Mamdani secures NYC mayor nomination, Trump threatens to 'arrest him'
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As the Democratic nominee, Mamdani will go head-to-head with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November.
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Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani takes selfies with supporters after speaking at his primary election party on June 25, 2025. (AP)
The New York City Board of Elections on Tuesday confirmed a surprising upset in the Democratic primary, with Zohran Mamdani securing the party’s nomination for the upcoming mayoral election.
Ranked-choice voting results revealed that Mamdani won 56% of the vote in the third round, surpassing the 50% threshold needed to clinch victory.
As the Democratic nominee, Mamdani will go head-to-head with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in November. Adams, who was elected as a Democrat in 2021, is now running as an independent after being indicted on corruption charges, a case later dropped by the Department of Justice.
In a new video posted to X, Mamdani drew parallels between his underdog win and the campaign Adams ran four years ago.
One week ago today, we shocked the establishment and redrew the political map of New York City with a campaign relentlessly focused on the needs of working people.
— Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@ZohranKMamdani) July 1, 2025
Let's break it down. pic.twitter.com/RZ0msTucA5
"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," Mamdani said.
Mamdani's win sparks concern
The unexpected win of 33-year-old Mamdani has sparked concern among Democrats worried that Mamdani’s political stance could make the party an easy target for Republican attacks.
The day after Mamdani’s victory, President Donald Trump labeled him a "100% Communist Lunatic" while the Republican Congressional campaign arm vowed to link Mamdani to every vulnerable Democrat in next year’s midterms.
In a new video, Mamdani emphasized his goal “to win people back to the Democratic Party,” highlighting that he won in some New York City neighborhoods that had voted for Trump in last year’s presidential election.
Following the election board’s confirmation of Mamdani’s win, Trump was asked how he would respond if Mamdani tried to block immigrant arrests as mayor.
Trump replied, "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."
Earlier, Mamdani criticized immigrant raids as “terrorizing people” and accused the agents carrying them out of having no interest in abiding by the law.
After early primary results were announced last Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo conceded to Zohran Mamdani, receiving 44% of the final vote, though he has not ruled out running as an independent.
In the November mayoral race, Mamdani will face incumbent Eric Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa, a radio host and founder of the Guardian Angels, and independent candidate Jim Walden.
New York City’s ranked-choice voting system, introduced in 2021, lets voters rank up to five candidates, with ballots tallied through instant runoffs until one candidate surpasses 50% to win.
