33-year-old socialist Zohran Mamdani beat 67-year-old former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night, and is well on his way to becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Cuomo conceded the race earlier in the evening after Mamdani received nearly 44% of the votes with 90% of the votes counted at 10:30 p.m. ET. The former governor said at a watch party: “He deserved it. He won.” He told the NY Times that he may still run in the November mayoral election as an independent, saying “I want to analyze and talk to some colleagues.”
That said, as the Guardian notes, given how left-leaning NYC is along with the unpopularity of incumbent mayor Eric Adams, Mumdani is likely to become New York’s 11th mayor.
Mamdani’s proposals include rent freezes, free buses, and city-run grocery stores which would be funded by $10 billion in new taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Bernie Sanders congratulated Mamdani on his win, with AOC writing on X “Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won.”
Congratulations, @ZohranKMamdani!
Your dedication to an affordable, welcoming, and safe New York City where working families can have a shot has inspired people across the city.
Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system.
And you won. https://t.co/YbJFsYjemm
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 25, 2025
Which may not bode well for the city’s corporate tax revenues. As The Free Press noted last week, New York business owners plan to flee both the city and the state if Mamdani wins…
“We may consider closing our supermarkets and selling the business,” said 76-year-old billionaire John Catsimatidis of Gristedes Supermarkets, adding “We have other businesses. Thank God, we have other businesses.”
He also suggested that his real estate conglomerate – Red Apple Group, may move to New Jersey too.
“There’s the possibility we’d move our corporate offices to New Jersey. Why not?” he said. “Then you’d have four years of peace.”
Probably not a bad idea…
NEW: Former rapper and socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has pulled ahead of Andrew Cuomo in the city’s primary, according to a new poll.
Mamdani, 33, has pulled ahead of Cuomo in a new Emerson poll, leading him 52% to 48%.
Mamdani is accused of voicing his… pic.twitter.com/bMmwDV0AnI
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 23, 2025
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