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 by state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he is conceding the Democratic primary.
The New York City Board of Elections reported as of 10:30 p.m 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 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.
“Tonight was not our night; tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote,” Cuomo said at an event with supporters on Tuesday night. He said later, “Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won. We’re going to take a look and make some decisions.”
In a surprise announcement, Cuomo’s campaign said Tuesday night he was conceding the primary and “looking toward November,” indicating he is not ruling out an independent run.
Earlier, Cuomo’s campaign said he would run on a “Fight and Deliver” ballot line in the general election that he says is meant for voters disillusioned with the Democratic Party.
Even with Cuomo’s announcement, the race is set to proceed to a ranked-choice count since no candidate got more than 50%.
Tuesday’s results do not yet reflect any ranked-choice tabulation. More comprehensive results won’t be reported until July 1, when the board of elections plans to run the ranked-choice tabulations.
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