Mamdani officially secures nomination for New York City mayor
Zohran Mamdani
in the Democratic primary, clearing the way for the political upstart to be the party's nominee for the November mayoral election.
The ranked-choice voting results released on Tuesday showed Mamdani, who started his campaign as little-known New York state assembly member, clinched 56% of votes in the third round of
the voting
, where over 50% of votes are required for a winner.
As
the Democratic nominee
, Mamdani will face current mayor Eric Adams in the general election. Adams, who won as a Democrat in his first mayoral race in 2021, is running as an independent candidate after his indictment on
corruption charges
and the subsequent decision by the Department of Justice to drop the case.
In a new video on X, Mamdani compared his victory in the primary to the election campaign Adams had in 2021.
'We have always thought our victory would come after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting. When we got more votes in the first round than Eric Adams got in the seven rounds in the last election, it was astonishing,' he said.
An unexpected victory of 33-year-old Mamdani, a Uganda-born Muslim, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, over veteran politician Andrew Cuomo, a moderate, caused unease among Democrats, worried that his political views may make them
a convenient target
for Republican attacks.
The day after Mamdani's victory, President Donald Trump called him a '100% Communist Lunatic' while the Republican party's congressional campaign arm
promised to tie him to every vulnerable Democrat
in next year's midterm elections.
In the new video, Mamdani said that his objective was 'to win people back to the Democratic party' and noted that he prevailed in some of New York City neighborhoods that voted for Trump in the presidential election last year.
After the election board confirmed Mamdani's victory, Trump, asked how he would deal with Mamdani if he wins the election and tries to block arrests of immigrants, said:
'Well then, we'll have to arrest him. Look, we don't need a communist in this country. But if we have one I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.'
Mamdani earlier said that the immigrant raids were 'terrorizing people' and agents who carry them out have no interest in following the law.
Cuomo, who received 44% of votes in the final tally, called Mamdani to concede the race after early results of the primary were announced last Tuesday. The former governor could enter the race as an independent candidate, but he has not said publicly whether he will.
Along with Adams, Mamdani will face Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, a radio host best known as the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol, and attorney Jim Walden, who is running as an independent.
The ranked-choice voting system that New York City adopted in 2021 allowed voters to rank up to five candidates in the order of preference. Ballots are tabulated in what may best be described as a series of instant runoffs, where the candidates who trail are gradually eliminated and their votes are re-distributed among frontrunners until one of them reaches 50%.
(Reuters)
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Nahar Net
4 hours ago
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Zohran Mamdani wins New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, defeating ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo
by Naharnet Newsdesk 02 July 2025, 17:28 Zohran Mamdani has won New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, a new vote count confirmed Tuesday, cementing his stunning upset of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and sending him to the general election. The Associated Press called the race after the results of the city's ranked choice voting tabulation were released and showed Mamdani trouncing Cuomo by 12 percentage points. Mamdani said he was humbled by the support he received in the primary and has started turning his attention to November. "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," he said in a statement. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist and member of the state Assembly since 2021, was virtually unknown when he launched his candidacy centered on a bold slate of populist ideas. But he built an energetic campaign that ran circles around Cuomo as the older, more moderate Democrat tried to come back from the sexual harassment scandal that led to his resignation four years ago. Mamdani's win had been widely expected since he took a commanding lead and declared victory after the polls closed a week ago, but fell just short of the 50% of the vote needed to avoid another count under the ranked choice voting model. The system allows voters' other preferences to be counted if their top candidate falls out of the running. He will now face a general election field that includes incumbent Mayor Eric Adams as well as independent candidate Jim Walden and Republican Curtis Sliwa. The former governor, down but not out Cuomo conceded defeat on the night of the primary but is contemplating whether to continue mounting a campaign on an independent ballot line. After the release of Tuesday's vote count, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said: "We'll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps." "Extremism, division and empty promises are not the answer to this city's problems, and while this was a look at what motivates a slice of our primary electorate, it does not represent the majority," Azzopardi said. The results of the primary have already sent a shockwave through the political world. Mamdani's campaign — focused on lowering the cost of living, promising free city buses, free child care, a rent freeze for people living in rent-stabilized apartments, government-run grocery stores and more, all paid for with taxes on the wealthy — claims it has found a new blueprint for Democrats who have at times appeared rudderless during President Donald Trump's climb back to power. The Democratic establishment has approached Mamdani with caution. Many of its big players applauded his campaign but don't seem ready to throw their full support behind the young progressive, whose past criticisms of law enforcement, use of the word "genocide" to describe the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and "democratic socialist" label amount to landmines for some in the party. Born in Uganda to Indian parents, Mamdani came to the U.S. at age 7 and became a citizen in 2018. If elected, he would be the city's first Muslim mayor and its first of Indian American decent. He would also be one of its youngest. Cuomo's campaign centered on his extensive experience, casting himself as the only candidate capable of saving a city he said had spun out of control. He focused heavily on combating antisemitism and leaned on his name recognition and juggernaut fundraising operation rather than mingling with voters. He denied the sexual harassment allegations that ended his tenure as governor, maintaining that the scandal was driven by politics and that voters were ready to move on. Trump and others are already on the attack For Republicans, Mamdani has already provided a new angle for attack. Trump and others in the GOP have launched broadsides at him, moving to cast Mamdani as the epitome of leftist excess ahead of consequential elections elsewhere this year and next. "If I'm a Republican, I want this guy to win," said Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University. "Because I want to be able to compare and contrast my campaign as a Republican, in a national election, to the idea of, 'This is where the Democratic party is.'" Trump, in remarks to reporters on Tuesday, appeared to have taken notice of Mamdani's meteoric rise, saying "He's still has a race to win, and so far he's winning." Meanwhile, Adams, while still a Democrat, is running in the November election as an independent. He dropped out of the Democratic primary in April after he was severely wounded by his now-dismissed federal bribery case. Though he had done little in the way of campaigning since then, he reignited his reelection operation in the days after Mamdani declared victory, calling it a choice between a candidate with a "blue collar" and one with a "silver spoon." Echoing Cuomo's message, Adams has sought to cast Mamdani as an unqualified radical whose agenda would sow chaos across the city. "Right now, we should not be doing an experiment when we have real results and expertise to make New Yorkers safe," Adams told reporters Tuesday.
Ya Libnan
a day ago
- Ya Libnan
Mamdani officially secures nomination for New York City mayor
NEW YORK – The New York City Election board on Tuesday confirmed a stunning victory by mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary, clearing the way for the political upstart to be the party's nominee for the November mayoral election. The ranked-choice voting results released on Tuesday showed Mamdani, who started his campaign as little-known New York state assembly member, clinched 56% of votes in the third round of the voting , where over 50% of votes are required for a winner. As the Democratic nominee , Mamdani will face current mayor Eric Adams in the general election. Adams, who won as a Democrat in his first mayoral race in 2021, is running as an independent candidate after his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent decision by the Department of Justice to drop the case. In a new video on X, Mamdani compared his victory in the primary to the election campaign Adams had in 2021. 'We have always thought our victory would come after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting. When we got more votes in the first round than Eric Adams got in the seven rounds in the last election, it was astonishing,' he said. An unexpected victory of 33-year-old Mamdani, a Uganda-born Muslim, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, over veteran politician Andrew Cuomo, a moderate, caused unease among Democrats, worried that his political views may make them a convenient target for Republican attacks. The day after Mamdani's victory, President Donald Trump called him a '100% Communist Lunatic' while the Republican party's congressional campaign arm promised to tie him to every vulnerable Democrat in next year's midterm elections. In the new video, Mamdani said that his objective was 'to win people back to the Democratic party' and noted that he prevailed in some of New York City neighborhoods that voted for Trump in the presidential election last year. After the election board confirmed Mamdani's victory, Trump, asked how he would deal with Mamdani if he wins the election and tries to block arrests of immigrants, said: 'Well then, we'll have to arrest him. Look, we don't need a communist in this country. But if we have one I'm going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.' Mamdani earlier said that the immigrant raids were 'terrorizing people' and agents who carry them out have no interest in following the law. Cuomo, who received 44% of votes in the final tally, called Mamdani to concede the race after early results of the primary were announced last Tuesday. The former governor could enter the race as an independent candidate, but he has not said publicly whether he will. Along with Adams, Mamdani will face Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, a radio host best known as the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol, and attorney Jim Walden, who is running as an independent. The ranked-choice voting system that New York City adopted in 2021 allowed voters to rank up to five candidates in the order of preference. Ballots are tabulated in what may best be described as a series of instant runoffs, where the candidates who trail are gradually eliminated and their votes are re-distributed among frontrunners until one of them reaches 50%. (Reuters)
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a day ago
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Bush, Obama and singer Bono fault Trump's gutting of USAID on agency's last day
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