‘He won’: Cuomo concedes to Mamdani in stunning NYC mayoral primary upset

BROOKLYN (CN) — Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to progressive state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday, whose apparent victory is a remarkable upset in a contentious race to unseat current Mayor Eric Adams.

Speaking to supporters Tuesday evening, Cuomo said he called Mamdani to congratulate him after the assemblyman surged ahead in the first round of tallies.

“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said of his 33-year-old opponent. “He deserved it. He won.”

A victor isn’t expected to be officially crowned until next week thanks to New York City’s ranked choice voting system, which allows voters to indicate their top five candidates.

But Mamdani’s current lead in first-place votes, coupled with the strong coalition he built with other progressive candidates in the race, makes it very unlikely that Cuomo will be able to claim the lead.

Mamdani and Cuomo have been the consensus top two candidates for the past several months, according to polling. Their campaigns couldn’t have been more different.

Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment, entered the race late after months of rumors of a run. The 67-year-old’s name recognition alone propelled him into becoming a massive favorite, and he’s since campaigned on common-sense centrism and his decades of governmental experience.

Mamdani, a state lawmaker from Queens, was a virtual unknown when he first announced his candidacy. But the proud Democratic Socialist ran a charismatic campaign targeting younger voters across the five boroughs on the issue of affordability, as he seeks to freeze rents, implement universal childcare and make buses free.

It’s a message that resonated with New Yorkers in Maria Hernandez Park in Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood,**** who endured 100-degree heat to cast their ballots.

“I put Zohran first, then Brad Lander second, then I wrote in my buddy Charlie for district attorney,” one voter, Jack, told Courthouse News on Tuesday.

Lander, the city’s comptroller, has been polling third. But the progressive 55-year-old recently cross-endorsed with Mamdani — a move made possible by New York’s ranked choice voting system.

Both Mamdani and Lander encouraged their supporters to not rank Cuomo at all.

“I’m done with the old politics, they’re not working.” said Manny, a contractor from Bushwick who ranked Mamdani first on his ballot. “I got in an argument with my pop about it today. We’re both from New York. He’s got that traditional Long Island mentality. At the end of the day, some people are just going to pick Cuomo because that’s the name that’s familiar to them.”

Cuomo had been a favorite since he announced his candidacy in March. But recent polling showed Mamdani closing the gap in recent weeks, culminating in a Monday survey from Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill that had him beating Cuomo in a ranked choice simulation.

In the survey, Cuomo still led on first-choice ballots 35% to Mamdani’s 32%. But when ranked choice voting was considered, Mamdani beat Cuomo 52% to 48%.

It was the first major independent poll this cycle that had Mamdani, who was polling at just 1% in February, come out on top.

The poll also outlined each candidates’ key bases; voters under 50 supported Mamdani over Cuomo two-to-one, while Cuomo had an edge with older voters. Cuomo also got the nod with Hispanic and Black voters, while Mamdani led with white and Asian voters.

New Yorkers without a four-year degree supported Cuomo 61% to 39%, and Mamdani led with college-educated voters 62% to 38%, according to the poll.

With the record-breaking temperatures in New York City, no one was more vocal about heat accommodations than Cuomo, who was relying heavily on a base of older voters. He publicly urged the city Board of Elections this week to guarantee air conditioning systems at polling sites and to pass out water to voters standing in line.

Not all polling sites are air conditioned, but New York Governor Kathy Hochul did sign a provision into law earlier this week that allows refreshments to be provided to New Yorkers waiting in line to vote.

Luckily, for Maria and Ryan, who were pushing their toddler around Maria Hernandez Park on Tuesday after voting, their polling site had no wait at all.

“It wasn’t too bad,” Ryan said. “We walked in and out and did it with the baby.”

The couple ranked Mamdani first on their ballots.

While Mamdani may have cinched a historic victory in the primary, he’s in for an unusually contentious general election in November.

New York City’s status as a safely blue city usually all but guarantees the Democratic nominee the mayoralty. But in this election, incumbent Mayor Adams, a Democrat, pledged to run as an independent.

Adams’ approval rating is underwater, thanks in part to a dismissed but damning corruption scandal, but he could still theoretically flank Mamdani from the right in the general election.

Cuomo had also previously vowed to run as an independent if he loses the primary. But he stopped short at committing to that on Tuesday night, telling his supporters that his team is evaluating their options.

If he does, New Yorkers are potentially in for a packed general election with Adams, Cuomo, Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa each having spots on the ballot.

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