NEW YORK: The New York City Election board on Tuesday confirmed a stunning victory by mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary, clearing the way for the political upstart to be the party’s nominee for the November mayoral election. The Trump administration, however, has declared that Mamdani would be arrested if he follows through on his pledge to block federal immigration agents from detaining undocumented immigrants in the city.
The ranked-choice voting results released on Tuesday showed Mamdani, who started his campaign as little-known New York state assembly member, clinched 56% of votes in the third round of the voting, where over 50% of votes are required for a winner.
As the Democratic nominee, Mamdani will face current mayor Eric Adams in the general election. Adams, who won as a Democrat in his first mayoral race in 2021, is running as an independent candidate after his indictment on corruption charges and the subsequent decision by the Department of Justice to drop the case.
Trump has repeatedly attacked Mamdani, labeling him a “communist” and threatening to cut federal funding to the city if the candidate wins. The remarks reported by Axios came after Mamdani vowed in his victory speech to use his authority to stop “masked ICE agents from deporting our neighbors.”
When asked about Mamdani’s stance, Trump responded, “Well then, we’ll have to arrest him.” He added, “We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.” Trump also suggested that federal funding could be at stake, stating, “We send him money. We send him all the things that he needs to run a government.”
Trump threatens to cut off NYC funds if Mamdani ‘misbehaves’
In a new video on X, Mamdani compared his victory in the primary to the election campaign Adams had in 2021.
“We have always thought our victory would come after multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting. When we got more votes in the first round than Eric Adams got in the seven rounds in the last election, it was astonishing,” he said.
But he posted on Instagram addressing the threats by Trump saying that the ‘President of the United States just threatened to have me arrested, stripped of my citizenship, put in a detention camp and deported. Not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.’
His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you. We will not accept this intimidation.
That Trump included praise for Eric Adams in his authoritarian threats is unsurprising, but highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this Mayor’s time in City Hall. At the very moment when MAGA Republicans are attempting to destroy the social safety net, kick millions of New Yorkers off of healthcare and enrich their billionaire donors at the expense of working families, it is a scandal that Eric Adams echoes this President’s division, distraction and hate.
Voters will resoundingly reject it in November.
An unexpected victory of 33-year-old Mamdani, a Uganda-born Muslim, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, over veteran politician Andrew Cuomo, a moderate, caused unease among Democrats, worried that his political views may make them a convenient target for Republican attacks.
The day after Mamdani’s victory, President Donald Trump called him a “100% Communist Lunatic” while the Republican party’s congressional campaign arm promised to tie him to every vulnerable Democrat in next year’s midterm elections.
In the new video, Mamdani said that his objective was “to win people back to the Democratic party” and noted that he prevailed in some of New York City neighborhoods that voted for Trump in the presidential election last year.
After the election board confirmed Mamdani’s victory, Trump, asked how he would deal with Mamdani if he wins the election and tries to block arrests of immigrants, said:
“Well then, we’ll have to arrest him. Look, we don’t need a communist in this country. But if we have one I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation.”
MAGA erupts in Islamophobic backlash over Zohran Mamdani’s win
Mamdani earlier said that the immigrant raids were “terrorizing people” and agents who carry them out have no interest in following the law.
Cuomo, who received 44% of votes in the final tally, called Mamdani to concede the race after early results of the primary were announced last Tuesday. The former governor couldenter the race as an independent candidate, but he has not said publicly whether he will.
Along with Adams, Mamdani will face Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, a radio host best known as the founder of the Guardian Angels anti-crime patrol, and attorney Jim Walden, who is running as an independent.
The ranked-choice voting system that New York City adopted in 2021 allowed voters to rank up to five candidates in the order of preference. Ballots are tabulated in what may best be described as a series of instant runoffs, where the candidates who trail are gradually eliminated and their votes are re-distributed among frontrunners until one of them reaches 50%.