Mamdani won a record-setting primary victory, and unions, grassroots Democratic groups, and savvy elected officials are rushing to back him. Now it’s the establishment’s turn.
Zohran Mamdani did not just win the New York City Democratic mayoral primary convincingly enough that his chief rival, former governor Andrew Cuomo, conceded immediately on the night of the June 24 election. Now, two weeks later, with the city’s Ranked Choice Voting count finally concluding and the totals released, Mamdani can celebrate the fact that “our campaign has officially earned the most total votes in a primary in New York City history.”
The updated count, which was released Tuesday by the New York City Board of Elections, found that the democratic socialist state legislator was winning a total of 565,639 votes. That figure surpassed the final counts for winners of some of the most epic Democratic primary contests in New York City history, including David Dinkins (1989 primary: 547,901), Abe Beame (1973 primary runoff: 547,626), Robert Wagner Jr. (1961 primary: 456,016), and Ed Koch (1977 primary runoff: 433,002).
Of particular note for the current race is the fact that, while it took incumbent Mayor Eric Adams eight rounds of RCV redistribution to secure a win with 404,000 votes (and 50.4 percent of the vote to 49.6 for runner-up Kathryn Garcia) in the 2021 Democratic primary, Mamdani got his win this year in three rounds. And he did so with 160,000 more votes and a 56.2–43.8 margin over Cuomo.
When even the New York Post, a newspaper with no taste for Mamdani’s candidacy, grudgingly acknowledges that “Zohran Mamdani won most votes of a candidate in NYC primary history,” the results point to an emerging reality that Democrats in New York City and nationally ought to be noting.
Mamdani’s final-round total surpassed most of the winning percentages for top finishers in previous contests as well. So, while it is entirely appropriate to note that New York City’s electoral dynamics, party machinery, primary rules, and voting systems have changed over the years, there is no question that the 2025 Democratic nominee for mayor has earned the nomination with a level of support that ranks up there with some of the heaviest hitters in municipal politics.
Enthusiasm for Mamdani ran so high that the eventual RCV vote total for his individual candidacy exceeded the total number of votes cast for all candidates in the Democratic mayoral primaries of 2017, 2009, 2005, 1997, and 1993.
Why did Mamdani secure such a historic victory? Because he did exactly what national Democrats, stunned by the party’s defeats in the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, keep saying they know they must do. “Zohran Mamdani talked about issues of relevance to working-class people. The city responded to him, and he won the [primary],” explained Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont and two-time presidential candidate.
You would think that such a win would generate immediate and enthusiastic support from top Democrats for Mamdani’s candidacy in a general election where he will face Republican Curtis Sliwa; Adams, the scandal-plagued incumbent who skipped the Democratic primary and is running on a newly created third-party line; and, potentially, a sore-loser third-party candidacy by Cuomo. Yes, Mamdani is a democratic socialist – like Sanders and US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Yes, he has taken bold, progressive stands on economic issues while advocating for international and domestic human rights. But, as the primary results illustrate, he’s also a very popular Democratic nominee for one of the highest-profile elected positions in the United States.
Despite that fact, Democratic congressional leaders who come from New York City, such as Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, have yet to endorse Mamdani. Nor have other prominent New York Democrats, such as Governor Kathy Hochul and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand—though the latter did make Islamophobic remarks about Mamdani that she later apologized for. And some Democrats who represent suburban communities, such as US Representative Laura Gillen, have been outspoken in their criticism of a party nominee whom they disagree with on issues ranging from tax policy and US support for the Israeli assault on Gaza.
The reluctance of prominent Democrats to formally endorse the party’s nominee has led to complaints from progressives. “It’s time for every Democratic leader to get on board,” says New York Working Families Party codirector Jasmine Gripper. “The Mamdani tent is big enough for everyone. Any leader who is serious about building a base of energized voters and wins would be smart to join us.”
That call is being heard by some of the savviest Democrats in New York City.
Elected officials and local party leaders who have taken a serious look at the primary results, and have felt the pulse of the city’s expanding electorate, recognize that a seismic shift is taking place in their party. And their city. On Thursday, US Representative Adriano Espaillat, the House member whom The New York Times identifies as “the city’s most powerful Latino leader and one of the most influential among voters,” and who backed Cuomo in the primary, appeared before a crowd of union members and Democratic activists in Washington Heights to deliver a strong endorsement of Mamdani. “A united Democratic Party cannot be defeated,” declared Espaillat, “We’ve had our primary, we had our election, and the people have spoken.” The congressman joined the dean of the city’s House delegation, Upper West Side political veteran Jerry Nadler, in shifting his support to Mamdani, who has also attracted post-primary endorsements from key Democratic clubs and county organizations and from major unions that once backed Cuomo.
Leaders of Service Employees International Local 32BJ, the formidable union that represents tens of thousands of maintenance, custodial, and janitorial workers and window cleaners in a city of tall buildings, made the switch just days after the June 24 primary, when union president Manny Pastreich said, “32BJ members have long fought for a city that works for working people. A city that supports family-sustaining wages, affordable housing, and a better transportation system. Zohran Mamdani has united and inspired New Yorkers around a positive and optimistic vision for a truly affordable city.” The powerful Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC), did the same, with HTC President Rich Maroko saying, “We are confident that whenever we’re in a fight, Zohran will be on our side standing up for hospitality workers.” Then came the New York State Nurses Association and the New York City Central Labor Council. And on Tuesday, the city’s 200,000-member United Federation of Teachers, which had not endorsed in the primary, backed Mamdani, who told a rally of educators, “This is the campaign of working people. This is the campaign of organized labor and this is the campaign that will win in November.”
Winning in November will still take hard work by the Democratic nominee and his backers. But the same was true with the primary. Zohran Mamdani’s record finish just made it look easy.
