Mamdani Shocks the World on a Hot Primary Day

In one of the most stunning results in Democratic politics in years, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani is poised to come from nowhere and pull off a major victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the establishments overwhelming choice for the job. With 90 percent of the results in, Mamdani had captured 43.5 percent of the vote to Cuomos 36.3 percent. The final results with all allocations in the ranked-choice process will be announced next Tuesday.
The win is a shock considering what Cuomo and his deep-pocketed allies threw at Mamdani in the late stages of the race, including tens of millions of dollars in Super PAC ads, endorsements from former president Bill Clinton and kingmaker former House leader Jim Clyburn, and a flurry of media rage. But as Mamdani said on Stephen Colberts show this week, while Cuomo had organized money, he had organized people.
Cuomo conceded that late Tuesday evening with a de facto concession speech in which he praised Mamdanis campaign.
The margin, which virtually no pollster predicted, matches the excitement that canvassers have seen throughout New York for weeks and saw again on Tuesday. A near-record heat wave had some convinced voters would stay home, especially after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a state of emergency for 32 counties on Sunday, including for all five New York City boroughs. But the results speak for themselves.
As the temperature climbed towards 100 yesterday morning, election volunteer Jessica Roff stood in the lone square of shade outside Public School 130 in Brooklyns Kensington neighborhood, a shadow cast by a street sign.
https://prospect.org/politics/2025-06-25-mamdani-shocks-the-world-on-hot-primary-day/