By Nayaba Arinde
Editor-at-Large
Rank Choice Voting and cross endorsing created a historical result in the mayoral candidate showdown with Assemblyman Zohran Kwame Mamdani declaring victory over former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘It always seems impossible until it is done.’ My friends, we have done it,” Mamdani told his ecstatic Long Island City watch party crowd. “I am your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City.”

The 33-year-old Kampala, Uganda-born, Cape Town, South Africa-raised, New York transplant at seven years. old, has campaigned on his progressive platform for months, and may just become New York’s first Indian-American and first Muslim mayor in November.

While the Board of Elections will not officially call the primary day election results until July 1st, many were stunned this Tuesday, June 24th, when Mandani was unofficially declared the Democratic mayoral nominee. He won 43% of the vote with 432,305 votes, compared to Cuomo’s 36.4% and 361,840 votes.

With a brief five-minute speech, complimenting Mamdani, Cuomo conceded within a couple of hours of polls closing, “Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night, and he put together a great campaign. He touched young people and he inspired them and moved them, and got them to come out and vote.”

Standing on the stage, embracing each other, now-former competitor, Comptroller Brad Lander declared, “We are sending Andrew Cuomo back to the suburbs. With our help, Mamdani is the Democratic nominee for the Mayor of the City of New York.”

Political talking heads were stunned. Touting free buses, child care, healthcare, and rent freezing and affordable housing, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist beat the moderately conservative 67-year-old career politician, with a million knocks on doors, and a stringent grassroots and focused social media campaign. The “Don’t rank Cuomo” rallying cry spread far and citywide across multiple candidate campaigns.

Even though the New York Times called Mamdani “uniquely unqualified,” evidently, the electorate decided it wanted to take the chance.

“I will be the mayor for every New Yorker,” Mamdani proclaimed on election night.
Unimpressed, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams slammed Mamdani as a “snake oil salesman” who “was saying anything to get elected.” This, as he scheduled the launch of his Independent candidate campaign on Thursday, June 26th, 2025.

With the General Election on November 4th, 2025, Cuomo said he is weighing up his options, but would not commit to continuing his campaign as an Independent candidate. Republican Curtis Sliwa will also be on the ballot.

“Mamdani is going to win the general election whether Cuomo gets in the race or not,” Barron predicted. “He has the white progressives, and the Asian and Latinos will come out for Mamdani.”

The summer and political seasons are here. Early voting had Brooklynites in a chokehold! They led the city in turnout. Believers in the election process enthusiastically exercised their right to let their political choice be known in their lead 5-way ranked-choice voting for mayor. Other races included Public Advocate, City Comptroller, all five Borough Presidents, City Council, District Attorney, and judicial races.

Main issues considered are crime fighting, gun violence, education, real affordable income-sensitive housing, the Sanctuary City issue, immigration, tackling food in/security, and police and community.

In the nine days of early voting from June 14 to June 22nd, Brooklyn beat all the other boroughs in voter turnout. By Sunday, only three days in, citywide, 384,251 people had voted early—compared to the 191,197 during the 2021 election. The Board of Elections said 261,000 Brooklynites cast their ballots by the paper’s press time.

Public Advocate Jumanne Williams sailed through his primary with over 630,000 votes. Thanking his supporters “who have again placed their trust in me to connect people to their government and hold the powerful to account,” he said, “I’m going to continue to fight for the needs of New Yorkers.

Whether we have a mayor who stands with us in fighting for progressive policies that make New York safer and more affordable, or one who stands in the way, I’ll keep showing up for New Yorkers, and standing up in the face of injustice, not standing by.”

Speaker Adrienne Adams won over 40,000 votes, placing fourth after Mamdani, Cuomo and Lander. Mamdani endorsed and fund-raised for her, as he cross-endorsed with Lander, who came in third place.

Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso faced off against challenger Khari Edwards. “I am deeply humbled and grateful for the continued trust and confidence the people of Brooklyn have bestowed upon me with this victory,” he said.

“As I look forward to the next four years, I am energized and excited about the possibilities that lie ahead…as we work to ensure that all Brooklyn families can thrive.”

On election day morning, maybe it was the 100-degree-plus baking heat, but at least a couple of the Bed Stuy school polling sites were quiet. Noticeable, though, was the number of white poll site workers and voters in the heavily gentrified neighborhood.

“This is gentrification,” said Barron, “where you have appointed poll workers, and the DSA fronting Black or brown candidates until they can finally come out and present who they really want to.”

A common political season refrain of ‘Black folks asked for nothing, so won’t get anything’ was mumbled as the Mamdani campaign gathered speed in the last few months.

“He never met with Black leaders, or made himself well known in the Black community,” Barron told Our Time Press. “Unfortunately, and undeservedly so, Cuomo also promised nothing, but got a lot of the Black vote. But he still lost.”

The former Brooklyn elected official advised, “Black people must liberate themselves from the colonial mentality of being so blindly loyal to the Democratic party and the colonial capitalist system that takes us for granted and oppresses us, if we are ever going to be a liberated people.

We must move from ‘plantation politics’ to ‘liberation politics,’ and build a strong, independent Black Radical electoral movement. I’m glad Cuomo lost, but did we win anything as a result of last night’s election? Time will tell. No matter who gets elected, not one of them has made a serious commitment to specific Black issues.”