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      Mamdani Stuns Cuomo in New York Mayoral Primary

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      Zohran Mamdani, a state assemblyman and democratic socialist, had a commanding lead over former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who conceded in the Democratic primary. Zohran Mamdani, a little-known state lawmaker whose progressive platform and campaign trail charisma electrified younger voters, stunned former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City on Tuesday night, building a lead so commanding that Mr. Cuomo conceded.Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist from Queens, tapped into a current of anxiety around New York City’s growing affordability crisis. His joyful campaign brought new voters into the fold who rejected the scandal-scarred Mr. Cuomo’s ominous characterizations of the city and embraced an economic platform that included everything from free bus service and child care to publicly owned grocery stores.The outcome was not official, and even assuming Mr. Mamdani gains the nomination, he faces an unusually competitive general election in November.Still, Mr. Mamdani declared victory at a rally early Wednesday in Queens, pledging to be a “mayor for every New Yorker” and framing his win as part of a movement powered by volunteers.“Tonight we made history,” he said. “In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done. My friends, we have done it.”The decisiveness of New Yorkers’ swing toward Mr. Mamdani reverberated across the party and the country, at a time when Democrats nationally are searching for an answer to President Trump and are disillusioned with their own leaders.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Democratic Leaders Tried to Crush Zohran Mamdani. They Should Have Been Taking Notes.

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      On Tuesday night, Zohran Mamdani shocked the political establishment. There are lessons that national Democrats should take from his strong showing in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. But I worry they won’t. Democrats have a curiosity problem, and it’s losing us elections.After Bernie Sanders mounted a formidable challenge to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential primary, precious few Democratic leaders asked what they could learn from it. Two years later, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez came out of nowhere to defeat the No. 4-ranking Democrat in the House. They again dismissed it as a fluke.The party establishment’s impulse to stifle and ignore some of its most exciting emerging voices isn’t limited to progressives. Take Chris Deluzio in Pennsylvania or Pat Ryan in New York. While decidedly more moderate than Mr. Mamdani, both congressmen campaigned last fall on bringing down costs for people in their swing districts and taking on huge corporations and billionaires, a strategy Mr. Ryan described as “patriotic populism.” Even though it won them both races, Washington Democrats have been hesitant to embrace that strategy.I saw similar complacency last year while advising Ruben Gallego’s successful Senate campaign in Arizona. Although Mr. Gallego was the only Democratic candidate in the race, we struggled to get buy-in early on from the Washington Democratic establishment. It saw his blunt-spoken style as too risky for Arizona. He went on to outperform Kamala Harris by eight points.If Democratic leaders don’t start asking themselves how these candidates won, and what they can learn from their success, we’ll be doomed to fail in the future.Since their losses last fall, Democrats have obsessed over how to reverse their declining fortunes. By and large, the consensus has been that we need candidates with a sharp economic argument that can connect with young people, men, voters of color and the working class.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In Joyful Speech, Mamdani Vows to Work for ‘Each and Every New Yorker’

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      A crowd in Queens celebrated the triumph of Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive winner of the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City.Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker from Queens, celebrated with his supporters at a party in Long Island City. The result was not final but he declared victory in the primary after former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo conceded the race.Shuran Huang for The New York TimesIn a soaring speech on a Queens rooftop in the early minutes of Wednesday morning, Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive winner of the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, promised to lift up New York City’s working class and serve as a model for the future of his party.“A life of dignity should not be reserved for a fortunate few,” Mr. Mamdani said. “It should be one that city government guarantees for each and every New Yorker.”He promised to use his power to “stop masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors,” vowed to make buses “fast and free” and pledged to freeze the rent on regulated units.The crowd of hundreds of his supporters, many of them young, clutched cocktails and beers in cups that dripped with condensation as they roared their approval in the midnight heat.Mr. Mamdani’s apparent victory late Tuesday night represented a sharp rebuke of the Democratic Party establishment and business interests, which largely lined up behind Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor who resigned in scandal four years ago.By his account, Mr. Mamdani’s apparent triumph was no mere rebuke of a Cuomo campaign that many had described as joyless and lackluster.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      A New Political Star Emerges Out of a Fractured Democratic Party

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      The emergence of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is likely to divide national Democrats, who are already torn about what the party should stand for.The national Democratic establishment on Tuesday night struggled to absorb the startling ascent of a democratic socialist in New York City who embraced a progressive economic agenda and diverged from the party’s dominant position on the Middle East.As elections go, Tuesday’s party primary for mayor was a thunderbolt: New York voters turned away from a well-funded familiar face and famous name, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and in doing so made a generational and ideological break with the party’s mainstream. They turned to a 33-year-old, three-term state assemblyman, Zohran Mamdani, who ran on an optimistic message about affordability and the rising cost of living that has eluded many national Democrats.What became vividly clear on Tuesday, as votes were counted across the racially and economically diverse neighborhoods of New York, was that Mr. Mamdani had generated excitement among some — though not all — of the traditional pillars of winning Democratic voter coalitions.Democratic leaders badly want to win over young voters and minority groups in the coming 2026 and 2028 elections — two groups they have struggled to mobilize since the Obama era — but they also need moderate Democrats and independents who often recoil from far-left positions.“It really represents the excitement that I saw on the streets all throughout the City of New York,” said Letitia James, the New York attorney general. “I haven’t seen this since Barack Obama ran for president of these United States.”That Mr. Mamdani had such success while running on a far-left agenda, including positions that once were politically risky in New York — like describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide and calling for new taxes on business — may challenge the boundaries of party orthodoxy and unnerve national Democratic leaders.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Cuomo, Chastened, Will Reassess Plans to Run as an Independent

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      The shape of the mayor’s race in November and the future of Andrew M. Cuomo are now in flux after Zohran Mamdani’s performance on Tuesday.For months, Andrew M. Cuomo insisted he would be on this fall’s general election ballot for mayor of New York City, no matter what — even saying so as recently as Tuesday morning.But after conceding the Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday night to Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, Mr. Cuomo’s path forward is no longer as clear.Mr. Cuomo told The New York Times in a phone call shortly after his concession speech that he was still considering whether to run in the general election on an independent line.“I said he won the primary election,” Mr. Cuomo said, referring to Mr. Mamdani. “I said I wanted to look at the numbers and the ranked-choice voting to decide about what to do in the future, because I’m also on an independent line. And that’s the decision, that’s what I was saying. I want to analyze and talk to some colleagues.”In March, after months of equivocation, Mr. Cuomo, 67, announced he would run in the Democratic primary for mayor. From the start, he cast himself as the lone adult with the requisite competence and experience to manage a city that was spiraling out of control. He pointed to his 10-plus years as governor, when he helped legalize same-sex marriage and build the new Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station.But Mr. Cuomo ran what was widely considered a joyless and lackluster campaign, largely limiting his appearances to Black churches, synagogues and union halls, and rarely engaging in the kind of retail politics and ground game necessary to win a heavily contested election.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Who Is Zohran Mamdani?

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      Not so long ago, Mr. Mamdani was a little-known state assemblyman. But his personality and platform captivated an unlikely coalition of New York City primary voters.When he first declared his candidacy for mayor last fall, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was a state legislator with a thin résumé who was unknown to most New Yorkers.Months later, he appears poised to become the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor, having bested a better known and more experienced cast of candidates who had deep relationships with voters across New York City.Mr. Mamdani’s campaign focused intensely on the plight of working-class New Yorkers who were struggling with New York City’s affordability crisis, most notably the skyrocketing costs of housing and child care.Here is a look at his record and some important things to know about New York City’s likely Democratic mayoral nominee:A Fresh Voice, a Short Track RecordMr. Mamdani beat a four-term incumbent in a close State Assembly primary in 2020. He joined a small group of lawmakers in Albany who were part of the Democratic Socialists of America’s New York chapter. His agenda in Albany mirrored his campaign priorities, but of the 20-odd bills Mr. Mamdani has introduced in more than four years in Albany, just three relatively minor items have become law.During the campaign, he talked extensively about a program to begin making city buses free that he had helped start. The pilot program lasted one year and was not renewed. Still, colleagues said his ideas had helped to move the ideological center of the Assembly to the left.In Albany, he was one of the Legislature’s youngest members. If elected mayor, he would be, at 34, the city’s youngest leader since 1917, when John Purroy Mitchel, a reformer known as the “Boy Mayor,” was elected and served one term. Mr. Mamdani’s youth and fresh vision attracted a broad swath of progressive voters, even as his opponents focused on his relative lack of experience.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Zohran Mamdani’s Success Is Especially Meaningful for Muslim New Yorkers

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      Mr. Mamdani would be the first Muslim mayor of New York City, and his faith played a role in expanding the diverse coalition that propelled his campaign.Zohran Mamdani’s stunning performance in the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday amounted to a watershed moment for Muslim New Yorkers, who could see one of their own lead City Hall for the first time should he succeed in the general election in November.New York City is home to roughly one million Muslims; they made up 12 percent of the electorate in the 2021 mayoral election. Mr. Mamdani wove his faith into his campaign from its earliest days, hitting the trail while fasting for Ramadan and taking his message of affordability to mosques and Muslim community centers throughout the city.His triumph over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who led in most polls throughout the race, was driven by the diverse coalition of voters he built that included young people, people of color, and first-time and infrequent voters. Muslim voters played a large role in growing that base.The cooperation among Democrats from different backgrounds was especially heartening for some, who saw his background as an example of a new generation of leadership.“A Muslim son of immigrants might become mayor of NYC in part because he cross-endorsed and supported a Jewish candidate and Black candidate, and vice versa,” Wajahat Ali, a liberal commentator, wrote on social media, referring to Mr. Mamdani’s cross-endorsements with Brad Lander and Michael Blake. “It’s a beautiful American story for the rest of us.”Mr. Mamdani also used his faith to push back against allegations of antisemitism prompted by his outspoken criticism of Israel and support for Palestinians in Gaza. In the final days of the campaign, he tearfully recounted death threats he and his family had received, explaining the fear and anxiety caused by such threats on the grounds of a person’s religion.Mr. Mamdani also alluded to those criticisms in his speech declaring victory early Wednesday.“There are millions of New Yorkers who have strong feelings about what happens overseas. I am one of them,” he said, adding that he would “not abandon my beliefs or my commitments” to fighting for human rights.Mr. Lander, who is Jewish, sought to project unity between the two faiths at his election night watch party, saying, “We are not going to let anyone divide Muslim New Yorkers and Jewish New Yorkers.”Prominent Muslim leaders also weighed in on his success. Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, wrote in Arabic on X that Mr. Mamdani’s win on Tuesday was “a victory for Palestine and justice” and called for protection for him and his family.Tim Balk More

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      Justin Brannan Concedes N.Y.C. Comptroller Primary to Mark Levine

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      Though the race had not been called by The Associated Press, Mr. Levine, the Manhattan borough president, had a significant lead ahead of Justin Brannan, a member of the City Council.Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, appeared poised to win the Democratic primary for New York City comptroller after his main opponent, Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn city councilman, conceded the race late Tuesday.Mr. Brannan said in a statement that he had called Mr. Levine to congratulate him and to “wish him the best as he takes on this extremely important role at this critical time.”With 92 percent of ballots counted, Mr. Levine was ahead by 14 points — near but not above the 50 percent threshold. The Associated Press had not yet called the race, which appears set to be officially decided after ranked-choice votes are tabulated next Tuesday.Mr. Levine told his supporters he would serve as a bulwark against the actions of President Trump’s administration.“To every single one of you who hit the phones, hit the streets, and hit the tweets, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU,” Mr. Levine wrote in a social media post.Six candidates ran in Tuesday’s primary, but Mr. Levine and Mr. Brannan were the only two to qualify for public financing. Mr. Levine, 56, raised more money in recent months, led in the little public polling available and consolidated much of the institutional support among unions and elected officials.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More