In stunning defeat, Cuomo concedes to anti-Israel Mamdani in NYC mayoral primary
‘He deserved it. He won’: Former governor, who leaned into Jewish vote during campaign, acknowledges defeat to socialist opponent
Luke Tress is The Times of Israel's New York correspondent.
NEW YORK — Former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday conceded to State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic party primary, in a stunning defeat for a veteran politician who had leaned into the Jewish vote and his pro-Israel bona fides during the campaign against his anti-Zionist opponent.
With 91 percent of votes counted, Mamdani led Cuomo by more than 7 points on Tuesday night.
“Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night,” Cuomo told supporters at a campaign event. “I want to applaud the assemblyman for a really smart and good and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”
Mamdani has not officially won the race yet. In the city’s ranked-choice voting system, voters can select up to five candidates. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated in successive rounds of counting. Their voters’ next ranked selection is reapportioned until one of the candidates wins a majority.
The early vote count measures voters’ first-choice selection. Since no candidate won a majority, that counting process will now take place, and the final results are expected next week.
Despite the ranked-choice counting, Cuomo appeared to acknowledge his loss. He said he called Mamdani to congratulate him.
“I applaud him sincerely for his effort and let’s give him a round of applause and thank him for his campaign,” Cuomo said.
The third-place candidate is New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Jewish progressive who cross-endorsed Mamdani, so it’s unlikely that Cuomo has a path to winning in the ranked-choice count, since many of Lander’s voters likely ranked Mamdani second. Once Lander is eliminated, those votes will go to Mamdani’s total.
The primary typically determines the winner of the general election in the mostly Democratic city, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel.
Cuomo has registered to run as an independent in the general election in November. A spokesperson for Cuomo said he is looking at the numbers and considering his options.
After his concession speech, Cuomo said in a statement that he will “consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November.”
The concession marked a stunning defeat for Cuomo, who led nearly every poll until the closing weeks of the election. Mamdani, an assemblymember representing part of Queens, entered the race as a relative unknown but gained strength throughout the campaign.
Cuomo is a centrist Democrat with a long record of support for Israel. He campaigned heavily to win over Jewish voters with appearances at synagogues, Jewish events and in meetings with Jewish leaders.
Mamdani is a longtime anti-Israel activist who has said that the Palestinian cause got him into politics and is central to his identity. He alarmed many Jewish New Yorkers with his anti-Israel rhetoric and policies. He backs the boycott movement targeting Israel, has refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, identified as an anti-Zionist, and repeatedly accused Israel of genocide.
He has vowed that, if elected, he will arrest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu visits New York. Mamdani has cited the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu, but the court has no jurisdiction in the US, and cooperating with the court is illegal under federal law.
In the closing weeks of the campaign, Mamdani defended the phrase “Globalize the intifada,” which, for Jews, is seen as a call to violence. The Second Intifada against Israel was marked by suicide bombings of Israeli civilians and killed over 1,000 Israelis. Mamdani’s comparison last week of the intifada to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising drew a rebuke from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Mamdani, 33, is a member of the far-left Democratic Socialists of America, a party that has made anti-Israel activism one of its planks. If elected in November, he will become the city’s first Muslim mayor.
A gifted communicator, Mamdani won over young, liberal voters with an energetic campaign, savvy social media and progressive policy proposals such as free buses, rent freezes and government-run grocery stores.
Aside from Israel issues, concerns abound about Mamdani’s policies. The public transportation system, already strapped for cash, is the purview of the state, government-run stores could hurt small businesses, and rent freezes could stymie real estate development, for example.
Mamdani has little legislative experience or background managing an operation as vast as the city government. The city has more than 300,000 employees and a budget of more than $110 billion. The New York Times editorial board said last week, “We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots.”
Minority and older voters favored Cuomo, according to polling ahead of the election. Mainstream Jewish groups, including the city’s Orthodox and Hasidic communities, also lined up behind Cuomo.
Cuomo had broader name recognition than other candidates due to his tenure as governor, but his candidacy came with baggage. He resigned from office in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations and was accused of mishandling nursing homes during the COVID pandemic.
With religious Jewish communities, during the pandemic, Cuomo sparked outrage for his policies limiting gatherings that those communities felt targeted them. He made amends during the campaign, though, and won the endorsements of nearly all of the city’s Orthodox leaders. His COVID record may have suppressed turnout, though, despite those endorsements.
Mamdani also courted Jewish voters and won the endorsements of the anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace and the far-left Jews for Economic and Racial Justice through the group’s electoral arm, the Jewish Vote. His cross-endorsement from Lander, who identifies as a progressive Zionist, also may have helped him with Jewish voters. As comptroller, Lander is the highest-ranking elected official in the city government.
Polling ahead of the election showed either Lander or Mamdani as the second-choice favorite for Jewish voters, behind Cuomo.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent in the general election. Adams, like Cuomo, is a centrist and a staunch supporter of Israel. He has a deep well of support among Jewish communities, particularly in Brooklyn, where he served as the borough president, although he is unpopular with the general public. Adams has rolled out a series of pro-Jewish measures in recent months, including setting up an antisemitism task force, establishing a business council to foster ties with Israel, and codifying the IHRA definition of antisemitism for city government.
If Cuomo and Adams both run in the general election, they will be competing for centrist and Jewish voters, while Mamdani runs to their left.
After Cuomo conceded, Adams said in a statement, “This is it. The fight for New York’s future begins tonight.”
Also on Tuesday, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who is Jewish, won the primary race for New York City comptroller. His leading opponent, Justin Brannan, conceded, saying in a statement that he called to congratulate Levine on his win. Lander is leaving the office due to his mayoral run.
As the winner of the primary, Levine is all but assured to become the next comptroller.
The comptroller position is responsible for overseeing the city’s finances, acts as a check on the mayor, and is the second-highest elected office in the city government.
Levine is a well-known figure at Jewish and pro-Israel events, where he often addresses crowds in Hebrew.
The Times of Israel Community.