University of Kwazulu-Natal

5 Takeaways Behind Mamdani S Historic Nyc Win Politico

Bonisiwe Shabane
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5 takeaways behind mamdani s historic nyc win politico

In a remarkable upset, progressive State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. Early polls showed Mamdani starting his campaign with around 1% support. Just six weeks before the June 24 election, his support was only at 11%, while Cuomo led with 49%. Three separate polls, conducted by Yale/YouGov, Marist College, and the Manhattan Institute within two weeks of the election, still showed Cuomo ahead by 12 points or more. Mamdani won the primary as the clear leader with 56% of the votes, totaling 545,334 votes. His campaign claimed that this was “the most votes any Democratic primary candidate has received in 36 years.” Cuomo received 44%, or 428,530 votes.

Although NYC is the largest city in the U.S., this election was not on a national stage. Jared Leopold, a Democratic strategist, summarized it well: “Communicating in a Democratic primary in New York City is very different from communicating in a swing district in Iowa.” For example, the white population makes... Nevertheless, a quick look at his initial support and his victory sharply contrasts with Vice President Kamala Harris’s initial support and loss. In roughly the same amount of time before Election Day for both Harris and Mamdani, Harris was 2% behind Donald Trump according to a New York Times/Siena College poll, and Mamdani was 38% behind... Mamdani won despite performing poorly with low-income voters, losing the majority of Black voters and criticizing Israel while showing sympathy for the Gaza Palestinians. All three conditions should have led to a Democratic candidate losing.

Zohran Mamdani won the mayor’s race Tuesday with the help of the Working Families Party ballot line, which accounted for about 15% of his total votes citywide. The 34-year-old democratic socialist and Queens Assembly Member will be New York City’s 111th mayor come January after securing just over 50% of the vote citywide and carrying four of the city’s five boroughs,... Voter participation in this election reached more than 2 million ballots cast, marking the highest turnout in a mayoral race since 1969. window.addEventListener("message",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";r.style.height=d}}}); The Working Families Party line proved vital to Mamdani’s coalition, adding thousands of votes in progressive strongholds that helped him withstand Cuomo’s challenge. NEW YORK CITY—Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described socialist, won the Democratic Primary contest for the 2025 New York City mayoral election, defeating former Gov.

Andrew Cuomo. Even in a ranked-choice voting system, Mamdani’s lead in the first round of tallying—43.5 percent to Cuomo’s 36.3 percent—was so large that Cuomo immediately conceded. POLITICO is the dominant source for politics and policy news around the world. Nobody knows politics like POLITICO. NEW YORK — Zohran Mamdani shocked the nation Tuesday by besting Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Behind the 33-year-old’s historic win were several feats that surprised even the most veteran political observers and upended the traditional way they conceptualize local elections.

Mamdani was able to tap into an excited, relatively young base as expected; he also expanded the electorate beyond expectations while competing with Cuomo in areas where the former governor seemed poised to dominate. “[Mamdani] ran a smart race,” said Basil Smikle Jr., who previously ran the state Democratic Party. “He represents the next generation of Democratic politics.” Here are five takeaways from the first round of ranked-choice voting: 1. Mamdani activated his base more effectively than Cuomo.

The young state lawmaker gained a fervent following through his social media posts, populist policies and ground game that drew his core constituency — affluent, highly educated white voters in Brooklyn and Queens —... Cuomo, meanwhile, won over his base of Black voters, per an interactive map from The New York Times, but they did not turn out enough to maintain a similar share of the overall vote... Updated on: November 5, 2025 / 11:32 AM EST / CBS New York Mamdani promised to bring New York City into an age of "relentless improvement" as he claimed victory in the mayoral race late Tuesday night. He said his win was one for the working people of New York and reiterated his campaign promises on affordability. "Let the words we've spoken together, the dreams we've dreamt together, become the agenda we deliver together," Mamdani said.

"New York, this power, it's yours. This city belongs to you. Thank you." To watch his full victory speech, click here.

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Mamdani was able to tap into an excited, relatively young base as expected; he also expanded the electorate beyond expectations while competing with Cuomo in areas where the former governor seemed poised to dominate. “[Mamdani] ran a smart race,” said Basil Smikle Jr., who previously ran the state Democratic Party. “He represents the next generation of Democratic politics.” Here are five takeaways...