The win for the Democratic Socialist lawmaker revealed the success of his strategy in an election where cost of living trumped all other issues.
NEW YORK CITY—Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-described socialist, won the Democratic Primary contest for the 2025 New York City mayoral election, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Even in a ranked-choice voting system, Mamdani’s lead in the first round of tallying—43.5 percent to Cuomo’s 36.3 percent—was so large that Cuomo immediately conceded.
Few predicted this would happen. In February, Mamdani, a Democratic socialist lawmaker, was written off as a nonfactor in the race with just 1 percent support, while Cuomo had 33 percent. In recent weeks, Mamdani dramatically closed the polling gap, but it was still expected to be a closer contest, with the race heading to multiple rounds of tallying to determine a victor.
An Indian Ugandan immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 2018, Mamdani ran on an unabashedly progressive platform—of freezing rents, eliminating public bus fares, providing free child care and city-run grocery stores with low prices, and raising taxes on the rich—at a time when many Democrats are reconsidering left-wing politics, particularly after the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Mamdani will now face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, in the general election on Nov. 4. His primary victory offers several lessons about that next contest and politics in general.
Mamdani’s Turnout Success
Mamdani’s upset victory was a testament to his campaign strategy that relied heavily on social media. He overperformed in the first round—polls suggested that he would win only 34 percent at that stage. Full results are expected to be announced on July 1.
The Democratic socialist produced a series of creative videos about himself speaking charismatically and interacting with voters in public. These included videos of him speaking foreign languages, such as Hindi. Voters took notice.
“His entire candidacy has been very, very well-advertised, I think, to immigrants and people in general,” said Nikita Jain, a voter in Brooklyn who supported Mamdani.
“I think his PR team, whoever is doing his social media and stuff, is great. They’re super smart. I think they’re doing a really good job of reaching young voters,” said Sadia Hanif, a Queens resident who voted for Mamdani. “I haven’t been this excited about a candidate for a really long time.”
As he gained attention and support, Mamdani’s message was amplified by others, helping to boost traction and turnout. Progressive endorsers such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), social media influencers, and organizers all spread Mamdani’s message online to reach his best demographics—younger voters and minorities in Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan.
They also shared instructions on where and how to vote, which was critical to turnout.
“I was really impressed by the candidates’ and local politicians’ efforts to educate folks on the space, especially AOC,” said Lee, a Manhattan voter who ranked Mamdani second and declined to give a surname.
By Arjun Singh
