Mamdani is eight percentage points ahead of Cuomo with 95% of the first-place votes counted in the NYC Democratic mayoral primary.
In a remarkable upset, 33-year-old state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani has outperformed former Gov.
Andrew Cuomo in the June 24 Democratic New York City primary for mayor.
Mamdani leads Cuomo 44% to 36% among first-place votes with 96% of ballots counted.
While the outcome won't be official until the instant runoff conducted with ballots that rank up to five choices is announced in July, Cuomo conceded the nomination less than 90 minutes after polls closed at 9 p.m.
Mamdani's lead is expected to grow in the instant runoff, because in polls he had far more lower-ranked votes than Cuomo from supporters of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who came in third with 11% of first-place votes.
The Democratic nominee will begin the general election as the favorite in the overwhelmingly Democratic city.
Cuomo, 67, and Mamdani, 33, represented ideological poles in the 11-candidate field, with ex-governor − a centrist who appointed many Republicans to his administration − on its right, and Democratic Socialists of America-member Mamdani on its left.
Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim mayor and its first Asian American mayor.
While Cuomo pledged to hire more police and increase private housing construction, Mamdani excited progressives with promises to freeze rents in regulated apartments and make buses free.
The battle between the two of them, and a host of other local officials, on who can best stand up to President Donald Trump, lower the city's housing costs, and remove homeless people from the streets and subways drew big spending from billionaires on Cuomo’s behalf.
A Super PAC backing Cuomo spent $24 million, much of it raised from Trump donors such as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and real estate executive Steven Roth, along with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Winning would have been a startling resurrection for Cuomo, a three-term governor who resigned in 2021 amid scandals including covering up nursing home deaths and numerous allegations of sexual harassment, which he denies.
Cuomo recently moved back to New York City for the first time in three decades, and launched a run for mayor, becoming an instant frontrunner.
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