Secures Majority Support in Primary Election
Defeats Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
In the Democratic primary election to select the party's candidate for New York City Mayor, progressive New York City Council member Joran Mamdani secured victory by defeating prominent politician and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The New York City Board of Elections announced on July 1 (local time) that, after the third round of vote counting in the mayoral primary, Mamdani led with 56% of the vote, while Cuomo came in second with 44%. Although the official announcement of the primary results by the New York City Board of Elections is scheduled for the middle of this month, AP reported that Mamdani's victory was confirmed based on the current vote count.
To prevent wasted votes, New York City employs a ranked-choice voting system, allowing voters to list up to five candidates in order of preference on their ballots. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated, and the second-choice votes from those ballots are redistributed to the remaining candidates in subsequent rounds of counting.
Previously, after the first round of counting on June 24, Mamdani was already predicted to win, having received 43.5% of the vote compared to Cuomo's 36.5%. This expectation was reinforced because Brad Lander, the New York City Comptroller who finished third with 11.2%, had pledged to support Mamdani if he was eliminated due to his lower ranking.
In a statement, Mamdani said, "In the June 24 election, Democratic Party members made it clear that they want to empower leaders who will fight for a city with a lower cost of living, a future-oriented politics, and who are unafraid to stand up against rising authoritarianism." He continued, "I am humbled by the support of 545,000 New Yorkers who voted for me, and I am pleased that we can further expand this coalition to defeat Eric Adams in the general election and build a city government that prioritizes workers."
The victory of Mamdani, a political newcomer who was virtually unknown just a few months ago, is sending shockwaves through the entire American political establishment. Although Cuomo had consistently led in various polls since officially announcing his candidacy in March, he ultimately lost to Mamdani. Of Indian Muslim descent, Mamdani focused his campaign on improving the living conditions of working-class New Yorkers struggling with high inflation, and he generated significant momentum with strong support from progressive leaders such as Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. His key campaign pledges included freezing rents for 'rent-stabilized apartments' over which the city has control, raising the minimum wage, expanding free bus service, and increasing access to free childcare.
Meanwhile, after his defeat in the primary, Cuomo has left open the possibility of running as an independent in the general election. If Cuomo continues his candidacy in the New York City mayoral election in November, Mamdani will face off against independent candidate and former governor Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa for the mayoralty.
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