State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani officially won the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor on Tuesday, beating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 12 percentage points.

Mamdani’s victory was projected on June 24, after Cuomo called him to concede the race. Mamdani led the first round with 43% of the vote, but that fell short of the 50% threshold required for an outright win in the city’s ranked choice voting process.

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New York City uses ranked choice voting, which unfolds in multiple rounds. Voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one secures more than 50% in the first round, as was the case in this primary, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voters’ next choices. This process continues until a candidate crosses the majority threshold.

OPINION: THE DANGEROUS APPEAL OF ZOHRAN MAMDANI

This year’s primary has served as a signal for the direction of New York’s Democratic base, with Mamdani positioned much further to the left than Cuomo. A self-described “democratic socialist,” Mamdani has been criticized as a radical leftist for proposals such as government-run grocery stores, expanded rent control, and efforts to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel.

In the general election, Mamdani will face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent. Activist and talk show host Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee, and Cuomo appears to be staying in the race as an independent.