Campaigning on cost of living issues, Mamdani beat out ex-governor Andrew Cuomo and his $25m super PAC.
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state lawmaker, has declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary after beating former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a landslide win during the first round of voting.
“In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honoured to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City,” Mamdani tweeted early on Wednesday morning.
Initial results show Mamdani secured 43.5 percent of votes to Cuomo’s 36.4 percent, with major wins across the New York boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and much of Manhattan, while Cuomo took the Bronx and Staten Island.
Mamdani was relatively unknown before the primary election but gained traction as a self-described “democratic socialist” during a time of upheaval in national politics following the inauguration of United States President Donald Trump.
His story echoes that of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – another democratic socialist who rocketed to political fame in the US in 2018 with a surprise win in New York congressional elections, but the primary election is not over yet.
In the words of Nelson Mandela: it always seems impossible until it’s done.
My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.
I am honored to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City. pic.twitter.com/AgW0Z30xw1
– Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@zohrankmamdani) June 25, 2025
New York’s primary voting procedure lets voters rank their five top candidates, so voters’ non-first-choice picks still need to be counted in the coming days.
Experts say it is likely that Mamdani will surpass the 50 percent threshold due to strategic alliances with other candidates to support each other as a “second place” candidate, according to The Associated Press news agency.
New York City is also a Democratic stronghold, which means Mamdani has a high chance of becoming its first mayor of Asian heritage and first Muslim mayor if he can beat the incumbent, Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani was born in Uganda to parents of Indian heritage and moved to the US as a young child. His mother is the award-winning film director Mira Nair, and his Ugandan-born father, Mahmood Mamdani, is a professor at Columbia University.
Mamdani’s public support for the Palestinian cause drew accusations of anti-Semitism from some New Yorkers during his campaign, but he gained the support of progressive and younger voters who are critical of US support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
I will always be clear in my language and based in facts: Israel is committing a genocide. pic.twitter.com/KFt223ZVjA
– Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@zohrankmamdani) October 31, 2024
‘The responsibility to uphold international law’
New York has the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, but also a sizeable Muslim community, which means the Israel-Palestine conflict has particular resonance with voters, even during a municipal election.
In the days leading up to the election, Mamdani addressed some of these issues directly in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Following questions from Colbert, a well-known American comedian, Mamdani said he agreed with Israel’s right to exist, but said it also had “the responsibility to uphold international law”.
He also acknowledged the uptick in anti-Semitic violence across the US and proposed to create a Department of Community Safety in New York and raise funding for anti-hate crime programming by 800 percent.
Mamdani’s campaign also focused on cost-of-living issues faced by New Yorkers, calling for rent freezes, free buses, and city-owned grocery stores.
Cuomo, 67, was initially seen as the establishment candidate, but controversies surrounding his campaign gave Mamdani a further boost.
Cuomo was forced to step down as governor of New York in 2021 over allegations of sexual misconduct, and his run for mayor was seen as an attempt to remake his image.
The ex-governor, however, was unable to shake off his past scandals despite securing a $25m super PAC, or independent expenditure-only political action committee, and the support of some of New York’s wealthiest, like billionaire and ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to The New York Times.
