In a landmark political upset, 33-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani has clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo in a high-stakes, closely watched ranked-choice primary on Tuesday night.
With 89% of precincts reporting an hour after polls closed at 9 p.m., Mamdani led the field with 44% of first-choice votes, while Cuomo trailed at 36%. City Comptroller Brad Lander secured 11%.
Cuomo conceded defeat Tuesday night, following the first round of vote tallies.
Mamdani's campaign centered on the cost of living jolted the contest, told supporters, “I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City,”
“I will be the mayor for every New Yorker, whether you voted for me, for governor Cuomo, or felt too disillusioned by a long-broken political system to vote at all,” he said. “I will work to be a mayor you will be proud to call your own.”
Cuomo, who had been the front-runner throughout a race that was his comeback bid from a sexual harassment scandal, conceded the election, telling a crowd he had called Mamdani to congratulate him.
"Tonight was not our night," Cuomo, a political veteran who was vying to come back from a sexual harassment scandal, told supporters at an election night party. "I called him, I congratulated him...he won."
Mamdani's early life
Born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani is the son of Indian-origin parents, renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, known for films such as Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding, and academic Mahmood Mamdani, an Indian-born Ugandan scholar.
He spent his early childhood in Cape Town, South Africa, attending St. George’s Grammar School, before moving to New York City at the age of seven.
He later graduated from the Bank Street School for Children and the Bronx High School of Science. In 2014, he earned a bachelor’s degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College.
Mamdani’s political activism began during college, where he co-founded a chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine.
He later volunteered for Khader El-Yateem’s 2017 City Council campaign, managed Ross Barkan’s State Senate bid, and organized for Tiffany Cabán’s Queens District Attorney race.
In 2019, he was elected to the New York State Assembly representing the 36th District, which includes Astoria and Long Island City.
His legislative work focused on affordable housing, public transit, and immigrant rights—issues that became central to his citywide campaign.
A practicing Shia Muslim, Mamdani married Syrian artist Rama Duwaji earlier this year.
Mamdani’s identity and progressive platform have energised younger, left-leaning voters across the city, drawing a sharp contrast with Cuomo’s more moderate support base.
With the Democratic nomination now secured, Mamdani is on track to make history. If elected in November, he would become New York City’s first Muslim and first Indian-American mayor.
(With inputs from AP)