Zohran Mamdani officially wins NYC Democratic mayoral nominee

New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani has officially won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, the city’s Board of Elections confirmed Tuesday.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and first-generation Ugandan-American Muslim, secured 56 percent of the vote in the third round of the city’s ranked-choice voting system, clearing the 50 percent threshold needed to win.

His victory sets the stage for a high-profile showdown in November against current Mayor Eric Adams, who is seeking reelection as an independent following his indictment on corruption charges, a case that was later dropped by the Department of Justice.

“We’ve always believed our path to victory would come through ranked-choice voting,” Mamdani said in a video posted to social media. “When we earned more votes in the first round than Eric Adams did across seven rounds in 2021, that was extraordinary.”

Mamdani’s rise through the crowded primary field, which included former Governor Andrew Cuomo, has sent ripples through the Democratic establishment. Cuomo, a more moderate figure, earned 44 percent in the final tally and called Mamdani to concede after early results became clear. While he has not ruled out running as an independent, Cuomo has not made any formal announcement.

Mamdani’s nomination is already drawing sharp criticism from Republicans. President Donald Trump labeled him a “100 percent Communist Lunatic” on Wednesday, while the GOP’s congressional campaign arm vowed to tie Mamdani to vulnerable Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Despite the backlash, Mamdani struck a unifying tone. “Our goal is to win people back to the Democratic Party,” he said, highlighting that his campaign resonated in several neighborhoods that had voted for Trump in the previous presidential election.

But tensions are already escalating. When asked how he would respond if Mamdani, as mayor, attempted to block federal immigration arrests, Trump bluntly told reporters, “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him. We don’t need a communist in this country.”

Mamdani has previously condemned aggressive immigration raids, calling them a form of terrorizing communities and accusing enforcement agents of disregarding the law.

In the general election, Mamdani will also face Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels, as well as independent attorney Jim Walden. With Adams and possibly Cuomo running outside traditional party lines, the November race is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable mayoral contests in the city's modern history.

This is the second citywide election conducted using ranked-choice voting, a system adopted in 2021 that allows voters to rank up to five candidates. The method, designed to broaden democratic participation, reallocates votes from the lowest-performing candidates until one surpasses the 50 percent mark.

For now, Mamdani’s campaign moves forward with momentum, and a target on its back.