Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old assemblyman and democratic socialist, defied expectations when he pulled well ahead to presumed victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City's June 24 Democratic mayoral primary.
While there were 11 candidates on the ranked-choice ballot, preliminary polling named Cuomo and Mamdani the front-runners by a large margin. Cuomo frequently polled above Mamdani in the weeks leading up to voting day, but the former governor ultimately ended up calling his opponent on Tuesday night to concede.
Mamdani led Cuomo 44% to 36% among first-place votes, with 96% of ballots counted as of around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25.
The Democratic nominee will begin the general election as the favorite in the overwhelmingly Democratic city. Considered the more progressive candidate of the two, Mamdani's platform has included stances on rent and housing, cost of living, safety, infrastructure and relations between the city and President Donald Trump.
Here is a brief look at Mamdani's stance on major city issues, based on his campaign page and reporting from USA TODAY.
