Zohran Mamdani, the democratic socialist whose blend of populist ideas and personal magnetism catapulted his upstart candidacy, won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City by a significant margin, according to The Associated Press.
The race was called for Mr. Mamdani on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after New York City’s Board of Elections released its tabulation of ranked-choice ballots.
Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman from Queens, won with 56 percent of the vote. Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo came in second with 44 percent. The board will certify the final vote in mid-July.
Mr. Mamdani, 33, now moves on to a contested general election in November, where he will face Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who opted out of the primary to run as an independent; Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder running on the Republican line; and Jim Walden, a lawyer also running on an independent line.
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Mr. Cuomo, for now, is also: running on an independent line, but he has not yet decided whether he intends to continue campaigning. Mr. Mamdani is expected to be the favorite in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by six to one.
“I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers in last week’s primary,” Mr. Mamdani said in a statement. “This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable. And we will do it together.”
My statement on Donald Trump’s threat to deport me and his praise for Eric Adams, who the President “helped out” of legal accountability. https://t.co/m7pNcT2DFS pic.twitter.com/UcYakMx4lI
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 1, 2025
His victory was greeted by sharp attacks from conservative media and Republicans, with the latest coming from President Trump just minutes after the result was known.
On Tuesday, after a reporter mischaracterized Mr. Mamdani as a “communist” and said Mr. Mamdani had promised to “defy ICE,” Mr. Trump said that, “Well then, we will have to arrest him.” (During his primary night speech, Mr. Mamdani vowed to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors.”) Mr. Trump also said that “a lot of people are saying he’s here illegally.” (Mr. Mamdani is an American citizen.)
The president’s comments did not escape the attention of Mr. Mamdani, who on Tuesday afternoon posted a lengthy response on social media.
“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you,” Mr. Mamdani said. “We will not accept this intimidation.”
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Mr. Mamdani triumphed by bringing new voters to the polls with a campaign turbocharged by his energy, charm, social media savvy and an army of enthusiastic volunteers whose breadth appeared unprecedented in recent New York history.
He also benefited from a concerted effort by left-leaning groups, unions and others to strategize how best to use ranked-choice voting, and not repeat what they saw as mistakes from the 2021 mayoral primary. In that contest, the left failed to coalesce behind a common candidate, allowing Mr. Adams to win.
This year, many on the left made it a priority to work together and make group endorsements, often with Mr. Mamdani leading the way. Some candidates followed suit, with Mr. Mamdani entering cross-endorsement agreements with Brad Lander, the city comptroller, and Michael Blake, a former state assemblyman. Two second-tier candidates, Whitney Tilson and State Senator Jessica Ramos, endorsed Mr. Cuomo; he did not endorse them back.
Mr. Cuomo, who for months polled in first place, also contributed to Mr. Mamdani’s win, and his own demise, by running a campaign that was widely derided for its lackluster rose-garden strategy. He made relatively few, often tightly controlled appearances, and seemed out of touch with a city he had not lived in since the late 20th century.
Additional input by NY Times