Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has conceded defeat in the Democratic mayoral primary to progressive challenger Zohran Mamdani, who secured 43 per cent of the vote with 90 per cent of ballots counted.
“Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo told supporters at his election night party. “I called him, I congratulated him… he won.”
As word of Cuomo’s concession spread, Mamdani’s supporters broke into the iconic chorus of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”
If elected in the general election, Mamdani would become New York City’s first Muslim and Indian American mayor. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams did not contest the Democratic primary and is instead running as an independent. Cuomo also still has the option to run in the general election.
Born on October 18, 1991, in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani is the son of acclaimed Indian-American filmmaker Mira Nair—known for works such as Salaam Bombay! and Monsoon Wedding—and prominent academic Mahmood Mamdani, a Ugandan scholar based at Makerere University.
Mamdani spent his early years in Cape Town, South Africa, where he attended St. George’s Grammar School, before relocating to New York at age seven. He later graduated from Bank Street School for Children and the Bronx High School of Science, going on to earn a degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College in 2014.
While in college, Mamdani co-founded Students for Justice in Palestine. He later volunteered on Khader El-Yateem’s 2017 City Council campaign, managed Ross Barkan’s State Senate bid, and organised for Tiffany Cabán’s Queens District Attorney run.
In 2019, he was elected to the New York State Assembly, representing the 36th District, which includes Astoria and Long Island City. His legislative work has centred on housing rights, public transit affordability, and immigrant protections—issues that have defined his mayoral campaign.
Mamdani’s progressive platform and personal identity energised a diverse, youthful, and left-leaning voter base, distinguishing him from Cuomo’s more moderate supporters. He is married to a Syrian artist.
