Andrew Cuomo concedes the New York City mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani, who leads in the first-choice vote

State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is the person arsenic first-choice votes are tallied successful the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, up of erstwhile New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who declared his rival the victor adjacent though nary campaigner is acceptable to unafraid a bulk successful the archetypal circular of the ranked prime election.

Mamdani had been surging successful the race's last weeks arsenic helium touted a progressive imaginativeness for a caller absorption for the metropolis — 1 with rent freezes and city-run market stores terms caps, escaped metropolis buses and more. He boosted his entreaty with energetic direct-to-camera videos, arsenic good arsenic moves similar spending a play nighttime earlier Election Day walking the magnitude of Manhattan, stopping to chat with voters and grounds clips on the way.

And helium won the backing of salient wide politicians successful the metropolis arsenic the flag-bearer of a unified, progressive effort aimed astatine depriving Cuomo a governmental comeback.

Late Tuesday, Mamdani led the first-choice ballot number with astir 44% support, followed by astir 36% for Cuomo.

Speaking to supporters aboriginal Wednesday morning, Mamdani quoted the precocious South African person Nelson Mandela, coating a representation of a run powered by the moving people that roseate up to request a caller absorption for its city.

Mamdani argued that if elected, his tenure volition beryllium "a exemplary for the Democratic Party" arsenic it seeks a way guardant during President Donald Trump's 2nd term.

"New Yorkers person a metropolis wherever they tin bash much than conscionable struggle, 1 wherever those who toil successful the nighttime tin bask the fruits of their labour successful the day, wherever hard enactment is repaid with a unchangeable life," helium said.

"The politician volition usage their powerfulness to cull Donald Trump's fascism, to halt masked crystal agents from deporting our mayor, and to govern our metropolis arsenic a exemplary for the Democratic Party, a enactment wherever we combat for moving radical with nary apology," Mamdani continued.

While the metropolis volition person to hold astatine slightest a week, perchance longer, to find retired who volition yet triumph the Democratic information done the city's ranked prime tabulations, Cuomo made it wide to his supporters helium believed the timepiece was moving retired connected his bid, adjacent arsenic helium didn't slam the doorway connected an autarkic bid successful the wide election.

"Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night, and helium enactment unneurotic a large campaign, and helium touched young radical and inspired them and moved them and got them to travel retired and vote, and helium truly ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him. I congratulated him," helium said, asking supporters to springiness Mamdani a circular of applause.

"Tonight is his night. He deserved it, helium won."

If Mamdani holds connected to the pb during the ranked prime voting allocation and yet wins the Democratic nomination, helium whitethorn not person afloat vanquished Cuomo, who created his ain enactment and could tally successful the wide predetermination connected that party's ballot line. Cuomo didn't regularisation that retired Tuesday night, though helium besides didn't springiness an denotation helium was readying a wide predetermination bid.

And Mayor Eric Adams — a Democrat moving for re-election arsenic an autarkic aft President Donald Trump's Justice Department dropped corruption charges against him — awaits successful the wide predetermination nary substance what, alongside repetition Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani noted the uncertainty of the wide predetermination successful his triumph speech, noting the "historically contentious" superior race.

"I anticipation present that this superior has travel to an end, I tin present myself erstwhile more, not arsenic you've seen maine successful a 30-second advertisement oregon successful a mailer successful your mailbox, but arsenic I however I volition pb arsenic your mayor," helium said.

Under ranked prime voting successful the city, voters fertile up to 5 preferences connected their superior ballots. Support for the lowest-finishing candidates is past reallocated to those voters' adjacent choices, and the process continues until 2 candidates are left.

The metropolis Board of Elections plans to merchandise the results of those archetypal allocations adjacent Tuesday.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old authorities assemblyman from Queens who would beryllium the city's archetypal Muslim politician if elected, gained steam successful the closing weeks of the contention arsenic helium pitched a progressive imaginativeness for the city. He centered his energetic run connected tackling higher costs and promising progressive policies that would beryllium paid for successful portion by raising taxes connected the rich.

Born successful Uganda, Mamdani grew up chiefly successful the metropolis arsenic the lad of an world and a filmmaker, attending Bowdoin College successful Maine earlier returning to Queens to enactment arsenic a foreclosure prevention counselor. He became an American national successful 2018 and soon launched a bid for the authorities Assembly leaning connected that enactment successful housing. He narrowly defeated a Democratic legislator in the primary, successful which helium was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

And helium embraced that antiauthoritarian socialist moniker astatine a clip erstwhile the Democratic Party faces an individuality situation crossed the country. His run has been centered connected a telephone to "put moving radical first" and providing a caller absorption for the city.

Along the way, Mamdani became the focal constituent for an anti-Cuomo movement that rallied down the banner of "Don't fertile Cuomo," arguing that helium politician doesn't merit a palmy governmental comeback aft helium resigned from bureau successful 2021 implicit intersexual harassment allegations. Mamdani secured cross-endorsement deals with chap candidates, including metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander and erstwhile Democratic National Committee vice seat Michael Blake.

They directed their supporters to besides fertile the different campaigner connected their ballot, an effort to squad up to usage ranked prime voting to person a campaigner propulsion distant from Cuomo aft respective rounds of accumulated enactment from non-Cuomo voters.

Lander, who was arrested this month serving arsenic an advocator for defendants successful national migration court, is the lone different campaigner sniffing treble digits. His determination to cross-endorse Mamdani, and to basal by him erstwhile different salient New York Jews lambasted Mamdani's unwillingness to denounce the slogan "globalize the intifada," could beryllium integral if Lander's supporters interruption mostly for Mamdani and assistance him officially clinch the nomination.

Mamdani besides got salient endorsements from Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Working Families Party and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who, similar Mamdani, identifies arsenic a antiauthoritarian socialist. Other salient New Yorkers, similar authorities Attorney General Letitia James, person asked supporters to see Mamdani connected their ranked prime ballots (and for them to permission Cuomo off) adjacent portion they accidental they'd similar different candidate.

Mamdani's emergence made him a apical people of Cuomo and allies who tried to framework him arsenic excessively extremist for the city, castigating his program to betterment the New York Police Department arsenic "defund the police" and signal-boosting a non-endorsement from The New York Times' editorial board, which wrote, "We bash not judge that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot connected New Yorkers' ballots."

Mamdani besides drew important blowback from Cuomo and salient Jewish leaders for not denouncing the slogan "globalize the intifada" when helium was asked astir it successful a podcast interview. Mamdani, who is moving to beryllium the city's archetypal Muslim mayor, referred to the slogan arsenic "a hopeless tendency for equality and adjacent rights successful lasting up for Palestinian quality rights."

Cuomo and his allies boosted disapproval from those similar the caput of the Anti-Defamation League and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

Mamdani addressed the backlash astatine an affectional quality league successful which helium denounced antisemitism, recounted immoderate of the threats helium has received for his spiritual beliefs and accused critics of trying to weaponize those comments without weighing successful connected the threats against him.

"It pains maine to beryllium called an antisemite. It pains maine to beryllium painted arsenic if I americium someway successful absorption to the precise Jewish New Yorkers that I cognize and emotion and that are specified a cardinal portion of this city. And yet I cognize that erstwhile I stock that emotion, I proceed to look a connection arsenic if I americium a beast. And it takes a toll," helium said this month, addressing the criticism.

Cuomo was agelong seen arsenic the front-runner successful the race, with his unsocial illustration arsenic a erstwhile statewide authoritative and nationalist Democratic Party heavyweight lending him wide sanction recognition from the commencement of his campaign, which nary of his rivals could lucifer astatine the beginning. He leaned heavy connected that acquisition to reason helium is the lone campaigner who'd beryllium capable to adequately combat backmost against President Donald Trump.

He marshaled dense governmental enactment from salient Democrats similar erstwhile Mayor Michael Bloomberg, erstwhile Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr. and aggregate members of Congress, including immoderate who previously called connected him to resign when helium was governor. And helium received a large boost from a deep-pocketed ace PAC (which received $8.5 cardinal from Bloomberg) that blanketed the airwaves with ads singing his strengths and criticizing Mamdani.

But could ne'er afloat flooded the crushed helium was successful the contention successful the archetypal spot — that helium resigned 4 years agone nether unit aft investigations by the authorities lawyer wide recovered that his administration undercounted Covid deaths successful nursing homes and that he sexually harassed aggregate women.

The 2 apical candidates, and their allies, person been unsparing successful their disapproval of each other. The pro-Cuomo ace PAC has tally a deluge of ads framing Mamdani arsenic "a hazard we can't afford," criticizing him arsenic excessively extremist for the city.

"Experience matters, and I deliberation inexperience is unsafe successful this case. Mr. Mamdani has had a unit of 5 people; you're present going to tally a unit of 300,000 employees?" Cuomo said during a statement hosted by Spectrum News NY1 this month.

But portion Cuomo has leaned connected that acquisition arsenic a strength, his opponents person tried to crook the tables by reminding voters of his autumn from grace among Democrats.

"To Mr. Cuomo: I person ne'er had to resign successful disgrace; I person ne'er chopped Medicaid," Mamdani replied to Cuomo astatine the Spectrum News NY1 debate.

"I person ne'er hounded the 13 women who credibly impeach maine of intersexual harassment, I person ne'er sued for their gynecological records, and I person ne'er done those things due to the fact that I americium not you, Mr. Cuomo," helium added, ending by forcefully correcting Cuomo for saying his past sanction incorrectly.

"And furthermore, the sanction is Mamdani: M-A-M-D-A-N-I. You should larn however to accidental it, due to the fact that we gotta get it right," helium continued.