JUST IN: New York City’s mayoral primary to be decided by a ranked choice count after neither front runners Zohran Mamdani or Andrew Cuomo gets a majority of the vote. – AP
State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani held a tentative lead over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the rest of the crowded field in New York City’s mayoral primary, but the race’s outcome will be decided by a ranked choice count after neither Democrat got a clear majority in Tuesday’s vote, according to the Associated Press.
With more than an estimated 80% of ballots counted, the race was headed to the ranked choice process.
Mamdani was several points shy of the 50% threshold needed to win outright and wasn’t winning any updates by enough of a margin to close that gap. At the same time, in second place with roughly 36% of the vote among ballots counted, Cuomo was also not gaining ground on Mamdani as counting continued.
It isn’t clear whether that lead will hold. The primary now enters the ranked choice phase, in which candidates with the least support are eliminated and votes cast for them are redistributed based on voter preference. That process won’t begin until July 1.