Muslim candidate Zohran Mamdani wins New York Democratic mayoral primary in stunning upset

Indian-American socialist advances to November's general election

Shortly after former New York governor Andrew Cuomo conceded defeat, his rival and once long-shot candidate Zohran Mamdani quoted Nelson Mandela as he declared victory in the New York City mayoral primary election.

"It always seems impossible until it is done," he said.

"Tonight we made history," Mr Mamdani added amid a round of cheers and applause from supporters.

Peter Yacobucci, a political science professor at Buffalo State University said that Mr Mamdani's victory sends a message to establishment Democrats who might be failing to properly read the mood of the electorate.

"It isn't 1990s anymore and recycling the old will no longer win," he said, referring to efforts by some to make make Democrats take increasingly centrist positions on various issues.

Prof Yacobucci also said that Mr Mamdani's genuine campaign style and fearless use of social media should also be taken note of by party leaders.

"Authenticity wins over scripted normalcy and if leadership does believe that Trump is a significant threat to our democracy they must embrace a new vision," he explained.

Besides being a stunning upset, the results from Tuesday's Democratic primary are also historic in the sense that New York City is now one step closer to electing its first Muslim mayor.

Ultimately, voters faced a choice between the two top candidates: former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and his main challenger, Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim socialist state assembly member who was born in Uganda.

Andrew Cuomo speaks during his election night watch party, in which he conceded the primary and congratulated state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, in New York on June 24. EPA

In the first round of ranked-choice voting, Mr Mamdani won 43.5 per cent of the vote and Mr Cuomo 36.3 per cent, according to preliminary results from the city Board of Elections with more than 93 per cent of the ballots counted. Coming in third place on the first round was city comptroller Brad Lander, at 11.4 per cent. Mr Lander and Mr Mamdani had cross-endorsed each other.

It is a groundbreaking show by Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens assemblyman who rose out of relative obscurity in recent weeks.

Technically, the result is not yet official. Under the city’s ranked-choice system, a candidate is declared the winner after receiving more than 50 per cent of the votes.

In each round, a candidate will be eliminated and their voters’ No 2 choice will be distributed to the remaining candidates. The process is repeated until a candidate receives a majority. The next rounds of tallying votes are scheduled for July 1.

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  Candidates line up during a New York City mayoral Democratic primary debate earlier this month. Bloomberg

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  Zohran Mamdani, son of filmmaker Mira Nair and academic Mahmood Mamdani, claimed victory in the election of the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor. AP

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  Mr Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor if elected. AP

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  Results on Tuesday night showed Mr Mamdani with a commanding lead, but falling short of the 50 per cent threshold needed to win outright. Bloomberg

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  Mr Mamdani captured the public's attention on the campaign trail. More than 930,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots in the city's Democratic primary. Bloomberg

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  This Mr Mamdani supporter pinned his name on her back during the 43rd annual Mermaid Parade at Coney Island. AFP

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  Brad Lander, a liberal city government stalwart, came in third place. Bloomberg

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  Former Governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo conceded to his upstart rival Mr Mamdani. AFP

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  Mr Mamdani supporters celebrate during election night in New York City. Bloomberg

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  Mr Mamdani addresses his supporters. He rose in the polls thanks to a sophisticated volunteer network and massive donor support. Reuters

Voting took place in sweltering heat and as the Big Apple tightens security after the US bombed Iran at the weekend.

The election also became a microcosm of New Yorkers’ views on ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, with Mr Cuomo pledging support for Israel as Mr Mamdani criticised the country’s wars in Gaza and Iran.

Mr Mamdani, who will likely continue to cruise to victory in the Democratic primary will face incumbent mayor Eric Adams, who won the 2021 election as a Democrat but is running this time as an independent.

Polls had largely shown Mr Cuomo ahead, but an Emerson College survey released on Monday showed Mr Mamdani prevailing in the city’s complex ranked-choice voting system.

This operates as a series of instant run-offs, in which the candidate in last place is eliminated and his or her votes redistributed based on voters' second choice. That process is repeated until a winner is decided.

Mr Mamdani hopes his platform of rent freezes and free child care, funded through heavy borrowing, will help voters look past his limited political experience as a state politician.

If victorious, Mr Mamdani stands a good chance in heavily Democratic New York of winning the general election in November.

He recently accused Mr Cuomo of Islamophobia, claiming that a political action committee supporting the former New York governor had doctored a photo of Mr Mamdani, artificially lengthening and darkening his beard.

Timothy Kneeland, a professor of history, politics and law at Nazareth University in upstate New York, said that Mr Mamdani's victory might be viewed like a Rorschach test for some in the Democratic party.

"Progressives will see this as a clear sign that the days of establishment Democrats are over, but moderates may focus only on Mamdani's economic message and claim that as a strategy for moderate candidates," he explained.

Regardless, he said that with a major primary victory in the biggest city in the US, Mr Mamdani has officially arrived on the national political stage.

"He has become a new voice in the Democratic Party and will have to be taken seriously by any candidate running for office," Prof Kneeland added.