Topline
Billionaires criticized New Yorkers who voted for Democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani in Tuesday’s New York City Democratic mayoral primary race—after he beat out former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a stunning win despite significant support for Cuomo from wealthy donors.
New York mayoral candidate, State Rep. Zohran Mamdani (D-NY), speaks to supporters during an … More
Key Facts
“It’s not a done deal, but Cuomo screwed up real big because he tried to do what President Biden did and hide in the basement for two months,” Republican billionaire John Catsimatidis told Forbes, saying he doesn’t think Cuomo will run as a third-party candidate, but that Mayor Eric Adams, “if he has Trump’s help in cleaning up the streets of New York… has a chance to be a winner.”
Catsimatidis has threatened to move his Gristedes chain of groceries out of New York if the city elects Mamdani, who has said he wants to open city-run groceries in each of New York’s five boroughs.
Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman, who donated $500,000 to a super PAC supporting Cuomo and backed President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign, reposted a series of tweets criticizing Mamdani’s win, including turnout stats from The New York Times that found Mamdani won districts with median incomes over $100,000 by 13 points, while Cuomo won those with median incomes under $50,000 by 19 points.
Ackman also lamented Mamdani received votes amounting to less than 10% of the registered voter population in New York, writing “if we allow 9.1% of registered voters [to] determine the future of New York City, then we deserve the city that we are going to get.”
Billionaire Cuomo backer Dan Loeb of Third Point hedge fund declared “it’s officially hot commie summer” in response to Mamdani’s win and criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as “a clueless, unqualified buffoon” in response to her tweet calling Mamdani’s campaign “formidable.”
Tesla CEO Elon Musk also tweeted a crying laughing emoji in response to an X user who reposted a tweet from Zohran Mamdani that said “queer liberation means defund the police,” with the caption “you can just say things,” suggesting Mamdani’s statement didn’t add up.
Big Number
$25 million. That’s how much the Cuomo-aligned super PAC, Fix the City, raised, including $8.3 million from billionaire and former mayor, Michael Bloomberg, according to The New York Times. It’s the largest super PAC ever created in New York City mayoral campaign history.
What To Watch For
Cuomo told The New York Times shortly after his concession speech he’s considering running in the general election as an independent. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat, is also running as an independent.
Key Background
Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman, received the largest share of votes in the city’s ranked-choice voting process, beating out Cuomo, who received 36.4% of votes, and third-place candidate New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. Mamdani’s win comes at an inflection point for the Democratic Party, reeling from the 2024 presidential election and bruising House and Senate races, and struggling to counter the Trump administration. The upset is widely viewed as a rebuke of the Democratic establishment, which largely backed Cuomo in the race despite him resigning in disgrace four years ago amid a sexual misconduct scandal.
Further Reading
Mamdani Claims Victory In New York’s Democratic Mayoral Primary After Cuomo Concedes (Forbes)