New York State Assemblyman – and former rapper – Zohran Mamdani became the presumptive Democrat nominee in New York City’s mayoral race on Tuesday in a stunning upset.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was the favorite going into the election but conceded the race to Mamdani late in the evening. After polls showed Cuomo winning for most of the campaign, Mamdani suddenly surged ahead just days before votes were cast.
With Decision Desk reporting 91 percent of ballots counted, the 33-year-old Mamdani holds a significant lead with 43.5 percent of first-place votes. Cuomo is in second place with 36.4 percent. The former governor was seen as the more centrist candidate compared to Mamdani, who ran on a platform of freezing rent, creating city-owned grocery stores, turning New York into a “LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city,” and protecting illegal aliens from deportation.
The Democrat primary is determined by ranked choice voting, an electoral system where voters rank candidates in order of preference—first, second, third, and so on—instead of choosing just one. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed to the voters’ next choices. This process continues until one candidate secures a majority.
“Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign, and he touched young people and inspired them and moved them and got them to come out and vote, and he really ran a highly impactful campaign,” Cuomo stated in his concession. “I called him. I congratulated him.”
Mamdani was known for promoting far-left policies before running for mayor. In a post dated June 28, 2020, he said that the New York City Police Department (NYCPD) was “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” In another post later that year, he stated that “queer liberation means defund the police.”
The assemblyman also issued several posts in 2020 claiming that his goal was to build a “socialist New York.” He is a member of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America. As recently as last year, Mamdani accused Israel of “genocide” in several posts. “I will always be clear in my language and based in facts: Israel is committing a genocide,” he stated in a post dated October 31, 2024.
Despite Mamdani claiming to represent the interests of working-class New Yorkers, early exit polling shows that lower-income voters backed Cuomo by about 13 points, while middle- and high-income voters backed Mamdani by 10 points and 13 points, respectively.
Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk claimed on X that the city’s Democrat primary was a result of mass migration into the country.
“The lesson from New York City is that BOTH illegal and legal immigration can ruin your country,” he said. “It’s not just the open border, it’s also our suicidal mass LEGAL migration policies bringing in over 1 million people a year: green cards, chain migration, refugee resettlement, anchor babies, and asylum scams. This all needs to be ended.”
Mamdani is a migrant from Africa who only became a citizen in 2018. Critics have accused Mamdani, a Muslim, of being a radical Islamist, particularly following comments where he defended the chant of “globalize the intifada,” long seen as a call for genocide against Jews and the destruction of Israel.
Mamdani’s apparent affinity for anti-Jewish extremism is also reflected in his failed rapping career, where he “rapped about his ‘love’ for Hamas terror-funding group ‘Holy Land Five.’” Some reports have alleged that Mamdani’s mother directed his rap videos.
Mamdani is now set to face off against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. Adams was originally charged and indicted by the Biden administration for allegedly obtaining illegal campaign contributions and luxury travel. However, the Trump administration dropped these charges in February amid accusations that the Biden administration’s charges were politically motivated after Adams criticized the former president’s immigration policy.
Alan Jamison is the pen name of a political writer with extensive experience writing for several notable politicians and news outlets.
If John F. Kennedy was still President he would have them thrown in prison! This just shows and prove that the Democratic Party has been infiltrated by enemies to America! We can no longer allow this failure to continue!
Poor New Yorkers. It’s bad enough to keep AOC in office, but this is beyond the pale.
Ex-rapper and a rich socialist, dems sure know how to pick em.
There you have it people on the left. You have succeeded in making New York City into a communist city. Really this is your ideal city? govt owned grocery stores, no police, no jails, here is the big one, no guns, no medical bills, elevate Trans to celebrities and a few more of these ridiculous ideas. Who pays for all this. Oh yes the business owner. Only they are leaving New York City faster than you can say, no tax for the people. This man will ruin the city and millions of people will be living in poverty, ill and in fear for their lives. The killers, rapists and thieves own the city and there is no one there to protect you. Surely not this Muslim creep. Who is foreign born and raised by his mother to destroy America. At least for now NYC. But you democrats let it happen with your lies, brainwashing and manipulation. Dumbing down America with your DEI mandates and your school curriculum that concentrated on mutilating our children into androids than teaching them the three R’s. And govt workers were hired because of race, gender or sexual orientation. Not if they qualified for the job. Jails were emptied out. And trans were preferred over hetero sexuals. In women’s sports, women’s bathrooms, women’s locker rooms, Drag Queens were preferred entertainment over Finding Nemo. Pop up gay sex books over Dr Seuss. I could go on. All this occurred under your “great”, your word, Obama and the ever “smart as a tack”, again your words, Biden regimes. May God protect New York City it will need it.
Looks like one day we’ll have to wall off nyc to. Those folks ain’t to smart.
Well when New York City defunds the NYPD, turns the city socialist and is openly hostile to everyone who is not Muslim, and the city is in flames don’t run to the federal government (the taxpayers of the rest of the US) for help cleaning up your mess! H
Sad that this is the best the Democrats have and antisemitic socialist. Embarrassing to say the least.
How many illegals (middle Eastern muslims ) voted? Just as London is falling, so will NYC. Quite a symbol of power over the infidels.
I have a feeling that something is more than slightly off. Voter if he even counts should be more afraid than aware. Something’s in the air and it ain’t summer.
Time for Upstate NY to part ways with the cesspool known as NYC
and become the 51st state
Freezing rent = owners forced to skimp on maintenance; city owned grocery stores = DMV-like service comes to Main Street; Democratic Socialist = Person dedicated to creating a third world nation society. Good luck to all the middle and upper class New Yorkers who voted to do away with law and order, capitalism and the 250 year old idea that created the greatest nation in the world. And you’re bringing along Alvin “No-Incarceration” Bragg to help. Wow!
I am confused. How does a Muslim approve of LGBQTIA….? In other countries where Muslims are in charge, the homosexuals are thrown in jail or killed.
Ranked choice voting has no place in a republic based on democracy!!!
I thought once about visiting NY. Not now and I don’t think ever while it is run by pathetic racists.
If a former bartender can be Congresswoman.. a Muslim rapper can be mayor.. What could possibly go wrong?
NYC doubling down on stupid, yet again. The upside is you can’t ruin a city that has already been ruined – but can you completely destroy it? .y guess is a firm yes. Maybe Newscum can pick him as a vp in28. Then we can destroy the entire country forever. 26 midterms are SUPER IMPORTANT.
New York City is in bad enough shape already.
Who will his opponent be? Whoever it might be, if NY voters are DUMB enough to pick him over his opponent, they deserve him and the result he will undoubtedly bring.
Democratic Socialism intends to bring Communism in to power as soon as possible.
what a POS.the dems have managed to go way below the bottom of the barrel on yet another of their rats.
The people get what they vote for and want!
This is what happens when we let the left over take our educational system. He received the most votes ever from 18 to 25 year olds, in history. The left have been able to convince our youth that socialism is our future. Sad and scary. I’m wondering how many of them are legal citizens
It’s difficult to keep up with how much radicals to the extreme Left and to the extreme Right are now becoming one big anti-everything but what we tell you to support mass of hatefulness.
Since when do Muslims accept and promote homosexuality? How can one be a Socialist Muslim when the two ideologies are so opposed to one another? Is this just another case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend, until we defeat our common enemy and show our hate toward one another again?
I get that both extremes want to take down the U.S. to use our vast wealth and influence until they have destroyed it along with all American citizens, even those who are naive enough to support them. What I don’t get is how Democrat voters keep falling for these hateful deceivers.
God help us. The latest news is that his nomination opens the door for AOC to run for president in 2028. This country has fallen. I hope we can recover, but at this point, I’m not sure.
God help this state! Soros was a major contributor, this craziness has to be exposed
Every single legal RIGHT thru CENTER voter had better get out and VOTE AGAINST THIS CANDIDATE!!
Anyone can correct me if I’m wrong: I know California is bad, but I think New York City is worse. At least California hasn’t had a Socialist run for office and been elected.
Socialism always fails and leads to poverty, shortages, and desperation because it eliminates the main driver for value creation….enlightened self interest!
Born in Africa. a Marxist Muslim. A naturalized US citizenship. Tell me what Muslims have in common with this country? #44 did a good job om importing them. Look at Detroit and Minneapolis. Did we not learn anything from the American Revolution and 09/11/2001? The Muslims have made it very clear that they want to take over this country. I could not post what I truly think of them. It isn’t close to nice!
There are few things dumber than a NYC voter. Their true and serious mental illness prevents them from wising up. A waller in a city over run with crime, drugs, illegals, homelessness, filth, and satanic moral decay and rot will live in their self-inflicted misery. Their ONLY HOPE is if a Republican/Conservative beats this perverted Commie.
Maybe New York can become like Londonistan and Dearbornistan! “Ranked choice” voting is EVIL; that’s how Alaskan Republicans get stuck with Democrat-lite!
MERCY!!! I’VE KNOWN THAT NYC IQ LEVEL HAS GONE DOWN INTO THE CESSPOOL, BUT THIS IS DOWNRIGHT STUPID!!! THIS THUG IS A MARXIST-LENINIST IN FULL DRESS!!! EVEN AOC LOVES HIM, SO YOU KNOW HE’S A SCUM BUCKET LICKER!! WHY HAVEN’T WE HEARD FROM ANY REPUBICS?! THESE NY’ER ARE ONLY WANTING THE HANDOUTS THAT THIS POCHIT WILL PROVIDE!!! THE TAX PAYINGS WILL SEE A HUGE INCREASE!!!
And so it goes!
It’s time NYC had a Republican Mayor, not a Communist Mayor.
If NYC voters elect this idiot, then they deserve all the misery that will ensue.
IF he wins in Nov then hes Mayor
At some point, people will have to look at each other and say, we did it to ourselves. Hopefully it won’t be too late to recover. IMO
Socialism is the final step to communism; our America isn’t mentioned in the end times. Our Founders would be sickened by what has been done to this once Constitutional Republic and wonder why they bothered. America is, so far, a wealthy, relatively healthy nation. Unfortunately our schools haven’t been for many years…and it shows. My state borders New Mexico…I get their nightly “news” and they’re number #1 in the nation for violent crime. Dangerous criminals get pathetic sentences for their violence. And tho’ they may receive a “tough” sentence they’re usually out in far less time than sentenced.
My home state of Colorado was once a strong conservative red state…then demorats like roaches literally crept in, in the middle of the night and through a series of leftist twists and turns Colorado was lost. Now it’s being destroyed by leftist Californians pouring in like ship rats. If I were a lot younger I’d be living in North Dakota…still bright red and conservative…I do keep better in the cold.
Until Conservatives are willing to put on the “uniform”, the jack boots and pick up their rifles in masse, it’s over but the crying. When democrat Clinton presided over the 51 day slaughter of over 80 American citizens in Waco in ’94…before the smoke had cleared, Militias all over the country formed in record time. From the east coast west and all points in between. Hundreds or even more. Over 1000 in my area alone were ready. The demorats opined that “well we were going to take their guns, but we’ll wait for a “more opportune time”. Me thinks it’s here...my state is being “gun lawed” to death.
Our Founders knew well the power of an armed America….that’s why if anyone has paid attention, the 2nd. Amendment is only behind free speech. It’s easy to post outrage…it takes a hellova lot more to act on it.
If this is the kind of awful man NYC wants as their mayor and crazy AOC. Have it your way. Very SAD…
If New York City elects this fool they deserve what will happen.
Look him up on the Communist Wikipedia site. It tells you a lot. Radical father. It breaks my heart that his mom is film maker Mira Nair, who has made some great, but Lib leaning films.
All I can say to the people in NYC is, if you’re going to continue to park your a$$ on a live grenade, then you deserve to have your a$$ blown off. SMH…how stupid.
dems are soooo lost.
You have GOT to be kidding me! This is the best they can do?? Boy, are we in trouble!
Well it just shows to go ya……the dems are off the charts. If this fellow manages to sell his snake oil successfully, you will see NYC collapse. Only New Yorkers can make this not happen….no one outside that city has any capacity to change their future failure. It is up to them alone…and from what I have seen, far too many of them are so brain dead this guy will make it to the mayor’s office, no sweat. Then you will see the REAL exodus from that town….and you can well imagine just what level of chaos will come to pass in the big apple….the worms are winning there. Sad, so very sad.
I am so tired of listening to so many conservatives who keep saying that the democrat party is dead; the democrat party is in retreat; the democrat party keeps losing; and my favorite, the mainstream legacy media is dead. This just proves once again that they are alive and well. And not just in New York, all over the country! Yes, it was just a primary; or was it?? Cuomo is bad enough, but you thought it couldn’t get worse? We have wake up call after wake up call and this is the result?? Is this what we have to look forward to heading in to the midterms? My God people wake the hell up, Please! The honeymoon is well over, get over it!
“In the clouds with ideas. No police – then give up your security!” Brilliant, but dumber than snot.
If elected, the citizens will have to deal with and TCO issues and get his communist ideology out of there. Youth, wait and feel the hurt! As stated by citizens and those who study the problems.
This is fantastic! I never understood how Cuomo had the unmitigated gall to run for any public office after letting so many people die during Covid AND being run out of office because he can’t keep his hands and lewd thoughts to himself.
Nice smile, but he is living proof you can function without a brain……….
You reap what you sow! Now you can live with it every moment of your remaining days!!!