NEW YORK: Young self-declared socialist Zohran Mamdani was on the cusp of stunning victory Wednesday in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary — pummeling his scandal-scarred establishment rival in a race seen as a fight for the future of the Democratic Party. Results were not yet final. But Mamdani — who is just 33 and would become the city’s first Muslim mayor — had such a commanding lead that his biggest rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, conceded defeat overnight.

Mamdani’s success was seen as a rebuke to Democratic centrists who backed the powerful Cuomo, as the party flails nationally in search of a way to counter Republican President Donald Trump’s hard-right movement.

The Ugandan-born Mamdani was behind Cuomo in polls until near the end, surging on a message of lower rents, free daycare and other populist ideas in the notoriously expensive US city. “Tonight we made history,” he said in a victory speech to supporters. New Yorkers “have stood up for a city they can afford”.

Cuomo, a 67-year-old political veteran vying to come back from a sexual harassment scandal, told supporters: “Tonight was not our night.” “I called him, I congratulated him,” he said. Mamdani had taken 43 percent of the vote with 95 percent of ballots counted, according to city officials. Cuomo was at around 36 percent and appeared to have no chance to catch his rival.

However, the contest is ranked-choice, with voters asked to select five candidates in order of preference. When no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote outright, election officials start the time-consuming process of eliminating the lowest-ranking candidates and retabulating. Cuomo had big money and near-universal name recognition in the city, as a former governor and son of another governor.

However, he was weighed down by having quit in disgrace four years ago after multiple women accused him of sexual harassment. He was also accused of mismanaging the state’s response to the COVID pandemic. Even so, Mamdani’s success was stunning. The son of Indian-origin immigrants, he is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America party — the kind of niche, leftist affiliation that many Democratic leaders believe their party needs to shed.

The fact that Mamdani speaks out for Palestinians and has accused the Zionist entity of “genocide” also makes him a prime target for Trump, a fellow New Yorker. His supporters include two favorite Trump foils — fiery leftist Senator Bernie Sanders and progressive congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who both congratulated Mamdani. “Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system. And you won,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X.

Sanders posted: “You took on the political, economic and media Establishment — and you beat them.” Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate, called Mamdani “too extreme for a city already on edge”. And Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, told New Yorkers “who are not Communists: Come to Texas!”

Currently a New York state assemblyman representing the borough of Queens, Mamdani’s eye-catching policy proposals include freezing rent for many New Yorkers, free bus service, and universal childcare. In a city where a three-bedroom apartment can easily cost $6,000 a month, his message struck a chord.

Voter Eamon Harkin, 48, said prices were his “number one issue”. “What’s at stake is primarily the affordability of New York,” he said. But Sheryl Stein, who works in tourism marketing, was skeptical. “I like youth,” she said. But Mamdani having “no experience and no proven track record to run the largest city in this country and one of the largest in the world is pretty scary.”

For some voters, Mamdani represented a chance to usher in a new era for the party. “I think it’s time for somebody young, a person of color, something different,” Ignacio Tambunting, a 28-year-old actor, told a Reuters reporter outside a polling station in Manhattan after putting Mamdani atop his ballot. Another voter, Leah Johanson, said she listed Mamdani first even though she was concerned he was too liberal. But she did not rank Cuomo. “No. God, no,” said Johanson, 39, who voted on Tuesday in Queens, where Mamdani lives. “I’m not gonna vote for a man who is credibly accused of molesting women.”

The confirmed winner will face several contenders in November, including current Mayor Eric Adams, who is a Democrat but has vowed to run again as an independent. – Agencies