Democrat socialist Zohran Mamdani has officially secured the Democratic primary for New York City mayor as of Tuesday, following the release of the Ranked Choice Voting results from the city’s election commission.
In the results, Mamdani, a 33-year-old member of the New York State Legislature, widened his lead over the former governor, garnering between 56% and 44% of the votes.
“The contest consisted of just three rounds. All but Mamdani and Cuomo were eliminated after the second round, referred to as Batch Elimination, which allows for multiple candidates to be dropped simultaneously,” it has been reported.
According to the report, Mamdani received 543,344 votes from the ranked selection. Over a million New Yorkers participated in the primary, marking the highest turnout since 1989.
Mamdani’s performance exceeded that of then-Urban Health Commissioner Kathryn Garcia in 2021, who narrowly lost to Mayor Eric Adams by 7,000 votes.
“We are grateful for the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers who voted for our campaign. We are excited to broaden this coalition as we aim to defeat Eric Adams and create a city government that prioritizes the working people,” Mamdani stated.
The official results confirm the expected victory, including Mamdani’s triumph over Cuomo during the first round of voting, after which Cuomo conceded. In November, Mamdani is set to challenge incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, along with Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent attorney Jim Walden.
The Election Commission noted it could not provide a detailed breakdown of vote transfers until all votes are fully counted. They will continue to tally ranked selection slips weekly until all absentee and affidavit ballots are accounted for.
Cuomo’s spokesperson did not dismiss the possibility of him running in the general election as an independent.
“Extremism, division, and grand promises won’t solve the city’s issues. These strategies appeal to certain segments of our base but do not reflect the larger majority,” said Cuomo’s spokesman, Rich Azopaldi. “Economic stability for families is our top priority, so practical solutions and tangible results are critical. We will keep engaging with the community as we consider our next steps.”
