Zohran Mamdani is set to become the new mayor of New York City, although it could take days before the final results are officially announced.
Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers went out to vote on Tuesday morning and afternoon, June 24, in the city's hot weather.
The 33-year-old democratic socialist is ahead with 43.5% as around 92% of the votes have been counted.
Andrew Cuomo, a former New York governor, conceded on Tuesday night and informed his supporters that he had called Zohran to congratulate him on "tonight's victory."
Addressing his audience, Andrew noted, "Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won."
How will the new NYC mayor be elected?
The race will be officially decided by ranked choice voting after no candidate received 50% in the first round of counting.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates from their first choice to their fifth.
When votes are arranged, all first-choice votes are counted initially.
If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, they win. If no candidate receives more than 50%, the counting continues in rounds until there is an official winner.
Zohran Mamdani is a New York State Assemblyman from Queens and represents District 36, which includes Long Island City and Astoria.
His mayoral campaign promises include free city buses, lowering the cost of living, and building 200,000 affordable units of housing.
Zohran has been endorsed in the race by US Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
