Zohrab Mamdani defeats Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City.

On a hot night in the Big Apple, with the vote count still in progress, it was Cuomo himself who conceded defeat to the 33-year-old socialist who has arrived to mark the Democratic Party's leftward shift.

"Tonight was not our night, tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night," Cuomo declared to supporters and his campaign team gathered on the fourth floor of Carpenters Union Hall in midtown Manhattan.

It was 10:20 p.m. in New York, 4:20 a.m. in Spain, when the glum former governor announced his failure before the media . "We're going to analyze the result and make some decisions," he added in front of his supporters, whom he left shortly afterward through a back door without commenting to the press.

Upon hearing the announcement, at Mamdani's headquarters, his supporters began singing the popular verse that matches the title of the 1969 hit, Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye, while they waited for the winner to arrive.

"Tonight, we made history. As Nelson Mandela said, it always seems impossible until it becomes reality. Friends, we did it. I will be your Democratic Party candidate," were Mamdani's first words to his supporters, dressed in a dark gray suit and tie.

The young man thus becomes the first Muslim candidate to lead New York's five boroughs—Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island—as well as the first of Indian-American origin. Until the November 4 elections, he will remain in his position in the State Assembly, serving under Governor Kathy Hochul, which he held in 2021.

With 92% of the ballots counted, Mamdani led his main challenger with 43.5% of the vote . Cuomo garnered 36.4% of the vote, while current City Controller Brad Lander, who co-campaigned with Mamdani, garnered 11.3%. The other two remaining candidates, Adrienne Adams and Scott Stringer, finished with 4.1% and 1.6%, respectively.

Nearly one million people participated in Tuesday's primaries. However, the official results for Tuesday won't be known until July. For the second time, ranked-choice voting was used.

This means voters choose five candidates and list them in order of preference. If the top choices are eliminated, their votes are transferred to the candidates lower on their ballots. Since none of the candidates received 50% of the vote, there will be another round of voting. This process will begin on July 1 and continue until two candidates remain, and the one with the most votes will win.

Her victory comes at a time of crisis for the Democratic Party, which lacks the strength to set the political agenda due to Republican control of both chambers of Congress and Donald Trump's overwhelming rise to power. The victory puts the party's long-time leaders on the ropes against the new, more left-wing faces of the party.

The young man managed to attract the votes of New Yorkers with a street-based campaign, combined with a colorful and modern image in his electoral propaganda, and with the support of other figures from the left wing of the party such as the Democratic congresswoman from the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, and the 83-year-old senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders .

He presented himself as a candidate for renewal against a rival who represented the political establishment. Cuomo, of Italian ancestry, son of the late former Governor Mario Cuomo, married to the daughter of Robert Kennedy, has been unable to recover from the sexual harassment scandal involving several female subordinates, which led to his resignation in 2021.

Voters have not bought Republican criticism of him as anti-Semitic for his defense of Palestinians against Israeli aggression, nor accusations of campaigning on a radical leftist agenda against the interests of a city full of millionaires.

Born in Uganda and raised in New York, Mamdani has campaigned by focusing on citizens' issues, promising to halt rising rents, a top concern for New Yorkers, improve public transportation, and pursue measures to reduce costs for families.

This isn't the end for Cuomo. The 67-year-old politician could still run as an independent next November, a move he hasn't ruled out, although it would mean facing off against current Mayor Eric Adams, with whom he shares many of his most loyal voters.

Adams decided to run on his own after meeting with Trump and agreeing to pardon him for several corruption cases facing him in court, in exchange for collaborating with his anti-immigration policies.

The final outcome of the race reveals something about the type of leader Democrats are seeking during Trump's second term and could set the tone for the party heading into the November 2026 midterm elections.