On Tuesday, the city’s Board of Elections released the final results of the ranked-choice mayoral primary, showing Zohran Mamdani trouncing Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination. Mamdani won 56 percent to Cuomo’s 44 percent once all other candidates were eliminated and their votes were given to the top two finishers in the third round of voting.
In the final round, Mamdani picked up 99,069 additional votes from his eliminated challengers, nearly double the 53,493 votes gained by Cuomo in the tabulation. The strong showing is likely a result of the heavily-promoted “Don’t Rank Cuomo” strategy which urged voters to leave him off their ballot entirely. That approach culminated in a late cross-endorsement between Mamdani and comptroller Brad Lander who placed third overall in the primary, with both candidates asking their supporters to rank the other second.
“Last Tuesday, Democrats spoke in a clear voice, delivering a mandate for an affordable city, a politics of the future, and a leader unafraid to fight back against rising authoritarianism,” Mamdani said in a statement. “I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers who voted for our campaign and am excited to expand this coalition even further as we defeat Eric Adams and win a city government that puts working people first.”
Cuomo, who had previously vowed to run on an independent line in the fall regardless of the primary results, has been vague about his plans since his stunning defeat last Tuesday. Though he missed the deadline to drop his independent bid from the November ballot, he told reporters he would make a decision about the general election following the official results. In the meantime, some of his key primary endorsers have lined up behind Mamdani, including the influential Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and 32BJ SEIU unions, as well as Brooklyn Democratic boss Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.
In a statement following the release of the latest results, the Cuomo campaign did not acknowledge Mamdani’s victory and continued to leave the door open for Cuomo’s return in the fall. “We’ll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps,” campaign spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.
Mayor Eric Adams, who previously dropped out of the Democratic primary to pursue an independent bid, has appeared eager to challenge Mamdani, painting him as an inexperienced opportunist who will say anything to get elected. Though Adams has his own baggage as a candidate, including low approval ratings and a federal corruption case that was controversially dropped by the Trump administration, members of the business community have shown an interest in backing the mayor to counter Mamdani’s candidacy. Jim Walden, a former Brooklyn federal prosecutor, is also running as an independent.
And then there’s Curtis Sliwa, the perennial Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, whose posture in the race remained unchanged despite the primary being in constant flux. Sliwa has rebuffed calls for him to drop out in order for the moderate and conservative wings to coalesce behind Adams. “I’m not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,” he told Politico.
