candidates in order of preference. It’s used in city elections for mayor, City Council, borough president, comptroller and public advocate.

If no candidate garners more than 50% first-place votes, the Board of Elections eliminates the candidate with the fewest first-place votes and redistributes their votes based on their lower-ranked choices. The process continues until there are two candidates left.

In the mayor’s race, it’s unlikely one candidate will garner over half of first-round votes.

-Eduardo Cuevas

In the Bronx, voters weigh experience versus new vision for city

After the 2024 election, state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani interviewed Bronx residents about large swings toward Donald Trump in the presidential election. A few blocks from where he once stood on Fordham Road, on June 24, voters slowly trickled to the polling site at P.S. 85 Great Expectations, in the Bronx.

Children nearby splashed in the water of a spewing fire hydrant just feet away. A few workers with T shirts supporting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo stood in the shade, handing leaflets to people passing.

Elvira Santiago, 52, who works in school safety, planned to rank Cuomo. Although she didn’t vote in the 2024 presidential election, she was worried about affordability in the city, saying her 26-year-old wouldn’t be able to afford a studio apartment.

“I’m just hoping they do right by us,” she said.

Many looked to Cuomo’s experience handling the state government for years, particularly during the pandemic.

“I’d rather have someone experienced rather than someone who isn’t,” said Patrick Pierce, a hospital transportation worker who voted for Cuomo in the morning. His union, SEIU 1199, endorsed Cuomo, and Pierce thought Mamdani was too inexperienced.

Yet others saw Cuomo’s record as a negative, particularly with allegations of corruption and sexual harassment. Some voters saw Mamdani as the political newcomer who could lead the city with progressive policies.

“New York needs a young, forward-thinking type of person to head the city into what’s going to be some pretty tough four years with Donald Trump as president,” said Ricky Gonzalez, a 20-year-old finance major at Fordham University.

Akil Bello, 53, a college access worker for the State University of New York, said many of Mamdani’s proposed policies aren’t radical. He said other cities have adopted free buses, and rent freezes have been enacted, even in New York.

Even more though, he said, city leadership can’t get worse than under Mayor Eric Adams.“I don’t think we can do much worse,” he said. “I think the ceiling is much higher.”- Eduardo Cuevas

Former Rep. Anthony Weiner running for city council

Voters will not only be casting their ballots in the New York City mayoral primary today. They will also be voting on candidates running for City Council, among other seats.

Democrat Anthony Weiner, who served in Congress until 2011, is running for City Council. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison in 2017 for “transferring obscene material to a minor,” according to the Department of Justice.

Then Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said that Weiner had asked a 15-year-old to “display her naked body and engage in sexually explicit behavior for him online.”

After his release from prison, Weiner had to register as a sex offender.

Weiner also twice ran unsucessfully for mayor, in 2005 and 2013.

Weiner is not the only candidate accused of sexual misconduct. Cuomo resigned as New York governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harrasment that included kissing, groping, hugging and inappropriate comments, according to a report from the state Attorney General’s Office.

-Sudiksha Kochi

NYC won’t know mayoral primary results until at least July 1

Everyone eager to know when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo or Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani will win the June 24 New York City mayoral Democratic primary is going to be waiting a while.

Unofficial results won’t be announced by the city Board of Elections until July 1, and the results won’t be officially certified until July 14.

Since 2021, in primaries the city uses ranked choice voting, a system that allows residents to vote for up to five candidates in order from their most preferred to least. If no candidate gets more than 50% of first-place votes, which seems very likely based on polls of the crowded mayoral field, then the least-popular candidate is eliminated and their supporters’ votes redistributed to other candidates based on their lower-ranked preferences.

This process takes time, meaning voters are very unlikely know the results on election night. In 2021, when current mayor Eric Adams (who is running for re-election this year as an Independent) secured victory, it took several days to determine just how close Kathryn Garcia, the runner-up, came to beating him after all the ranked-choice tabulations.

-Anna Kaufman and Ben Adler

Who have newspapers endorsed?

New York City newspaper endorsements can be very powerful in local races. In 2021, The New York Times and the New York Daily News sent Sanitation Comissioner Kathryn Garcia from obscure first-term candidate to near-victory.

This year, the Times offered a circuitous non-endorsement, conceding that it was effectively a two-man race between Cuomo and Mamdani but failing to throw full-throated support behind either. Instead, the paper’s editorial board chided Mandani as running on “an agenda uniquely unsuited to the city’s challenges,” and, while acknowledging Cuomo’s “significant shortcomings,” seemed more impressed with his accomplishments.

A separate panel of New York City residents and leaders published by the Times favored City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running a distant third to Mamdani and Cuomo.

The Washington Post took a similar tack, comparing the two as either a “bully” (Cuomo) or a “socialist” (Mamdani.)

The Daily News endorsed Cuomo for first-place, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams for second and Lander third.

The New York Post, which enthusiastically backed Mayor Adams in 2021, declined to endorse a candidate in this year’s primary but it published an anyone-but-Mamdani editorial.

-Anna Kaufman and Ben Adler

Republican candidate predicts Mamdani will win

Republican New York City mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa told The New York Times that he thinks Mamdani will win the Democratic primary. He said Mamdani had stronger field operations and connected with young voters better.

“The millennials and hipsters are the majority now, not the baby boomers,” he told the newspaper.

He also said Cuomo “looked grumpy and angry on the campaign.”

-Sudiksha Kochi

Mayor Eric Adams tells reporters he planned to write himself in for mayor five times

Mayor Eric Adams isn’t running for re-election in the June 24 Democratic primary, but that didn’t stop him from voting. Outside of his Brooklyn polling place, he told reporters he planned to write his name in for mayor. “One, two, three, four and five, Eric Adams,” he said.

Under the city’s ranked choice voting, voters can choose up to five different candidates. Writing in the same candidate five times would invalidate the person’s second through fifth-place votes, though not the entire ballot. “You cannot rank the same candidate more than once,” the city Board of Elections said in voter instructions.

Fabien Levy, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the mayor was joking about voting for himself more than once.

“Everyone in the room knew he was joking, other than the reporters who sent the tweet,” Levy told USA TODAY.

Levy didn’t know how the mayor voted, but he said he knew how to vote properly.

“I wasn’t in the booth, so can’t tell you how he voted, but he knows how to vote properly,” Levy added.

In 2021, Adams won the Democratic primary — when New York City first used ranked choice voting — before easily winning in the general election that year.

Adams has opted to run as an independent in the November 2025 general election. Even though the city skews heavily Democratic, the race for mayor isn’t over regardless of the June 24 Democratic primary outcome.

– Eduardo Cuevas

Mamdani would be New York’s first Israel critic as mayor

The politics of a foreign country don’t normally weigh on municipal issues. But in a global city like New York, home to 1 million Jews, Israel and its siege of Gaza after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks have taken center stage in a campaign otherwise focused on affordability and public safety.

Since Israel’s founding, every New York City mayor has visited Jerusalem. Mayor Vincent Impellitteri first made the trip in 1951. Mamdani has declined to follow suit when asked whether he’d visit Israel. Instead, he’s said he’d prioritize Jewish safety in the five boroughs, but he has criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling its actions in Gaza a genocide.

Mamdani has defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to cut ties with Israel in order for it to change its policies toward Palestinians. Israel supporters have called the movement antisemitic for protesting the only Jewish state. On the debate stage, Mamdani has said he supports Israel’s right to exist “as a state with equal rights” when pressed on whether he supported Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

He also declined to condemn the controversial phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” The popular rallying cry for liberation by Palestinians and their supporters is heard by pro-Israel supporters as a call to violence against Jews, harkening back to resistance movements in the 1980s and 2000s. Mamdani was swiftly criticized for his comments, including by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Jewish Committee.

Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund manager, have repeatedly accused Mamdani of antisemitism, charges that Mamdani denies. A super PAC supporting Cuomo — which receives funding from former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman — have also unleashed tens of millions in ads painting Mamdani as an extremist. Mamdani, who is Muslim, and his supporters have said the attacks rely on islamophobic tropes. Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Meanwhile, candidates agree antisemitism is a pressing issue, evidenced by rises in attacks against Jewish people. Cuomo, who is not Jewish, made opposing antisemitism a top issue issue in his campaign. Other candidates who are Jewish have criticized Cuomo for his use of antisemitism as a campaign tactic.

The politics of a foreign country don’t normally weigh on municipal issues. But in a global city like New York, home to 1 million Jews with many having strong support for Zionism, Israel and its siege of Gaza after the 2023 Hamas-led attacks have taken center stage in a campaign largely focused on affordability and public safety. New York City is home to the most amount of Jews outside of Israel.

Since Israel’s founding, every New York City mayor has visited Jerusalem. Mayor Vincent Impellitteri first made the trip in 1951. Mamdani has declined to follow suit when asked whether he’d visit Israel. Instead, he’s said he’d prioritize Jewish safety in the five boroughs, but he has criticized Israel’s treatment of Palestinians, calling its actions in Gaza a genocide.

Mamdani has defended the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to cut ties with Israel in order for it to change its policies toward Palestinians. Israel supporters have called the movement antisemitic for protesting the only Jewish state. On the debate stage, Mamdani has said he supports Israel’s right to exist “as a state with equal rights” when pressed on whether he supported Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.

He also declined to condemn the controversial phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” The popular rallying cry for liberation by Palestinians and their supporters is heard by pro-Israel supporters as a call to violence against Jews, harkening back to resistance movements in the 1980s and 2000s. Mamdani was swiftly criticized for his comments, including by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Jewish Committee.

Cuomo and Whitney Tilson, a former hedge fund manager, have repeatedly accused Mamdani of antisemitism, charges that Mamdani denies. A super PAC supporting Cuomo — which receives funding from former Mayor Mike Bloomberg and billionaire Trump supporter Bill Ackman — have also unleashed tens of millions in ads painting Mamdani as an extremist. Mamdani, who is Muslim, and his supporters have said the attacks rely on islamophobic tropes. Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim mayor.

Meanwhile, candidates agree antisemitism is a pressing issue, evidenced by rises in attacks against Jewish people. Cuomo, who is not Jewish, made antisemitism a top issue, equating it with opposition to Israel. Other candidates who are Jewish have criticized Cuomo for his use of antisemitism as a campaign tactic. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander who has cross-endorsed with Mamdani, each urging their supporters to rank the other candidate second on their ballots, is Jewish.

-Eduardo Cuevas

New York City mayor primary: Where the polls are, when they open and close

The final hours of voting in the New York City mayoral primary elections start the morning of June 24.

Election Day polls opened at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m.

You can find a list of polling places here.

-James Powel

In the NYC mayoral race, a chance for historic firsts

If Cuomo wins the race for City Hall, he will be the first former governor to become mayor. He is also the heir to a political dynast: his father Mario Cuomo was also a three-term governor. Before being elected governor in 1982, Mario Cuomo unsuccessfully ran for mayor in the 1977 Democratic primary, losing to New York City Comptroller Abe Beame.

Mamdani, on the other hand, presents a different kind of first – a fresh-faced legislator with less than five years in office, gunning to be the first Muslim New York City mayor, the first Asian American mayor, and the first Democratic Socialist in City Hall. He is also from a prominent family: his father is a well-known professor at Columbia University and his mother is the filmmaker Mira Nair.

-Ben Adler and Anna Kaufman

Who is running for NYC mayor?

There are 11 Democrats on the ballot in the June 24 primary, hoping to advance to the general election on Nov. 4:

Ramos stopped campaigning and endorsed Cuomo.

Whoever wins the Democratic mayoral primary on June 24 will face Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa and two independents: NYC Mayor Eric L. Adams and Jim Walden in the general election on Nov. 5.

Cuomo is also on the November ballot as the nominee of the newly invented Fight and Deliver Party ballot line and he will continue that campaign even if he loses the Democratic nomination. Likewise, Mamdani is the candidate of the Working Families Party and he may run on that in the fall even if he loses the Democratic primary.

-Ben Adler and Fernando Cervantes Jr.

What are Zohran Mamdani’s policy proposals?

Mamdani has surged from obscurity to a leading contender for mayor with a campaign platform intended to reduce New York City’s high cost of living. Those proposals include:

An immediate rent freeze for all rent-stabilized tenants

The elimination of fares on city busses

Creating a Department of Community Safety and investments in citywide mental health programs and crisis response

A 2% tax on residents earning above $1 million annually

Raising the corporate tax rate to 11.5%

Overhauling the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants so as to toughen code enforcement on landlords

Fast tracking affordable housing development

Establishing city-owned grocery stores

The only problem? New York City doesn’t have the legal authority to raise taxes, and thus the revenue for programs like free buses, without permission from the state government. And New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she isn’t willing to increase taxes on top earners as Mamdani proposes.

-Ben Adler and James Powel

Justin Brannan, Mark Levine battle for New York City comptroller

Mayor isn’t the only race on the ballot on June 24. The next-most powerful position in New York City government, comptroller, is also up for grabs.

The comptroller is the city’s chief fiscal officer. He or she audits city agencies, manages city employees’ pension funds, and oversees contracts to safeguard against waste, fraud and abuse.

The two leading candidates for comptroller are Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Member Justin Brannan, from Brooklyn. State Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn is also running.

Levine is a typical liberal from Manhattan’s Upper West Side, which he previously represented on the City Council. Brannan, who represents the politically diverse, middle-class neighborhood of Bay Ridge, is more idiosyncratic, having been a member of the Council’s Progressive Caucus but also describing himself as a moderate. He was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont.

Current Comptroller Brad Lander is running for mayor, and currently polling in third place. His predecessor Scott Stringer is also on the mayoral ballot.

-Ben Adler

Can NYC polling sites handle the heat?

As the city awoke to alarmingly high temperatures Tuesday, June 24, the Board of Elections prepared for the worst: a blackout at polling sites.

In a statement to City & State, a spokesperson said the board was prepared with backup batteries and that should those run out, ballots would be counted later, similar to the process for absentee or vote-by-mail ballots.

Candidates urged voters to stay cool as they made their voices heard, pushing for water and additional air conditioning at polling sites.

-Anna Kaufman

Who is Zohran Mamdani?

Mamdani is an Assembly member from Astoria, Queens. He is the first South Asian man to serve in the assembly and the third Muslim person to do so.

He previously worked as a foreclosure-prevention housing counselor and a campaign staffer.

He was born in Uganda but raised in Manhattan after his family moved there when he was 7 years old, according to his office’s biography.

Mamdani describes himself on his campaign website as a democratic socialist.

He is the son of Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, and Mira Nair, a filmmaker best known for directing “Monsoon Wedding.”

-James Powel

Ranked choice voting in a crowded field

While Cuomo continued to lead Mamdani in first-place voters, New York City primaries now use a system of ranked-choice voting, in which voters rank up to five candidates.

And they have a plethora to choose from. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is polling in third place, and he and Mamdani have cross-endorsed one another, encouraging their supporters to rank the other candidate second. Then there’s Lander’s predcessor Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation to the mayor), state Sen. Zelnor Myrie, former Assembly Member Michael Blake and retired hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.

With the exception of Tilson, the candidates generally lean left, and their supporters may be more likely to rank Mamdani than Cuomo down ballot. That is the dynamic that led to Mamdani overtaking Cuomo in the instant runoff in the most recent poll.

“In this ranked choice environment, I do feel there are scenarios in which Cuomo is beatable,” Basil Smikle, a New York City-based political consultant, told USA TODAY in early June.

An extreme heat wave could harm turnout

New York City is in the midst of a severe heat wave, with temperatures well above 90 degrees and the city’s stifling summer humidity. June 24 is expected to be especially scorching, with highs breaking the rarely-breached 100-degree mark.

This may pose a threat to Cuomo’s chances, because his supporters skew older and are more likely to stay away because of the temperature. The former governor complained on June 19 that the Board of Elections’ plans to mitigate the heat were insufficient and demanded air conditioning in polling places. Cuomo’s backers are also more likely to cast their ballots on Election Day, while Mamdani’s − who tend to be younger, highly educated, engaged, and enthusiastic − are better represented among those who took advantage of early voting, which started on June 14.

-Ben Adler

A campaign under Trump’s shadow

As he does in all facets of politics, President Donald Trump looms large in his former hometown’s elections. Adams’ increasingly friendly relationship with Trump has driven his split with the Democratic Party’s base, while every other candidate pledges to fight against the president.

In a clearly implied contrast with Adams, progressive candidates have tried to prove their anti-Trump bona fides on immigration. Mamdani shouted at White House immigration czar Tom Homan when Homan came to the state Capitol in Albany, and Lander recently made national news by getting arrested escorting an immigrant out of a deportation hearing.

Cuomo has argued that his experience makes him best qualified to handle Trump.

“Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter,” Cuomo said at a June 5 debate that was dominated mostly by opponents’ attacks on his record.

-Ben Adler

AOC, Bernie Sanders, Bill Clinton weigh in

Prominent figures in national politics have weighed in on both sides. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district overlaps with Mamdani’s in Queens, put him at the top of her ballot. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent Vermont socialist who grew up in Brooklyn, is backing Mamdani as well.

But beacons of the Democratic Party’s moderate establishment such as former President Bill Clinton have weighed in on behalf of Cuomo.

With New York’s complicated instant runoff, in which the lowest ranked candidate in each round is eliminated, taking days to conduct, the only thing that will be known on election night is who got the most first place votes.

-Ben Adler

There is great excitement among the left and New York City youth over Zohran Mamdani’s progressive mayoral candidacy. But his concessions, like his stances on Israel and the police, come from a reformist strategy that is leading sectors of the movement into the imperialist Democratic Party.

This article is written by a Left Voice member in a response to the guest piece “Rank Zohran Mamdani — Not Because He’s Perfect, but Because We’re Strategic.” Left Voice encourages more submissions of guest posts to use our pages as a place of debate for the broader Left.

*

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral prospect and democratic socialist, regularly attends pro-Palestine actions and supports the BDS movement. His politics towards Palestine are far more progressive than his electoral opponents and most of the Democratic Party — and for this, he has been maligned as an antisemite. He also faces Islamophobic attacks, including death threats, for his religion and his political stances. We as the movement for Palestine and as leftists must wholly denounce these disgusting attacks and stand at his defense against them. At the same time, it is important that we dialogue with his politics to strengthen an independent left and movements of the working class and oppressed.

Recently, when asked if Israel had a right to exist during the debates, he answered yes and added, “As a state with equal rights,” when asked if it should exist as a Jewish state. This is a leading question, with a Zionist intent, to shift attention away from the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people. This question and the answers from the other candidates only highlights the strength of Zionism within the Democratic Party.

Andrew Cuomo, who is the mayoral frontrunner, is a Zionist Democrat who was forced to resign for being accused of sexually harassing 13 women. His redemption campaign for mayor is heavily funded by billionaires, including staunch Zionists like Bill Ackman, and landlords, so he is clearly positioned against the movement for Palestine and working-class New Yorkers. Cuomo has even gone as far as to join the legal defense team for Benjamin Netanyahu over his war crimes in Gaza, while Mamdani discusses equal rights for Palestinians and rent freezes for New Yorkers. The contrast between the two is striking.

With that said, many in the Palestine movement are questioning Mamdani’s support for the state of Israel. Some suggest he has made these statements do not reflect his genuine beliefs, but are isntead meant to help him get elected. The article “Rank Zohran Mamdani — Not Because He’s Perfect, but Because We’re Strategic” criticizes disillusioned sectors of Mamdani’s pro-Palestine base as political purists who prefer principle over leverage. But it is not purist to be against politics that contradict the desire of our movement; dampening our message in hopes of greater leverage in the Democratic Party is the party’s playbook to co-opt movements.

Mamdani Is Saving the Face of the Democratic Party

Mamdani’s candidacy represents a shifting consciousness of the masses to the left. Like the campaigns of Bernie Sanders or the Squad, it illustrates the Democratic Party being used as a vehicle for change by progressives this shift, stemming from a massive rejection of the status quo and a demand for more progressive politics. Sanders was the response to the movement emerging from Occupy; Mamdani is the response to the movement emerging from the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, the growing labor movement, and the pro-Palestine movement. As leftists, we welcome this leftward shift and the opportunity to discuss, debate, and take the streets with all those voting for Mamdani.

But as was the case with the Sanders phenomenon, Mamdani, as a Democratic politician, serves as the progressive face that draws the masses back into a party that has funded and supported the genocide in Gaza, while offering nothing to working-class people. Mamdani’s canvassers are registering people for the Democratic Party just as it is in the midst of a major crisis and has faced harsh criticism over support for Israel and its failure to improve living conditions.

This is the party of Cuomo, and Mamdani is building up hope that the Democrats can be a party of the working class and oppressed. This isn’t because Mamdani is some scheming villain aiming to deceive us all. Rather, his strategy, representing the strategy of some sectors of DSA, attempts to build power within the Democratic Party apparatus instead of building an independent mass movement, making him more accountable to the will of the capitalists than to the fighting masses.

The 2020 Sanders campaign is instructive. Although Sanders was a Democrat, the coalition of wealthy donors and interest groups that make up the DNC fought him tooth and nail, and rallied behind Clinton as a means of maintaining the status quo and countering the progressive phenomenon embodied by Sanders’s campaign.

A similar situation occurred in the 2020 primaries, in which Sanders’s revamped campaign, which initially appeared to have a chance of winning, was undermined when the Democratic Party had all other candidates drop out and endorse Biden to counter the progressive momentum. Through this maneuvering by the party, Sanders transitioned from an expression of the social movements and leftward moving youth to Biden’s assistant — someone who declared he was willing to “work with” Trump and to ignore the calls for ceasefire in Gaza for months after the genocide began.

What does this tell us about the Zohran campaign? The Democratic Party, run by capital, will operate in the interest of capital; that is why it aggressively disciplines progressive candidates — even if their program is already conciliatory. After seeing this twice with Sanders on a much larger stage, we have already witnessed it with Mamdani attesting to the occupation’s “right to exist” for votes — a concession to U.S. imperialism and settler colonialism — and modifying his previous stance on police to seem less radical.

In the first primary debate, Mamdani was clear on maintaining the headcount of NYPD officers. He also stated in the second debate and on Subway Takes that he would not defund the police, asserting that “police have a vital role to play” as they are currently cracking down on the movements for immigrant rights and against the genocide in Gaza. The “vital” role police play for capital is to protect it by repressing working-class movements. This is not a strategic adaptation but a concession of the movement’s combative politics for the sake of an electoral seat and political survival within the Democratic Party.

That is why the question of voting for Mamdani goes beyond political purity; it concerns what is strategically viable. Whatever the working class wins — from affordable housing for all to a free Palestine — will require class struggle through a combative mass movement and a political force independent of both parties of big business.

Build a Movement, Build a Party

The role that electoral politics must play in fighting for socialism is to put forward candidates with the purpose of building current movements in the schools, streets, and workplaces, using the electoral stage to elevate its demands and rally more support around the movement under a class-independent program that fights for socialism. Short of this, we are engaging in a gradient of lesser evilism, which leads to capital co-opting our movements, as we saw with Sanders, who has affirmed repeatedly that Israel has a “right to defend itself” as it carried out countless atrocities and who still fails to call the situation in Gaza by its true name, a genocide.

The Democratic Party will never break from its support of Israel, because this ironclad relationship is in its imperialist interest. This is why, as socialists and internationalists, we do not vote for those aligned with capital, based on the repeatedly exposed illusion that this creates more optimal conditions for our struggle. Instead, we dedicate our time, energy, and socialist optimism to building an independent working-class party whose candidates do not waver from the position of the masses. We want to discuss such a project with Zohran Mamdani’s voters, and that’s why this debate on our pages is so important.

Let’s consider real-life phenomena we are witnessing and enrich our vision with revolutionary imagination. We saw Los Angeles communities explode in direct confrontation with the state to defend their members from ICE, forcing Trump to back down from brazen attacks on workplaces composed of migrants. We are also witnessing both small and massive mobilizations across the country, the likes of which freed Kilmar Armando Abrego García and Mahmoud Khalil. We are watching these mobilizations continue in small towns and big cities, denouncing the various attacks by Trump on the working class, both domestically and abroad.

These points of struggle form the foundation of not only a powerful movement that can fight for concessions but also a revolutionary party that can coordinate those struggles into a broader one. By learning from these experiences — through the trial and error of successes and failures — we can develop a fighting program to end capitalism and imperialism. But if we acquiesce to electoral pressures, sacrificing the goals our movement fights for, we relinquish the hope of winning a world we aspire to for the sake of an electoral seat.

This is how we will combat the growing Right; it is how we will win housing for all; it is how we will free Palestine; it is the driving force behind our fight to end exploitation and oppression.

We, as socialists and fighters within the movement for our planet and our lives, must not sacrifice the struggle for co-optation and the convenience of an electoral seat. Rather, let us use these seats as a means to grow our powerful movement into an unstoppable force that can win a world that is justly and collectively ours.