‘Tonight is his night’: Andrew Cuomo concedes defeat to Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayoral primary

Andrew Cuomo said Mamdani “won” while addressing his supporters. “We are going to take a look and make some decisions,” he added.

Updated on: Jun 25, 2025, 08:49:17 IST

By HT News Desk

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amAndrew Cuomo has conceded New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary defeat to 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani of the state assembly as the latter achieved a significant lead in the race Tuesday night.

Andrew Cuomo, New York City mayoral candidate, speaks during an election night event in New York on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Bloomberg)

“Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said, reported AP.

Cuomo, former New York City mayor, said that Mamdani “won” while addressing his supporters and added, “we are going to take a look and make some decisions.”

While neither democrat candidate has secured an outright majority till now and the final results will take some more days to be declared, Cuomo has conceded as ranked-choice count is still on.

Also read: Zohran stuns Cuomo in NYC democratic mayoral primary race as ex-NY governor concedes

Mamdani, who describes himself as a democratic socialist and is a New York state assembly member, began gaining a decisive lead as over 80% of the ballots were counted, the AP report said.

Cuomo, 67, had resigned as the New York mayor in 2021 after a sexual harassment scandal and has been trying to make a comeback. He was also considered a favourite in this year's democratic mayoral primary race as well, given his experience and strong political background.

However, his efforts seem to have fallen short in front of Mamdani's strong campaign that focused on New York city's high cost of living. However, due to the ranked-choice count, it remains unclear if Zohran's lead will hold.

Mamdani also managed to secure endorsements from two of United States most popular progressive leaders - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Whoever wins the New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary race will face the incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November, who has decided to run as an independent. Adams is facing heat from the citizens of the New York city due to the series of corruption scandals surrounding him.

While Cuomo has conceded to Mamdani now, he may still run as an independent in the November ballot.

With inputs from AP.

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HT News Desk
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