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Wall Street feared leftist Democrat Zoran Mamdani wins the mayoral primary for the New York City party, sending a shockwave into American politics.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist who sought a higher tax on Gaza’s wealthy, attacked the support of the US, shocked Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, in the Democratic primary race on Tuesday.
His success on Tuesday will spark a new soul-searching game between Wall Street and billionaire donors who supported his rivals, among Democrats seeking leaders against Donald Trump.
New York is leaning towards the Democrats, and Mamdani’s victory will give him a huge advantage in the 33-year-old elections later this year, replacing Eric Adams with the city’s mayor.
Cuomo admitted his defeat at the end of Tuesday, a contest that is widely seen as a referendum on the party’s future.
“Tonight wasn’t our night. Tonight. It was Mamdani’s night,” Cuomo told supporters in the post-election party, adding that he called Mamdani to congratulate him.
If confirmed, the outcome would spark new debate among Democrats who are still caught up in Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris in last year’s presidential election.
That defeat led the party to be attacked by the progressive wings exemplified by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and moderates such as Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who praised Trump.
Unofficial results on Tuesday night showed Mamdani was seven points ahead of Cuomo, counting more than 90% of the vote.
The final results depend on the aggregation of the city’s ranked selection system. This allows people to select up to five candidates in order of preference. The winner will be officially declared the earliest July 1st after all other candidates’ votes have been reassigned.
Mamdani ran a campaign with a pledge to make life more affordable for New Yorkers. If elected, he says he will raise taxes on the rich to fund city-owned grocery stores as well as free buses and childcare.
Progressive candidates tapped on the stairwell of support among younger voters. This is an election strategy that Democrats study nationwide to try to regain youthful voters who supported Trump in November.
Ocasio-Cortez, a US lawmaker from New York who tapped on a similar voter base, congratulated Mamdani on Tuesday night, saying in a social media post, “Billionaires and lobbyists have poured millions of people into you and our financial system.”
“We have a message, we have a team. We feel it’s very good for the rest of the night,” Andrew Epstein, communications director for Mamdani’s campaign, said at the Queens candidate’s election night party.
For over 40 years, Cuomo, a New York state political fixture, has long been considered the forefront. However, the centricists have found themselves fighting increasingly serious challenges from emerging mum dani, who have a huge following on social media.
Cuomo took part in the mayoral race in March after resigning as governor four years ago amid accusations of sexual harassment he has denied.
Cuomo has pledged to restore Democratic appeals among working-class voters, hire more police officers, improve metro safety and remove red tape to build more affordable homes.
His campaign is built on the paper that Democrats were “hijacked” and “no longer fight for workers.”
Cuomo’s campaign enjoyed a huge fundraising advantage over its rivals in the final weeks of the race, backed by significant contributions from former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman.
In combination, external fundraising groups spent more than $20 million. Mamdani’s campaign relies on small contributions, with over 21,000 donors, of which around 75% gave less than $100.
Incumbent mayor Eric Adams will run as an independent in the November general election. His approval rate is only 20% if later dismissed after being charged with bribery and fraud last year.
