Pro-Israel Cuomo concedes to socialist Mamdani in NYC mayoral primary

Former New York State governor Andrew Cuomo appears to concede 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 his campaign against his anti-Zionist opponent.

With 91% of votes counted, Mamdani leads Cuomo by more than 7 points.

“Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night,” Cuomo tells supporters.

“I want to applaud the assemblyman for a really smart and good and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,” Cuomo says.

Mamdani has not officially won the race. 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 least votes are eliminated in successive rounds of counting and their next 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 will now take place, and the final results are expected next week.

Despite the ranked-choice counting, Cuomo appears to have acknowledged his loss. He says he called Mamdani to congratulate him.

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.

The primary typically determines the winner of the general election in the mostly Democratic city. Cuomo has registered to run as an independent in the general election in November.

A spokesperson for Cuomo says he is looking at the numbers and considering his options for November.