Who's leading NYC mayor polls on primary Election Day?

Who will be the Democratic candidate for NYC mayor?

New Yorkers will decide whether to reboot Andrew Cuomo?s political career, elevate liberal upstart Zohran Mamdani, or turn to a crowded field of candidates in the party?s mayoral primary. FOX 5 NY's Robert Moses has the latest from the polls.

NEW YORK CITY - It’s primary day in New York City, and thousands of voters are braving blistering triple-digit heat to cast their ballots.

The spotlight is on the Democratic mayoral primary, a race that has become a national story and a referendum on the party’s future.

JUMP TO: TRACK ELECTION RESULTS | NYC MAYOR POLLS | WHO'S RUNNING FOR MAYOR?

The race has pitted former Governor Andrew Cuomo, a well-known moderate, against 33-year-old Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist.

Thanks to ranked-choice voting, the final winner likely won’t be known until a week from today.

Meanwhile, all 51 City Council seats are also up for grabs, including a high-profile contest in Lower Manhattan’s District 2 featuring former Congressman Anthony Weiner.

Here’s everything you need to know before heading to the polls Tuesday.

The latest: NYC primary day

Zohran Mamdani, New York City mayoral candidate, holds a shaved ice during a campaign event in New York, US, on Monday, June 23, 2025. New Yorkers will head to the polls Tuesday to choose a Democratic candidate for mayor as a sweltering heat wave eng

Expand

The latest:

In the final hours before primary day, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was out on the streets of Inwood, connecting with voters in person.

He stopped at a local pizza parlor and a street vendor selling shaved ice, embracing the community despite the sweltering heat. Mamdani’s grassroots approach highlights his campaign’s message of a new kind of politics, appealing especially to younger voters energized by his democratic socialist platform.

Meanwhile, former Governor Andrew Cuomo kept a lower public profile on Monday but rallied late in the day with union carpenters in Hudson Square, aiming to shore up support from labor groups and traditional Democratic voters.

Andrew Cuomo, New York City mayoral candidate, center, speaks during a campaign event at the Carpenters Union Hall in New York, US, on Monday, June 23, 2025. New Yorkers will head to the polls Tuesday to choose a Democratic candidate for mayor as a s

Expand

His campaign scheduled a get-out-the-vote rally for early evening, signaling a push to energize his base before polls opened.

Cuomo’s team dismissed recent polls showing Mamdani ahead as outliers and emphasized other surveys that place Cuomo firmly in the lead.

City Comptroller Brad Lander also remained active, appearing alongside Mamdani on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" to address key issues and controversies, including Mamdani’s stance on Israel.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 20: New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander walks into immigration court at a federal building to continue his monitoring of federal agents arresting immigrants during mandatory check-ins on June 20, 2025

Expand

Lander’s endorsement of Mamdani, despite tensions within some voter groups, reinforced the progressive coalition rallying behind the younger candidate.

Council Speaker Adrienne Adams addresses the crowd during the New York Working Families Party rally in Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA. (Photo by Madison Swart / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MADISON SWART/Hans Lucas/AFP via Ge

Expand

Comptroller Brad Lander, who has consistently trailed in the polls, remains a distant third, with City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Scott Stringer following behind.

Scott Stringer, New York City mayoral candidate, prior to a mayoral Democratic primary debate in New York, US, on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The mayoral race has become one of the most crowded in recent memory, with at least nine Democrats with signifi

Expand

When do polls close?

What to know about voting in the NYC primary

NYC Board of Election directors join Good Day New York to explain rank choice voting and discuss how to prepare for election day.

Primary Election Day is today. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

How to vote in NYC mayoral election

You can check your registration status online HERE.

To find your local poll site, click HERE.

***Note: Voter registration for the 2025 NYC primary elections - in person and online - is now closed.

Early voting final results

Latest poll shows early voting numbers ahead of NYC mayoral primary election

A recent poll shows the majority of early votes in the NYC mayoral primary are being counted for Zohran Mamdani. FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay has more.

By the numbers:

Meanwhile, early voting showed strong participation across all five boroughs. According to unofficial data from the NYC Board of Elections, as of the close of polls on Sunday, a total of 384,338 voters had checked in. The breakdown by borough is as follows:

Manhattan: 122,642
Brooklyn: 142,735
Queens: 75,778
The Bronx: 30,816
Staten Island: 12,367

Featured

Tightest NYC City Council races in the 2025 primary election

article

Tightest NYC City Council races in the 2025 primary election

All 51 City Council seats are up for grabs, including nine with term-limited members who can’t run again. Here are some of the key races in each borough.

NYC mayoral election polls

Final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey: A final Emerson College/PIX11/The Hill poll shows Andrew Cuomo narrowly leading the NYC Democratic mayoral primary with 35% to Zohran Mamdani’s 32%, but Mamdani ultimately wins in a ranked-choice voting simulation after eight rounds.

Manhattan Institute: According to a poll released last week, Cuomo defeats Mamdani in the final round 56% to 44%.
Marist Poll: According to a Marist College Institute for Public Opinion survey last week, in the ranked-choice voting contest, Cuomo prevails 55% to 45% against Mamdani in the 7th round.
Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey: According to a May survey, Cuomo was at 35%, followed by Mamdani at 22% and Lander at 10%. The survey was conducted from May 23-26.
Marist College: According to a poll conducted in May, Cuomo was at 44%, followed by Mamdani at 22% and Adams at 11%. The survey of 3,383 likely Democratic primary voters was conducted from May 1-8.
Siena College: An April poll had Cuomo at 34%, followed by Mamdani at 16%. The poll surveyed 811 registered voters, with a specific focus on 556 Democratic voters.

NYC mayoral odds

According to PredictIt, Cuomo has a 53% chance to win the Democratic nomination, followed by Mamdani at 50%. Meanwhile, Polymarket – as of Monday 10 a.m. – has Mamdani at 54%, followed by Cuomo at 46%.

NYC election news today

Here’s How the N.Y.C. Mayoral Results May Emerge (New York Times)
Colbert grills Dem socialist NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Israel, antisemitism (FOX)
Israel and Iran's fragile ceasefire. And, what to know about NYC's mayoral race (NPR)
Some candidates focus on blocking Cuomo’s path a day before NYC’s mayoral primary (AP News)

How to track election results

What you can do:

Bookmark FOX 5 NY's election results page to track results in real time when polls close.

When will we have results?

This year, NYC will use ranked choice voting in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and City Council; a system approved by voters in 2019.

NYC ranked choice voting explained

How does the concept work? FOX 5 NY's Robert Moses has the story.

Tonight, results will only show first-choice votes from early voting, in-person voting and processed absentee ballots, accounting for most of the votes. If a candidate is projected to win 50% of first-choice votes, then the Associated Press will declare a projected winner on Election Night.

READ MORE: Ranked choice voting explained

If no one gets a majority, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and those votes go to the next choice on each ballot. This process continues until two candidates remain; whoever has the most votes then wins.

If no candidate has 50% of first-choice votes, the Board of Elections will release an unofficial report on the preliminary elimination rounds on Tuesday, July 1. The BOE plans to certify the results on July 15.