In the closely watched New York City Democratic mayoral primary, no candidate reached the 50% threshold needed to be declared the winner outright. But after a strong showing in the first round, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani declared victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded earlier, in what was shaping up to be a remarkable upset.
The New York City Board of Elections reported as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday that Mamdani was leading among the candidates voters ranked first on their ballot, with 44% of the vote. Cuomo was second with about 36%. City comptroller Brad Lander followed with about 11%.
The early results amounted to a strong showing for Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who had gained momentum in polling and fundraising in the closing weeks of the campaign and capitalized on social media virality and enthusiasm among younger voters.
