- Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani are the front-runners in New York City's Democratic primary for mayor.
- New York City uses a ranked choice voting system and deciding the winner may take time.
- Current Mayor Eric Adams will be running in the general election as an independent.
Tuesday is election day for New York City’s crowded and chaotic Democratic primary.
Though there are nearly a dozen candidates on the ballot, polls show that two men are leading the race: former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state assemblymember Zohran Mamdani. Recent polls suggest that the outcome is a tossup.
Tuesday’s vote comes after months of campaigning, a swarm of attack ads and caustic debates.
While Tuesday is the official election day, early voting for the primary began on June 14. Due to the city’s ranked choice voting system, official results could take days or even weeks to be decided.
Polls will close at 9 p.m. EDT, per The New York Times.
Whoever wins the primary in the heavily Democratic city will become the front-runner in the general election to lead the city at an inflection point.
“New York is confronting a cost-of-living crisis and President Trump’s increasingly aggressive tactics to impose his agenda on immigration and transportation, issues that dominated the race,” reported The New York Times.
Who are the candidates?
Andrew Cuomo
Former New York Gov. Cuomo resigned from the position in 2021 “amid allegations of sexual harassment and a state investigation into his office’s handling of covid-19 nursing home deaths,” reported The Washington Post.
The legal fees from those investigations and others cost New York taxpayers around $60 million. Cuomo has denied all of the allegations.
Thanks to Cuomo’s name recognition and around $20 million from a super PAC backing him, he has been in the driver’s seat during this mayoral race, per The Washington Post.
He is also seen as the more moderate candidate compared to Mamdani.
Cuomo is also registered on the “Fight and Deliver” ballot line, so if he loses the primary, he will be able to run in the general election as an independent.
Zohran Mamdani
Cuomo’s top challenger is Mamdani, a member of the state assembly who has made a rapid rise in politics.
His platform is focused on affordability, with proposals such as free buses and a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments, according to The Washington Post.
The state assemblymember has outpaced Cuomo in direct campaign funds thanks to New York City’s matching funds program, which matches small contributions from residents. In March, Mamdani was the first candidate to reach the legal spending cap.
Mamdani is also supported by the progressive Working Families Party, which ranked him first, per The Washington Post.
The other candidates
A trio of New York City politicians follow behind Cuomo and Mamdani in the polls: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander and former Comptroller Scott Stringer.
Last week, Lander made headlines after he was briefly detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as he attempted to escort a defendant out of court.
Two state senators, Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, as well as former state assemblymember Michael Blake and former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson are also chasing after the Democratic nomination.
What do the most recent polls say?
According to USA Today, an Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey released on June 23 had Mamdani beating Cuomo in the final round of a ranked choice voting situation.
That poll found that in the eighth round of ranked choice voting, Mamdani would have 51.8% of votes and Cuomo would have 48.2%. The poll was conducted among 729 likely voters and those who have voted early, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
Previous polls had Cuomo ahead of Mamdani.
In a poll from Marist University that surveyed respondents between June 9 and June 12, Cuomo was the first-choice candidate for 38% of likely Democratic primary voters. Mamdani was in second place with 27%, followed by Lander and Adams, each with 7%.
Why is Mayor Eric Adams not in the primary?
Current New York City Mayor Eric Adams was elected as a Democrat in 2021, but this year, he chose not to enter the Democratic primary and is running for reelection as an independent.
Last year, Adams was indicted on federal corruption charges after being accused of a yearslong bribery scheme, which involved taking gifts and foreign money in exchange for favors and influence.
The case was dropped by the Justice Department in April, because it “interfered with Adams’ work aiding the administration on immigration enforcement and fighting crime,” per USA Today.
Adams has denied any wrongdoing.
Who is the Republican candidate?
Curtis Sliwa will be the Republican nominee in the general election. Sliwa is the founder of Guardian Angels, an anti-crime organization.
How does ranked choice voting work?
New York City uses ranked choice voting for city primary elections for mayor, comptroller, borough president, City Council and public advocate, per USA Today. The system was approved by voters in 2019 and was first used in 2021.
With ranked choice voting, voters can rank their top five candidates in order. For the first round of vote-counting, voters’ top choice are tallied.
After each round of vote-counting, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Voters who had that eliminated candidate ranked in the top spot will then have their next choice counted.
When are results expected?
Shortly after the polls close at 9 p.m., unofficial results of first-choice votes will be available. These results will also include votes from early voting, in person election day voting and any valid mail ballots, but not affidavit ballots, per USA Today.
It is unlikely that a candidate will receive over 50% of first round votes, so the final results will take longer as the next rounds are tallied. But by Tuesday night, voters will likely know who is in the lead.
The final results are expected to be released on July 1, according to The New York Times.