Democrat primary in the United States: Zohran Mamdani overthrows the favorite Andrew Cuomo

The candidate of the left wing of the Democratic Party, Zohran Mamdani, won the primary on Tuesday for the election to the town hall of New York, a feeling in his camp after having led a campaign against the cost of living and having made the promise to tax people with high incomes.

Tonight was not our evening … Zohran Mamdani wonconceded, a tense smile, his rival the former governor Andrew Cuomo in front of his supporters, while the counting of the votes was not yet completely finished.

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With almost 95 % of stripped bulletins, or nearly a million, Zohran Mamdani leads the race in the lead with more than 43 % of the votes, against 36 % for Andrew Cuomo.

This victory at hand is a feeling in the Democratic camp. Zohran Mamdani, elected local of 33 years, who claims to be Progressive and Muslimcaught up to 30 points behind in the surveys on the former governor, more centrist, Andrew Cuomo (2011-2021), to finish in the lead.

Complex voting mode

Games have not yet been made in this election in the complex voting system, where voters were called upon to classify five candidates in order of preference. As no candidate exceeds 50 % of the vote on Tuesday evening, the count will continue in a week to count the 2^e3^e Choice and following to designate a winner.

But the advantage of Zohran Mamdani, who embodies the wing the most left of his party, is substantial. Several other candidates, including the 3^e On the list, Brad Lander, called on their voters to classify him high to block Andrew Cuomo.

The elected representative of the popular district of Queens has carried out a viral campaign on social networks and aroused the enthusiasm of an army of young volunteers in the field to amplify its promises against the increase in the cost of living, in particular the free buses, daycare centers and the freezing of rents, measures which it intends to finance by a taxation imposed on people with higher income.

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Supported by Bernie Sanders

This native of Uganda with Indian origins was supported by left figures like Bernie Sanders and elected to the House of Representatives of New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Congratulations to Zohran Mamdani and his thousands of sympathizers for their extraordinary campaign. You faced the political, economic and media establishment and you beat it. All you have to do is win the general electionssaid Sanders on X.

Billionaires and lobbyists have poured millions against you and against our public finance system. And you wonadded Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, also on X.

During the campaign, Andrew Cuomo attacked him on his inexperience, the former governor of New York State presenting himself as the only one capable of standing up to US President Donald Trump and his hostile policies against cities or Democratic states.

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The cost of living at the heart of priorities

But one of the strong themes of the campaign in the megalopolis of 8.5 million inhabitants was the cost of living.

The first issue is that New York is affordablesummed up Tuesday, just after slipping his bulletin in a polling station in Brooklyn, Eamon Harkin, a 48 -year -old DJ.

The city has become very expensive. Many people from the middle class can no longer afford to live here, and this contributes to the phenomenon of roaming and mental health problems. For me, this is the number one problemhe added.

For Nicholas Zantal, 31 -year -old advertiser and voter Brookylnthis primary is A referendum for the Democratic Party : Either we lean for a centrist candidate (Andrew Cuomo), which belongs to a different generation, or for a younger, ambitious and idealistic partyhe explained.

Sheryl Stein, a fifties who work in marketing has registered as a democrat in order to vote Cuomo in front of the project too extremely of Zohran Mother. See someone 33 years old, without experience, lead the largest city in this country […] It’s quite frighteningshe explains.

A victory in the primary gives a status of favorite to Zohran Mamdani during the election at the town hall of New York scheduled for November, the city being a democratic bastion. But Andrew Cuomo could not have said his last word. The former governor (2011-2021), who attempts his return to politics four years after his resignation in the midst of a sexual harassment scandal, does not exclude presenting himself as an independent candidate.

The current Democrat mayor, Eric Adams, has given up on the primary. He also intends to appear independent, but suffers from a calamitous image, accused of compromising himself with the Trump administration in exchange for the burial of prosecution for corruption.