Zohran Mamdani First Indian-American Set To Lead New York As Mayor

25th June 2025 at 10:53 AM

1 minute read

: Former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City's Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani as the 33-year-old member of the state Assembly had a significant lead in the race Tuesday night.

New York : American Zohran Mamdani declared victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night after former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded in a surprising upset. The young progressive candidate built a strong lead over Cuomo. Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, said Mamdani won and that we are going to take a look and make some decisions.

Mamdani would be the city’s first Muslim and Indian-American mayor if elected. Cuomo is trying to make a comeback from a sexual harassment scandal. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams skipped the primary. He’s running as an independent. The race’s ultimate outcome could say something about what kind of leader Democrats are looking for during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The vote takes place about four years after Cuomo, 67, resigned as governor following a sexual harassment scandal. The party’s progressive wing, meanwhile, had coalesced behind Mamdani. A relatively unknown state legislator when the contest began, Mamdani gained momentum by running a sharp campaign laser-focused on the city’s high cost of living and secured endorsements from two of the country’s foremost progressives, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders.

The primary winner will go on to face incumbent Adams, a Democrat who decided to run as an independent amid a public uproar over his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent abandonment of the case by Trump’s Justice Department. Republican Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, will be on the ballot in the fall’s general election.

The mayoral primary’s two leading candidates — one a fresh-faced progressive and the other an older moderate — could be stand-ins for the larger Democratic Party’s ideological divide, though Cuomo’s scandal-scarred past adds a unique tinge to the narrative. The rest of the pack has struggled to gain recognition in a race where nearly every candidate has cast themselves as the person best positioned to challenge Trump’s agenda.