Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani pulled off a seismic upset in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, amassing a 7-point margin over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in results as of Wednesday morning.
Though Mamdani's presumptive win won't be official until runoff counting is announced early July, Cuomo conceded the nomination, all but assuring the 33-year-old the Democratic mayoral candidacy. Now, with the competitive primary out of the way, focus is shifting to the general election in November, where Mamdani will face the city's current mayor, a Republican candidate and, possibly, battle against Cuomo once more.
Recap: Zohran Mamdani pulls off NYC Democratic mayoral upset. Andrew Cuomo concedes
Since 2021, primaries in the city have used ranked choice voting, a system that allows residents to vote for up to five candidates from their most preferred to least. If no candidate gets more than 50% of first-place votes, then the least-popular candidate is eliminated and their supporters' votes are redistributed to other candidates based on their lower-ranked preferences. Mamdani did not reach the 50% threshold, but leads with 44% of first-place votes, with 96% of ballots counted on June 25, with Cuomo amassing 36%.
