Prediction market Kalshi has already declared Zohran Mamdani as the Democratic nominee for NYC mayor.

Although this year’s NYC Democratic primary includes 11 candidates hoping to take over Mayor Eric Adams’ post, polling showed former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Indian-origin Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as the frontrunners to win the nomination. As of 7:30 pm Tuesday (local time), over 930,000 people in New York punched in their votes, according to the NYC Board of Elections.

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2025 NYC Democratic Primary: Zohran Mamdani vs Andrew Cuomo

The polls ultimately closed at 9 pm. The 2025 New York City mayoral election is using ranked-choice voting for the primary as it allows voters to rank top 5 candidates. As per the New York Times, democratic socialist Mamdani won the early vote, however, it might take days before the winner is officially announced. While the 33-year-old Indian-origin assemblyman’s campaign has focussed on rent freezes and a free city bus service, Cuomo is hoping to make his big political comeback on the grounds of his public safety policy.

Andrew Epstein, a spokesman for Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, called the early results “encouraging.” Meanwhile, Bill Knapp, a strategist for super PAC Fix the City backing Andrew Cuomo warned against “reading too much into the very early vote.”

What’s next

According to the Washington Post, with 88.8% votes counted, Mamdani led with 417,300 votes at 43.5%, whereas Cuomo trailed behind with 347,948 voted at 36.3%. If elected, Mamdani would be the first Muslim and Indian American mayor of the city.

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The candidate who finished last on the ranked choice system will be dropped so that vote count could continue until a candidate touches 50%. On the contrary, CNN projected that “Preliminary RCV elimination rounds will be conducted and reports released every week until the election is certified,” the election board explained.

To get a fair idea of how long these contests can last, Eric Adams was announced the winner of the 2021 primary after eight rounds of counting. As for this year, Adams has decided to run as an independent. Whoever officially wins the Democratic primary will face the incumbent mayor during the November 4 general election. All together, they will go up against the Republican mayoral candidate, Curtis Sliwa.

Update: Andrew Cuomo concedes

With Mamdani in the lead with over 40% of the votes in his favour, ex-governor Andrew Cuomo conceded to him in the NYC mayoral primary on Tuesday night. The scandal-ridden politician hoping to make a splash ultimately revealed that he called his top-running rival and congratulated him on what may soon turn into Mamdani’s victory.

“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said at a watch party. “He deserved it. He won.” He added, “He touched young people and he inspired them and moved them, and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him. I congratulated him. I applaud him sincerely for his effort.”

However, he also gave weight to “some thought” about what may come next, hinting at a possible return as an independent candidate instead.

Update: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez congratulates Mamdani

As one of the staunch supporters of the Muslim candidate, Ocasio-Cortez shared a heartwarming message for Mamdani on X. “Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” she wrote.

Breaking: Zohran Mamdani declares victory

After Cuomo conceded the race and congratulated Mamdani, the 33-year-old Dems socialist and a newcomer, declared victory in NYC’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night.

Although the official outcome is yet to be decided by a ranked choice count, Mamdani told his supporters in a speech, “Tonight, we made history. I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.”

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