Zohran Mamdani stunned political observers across the country on Tuesday as he looked set to win the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

While a winner hasn’t been officially declared, Cuomo didn’t wait for the entire vote to be tabulated to concede. Less than two hours after the polls closed, he told his supporters that “tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night,” underscoring a seismic shift in American politics.

Mamdani made gains on Cuomo in recent weeks but still trailed in most polling against the former New York governor, who entered the race in March as the clear favorite. But Mamdani rose rapidly as the primary approached.

Here are five takeaways from the night’s results:

Mamdani's historic upset

Mamdani’s rise is one of the most stunning in recent memory.

He entered the Democratic race to replace embattled Mayor Eric Adams in the general election as a little-known state legislator who had only served in office since 2021. He started out in single digits in polling, well behind Cuomo, and found himself in the middle of a pack of other candidates trying to break through.

His momentum was apparent in recent weeks as he closed the gap behind Cuomo in the polls and gained several high-profile endorsements from top progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). The progressive Working Families Party also called on voters to rank Mamdani first on their ballots.

How much he closed the gap seemed up in the air as polls varied significantly. While one independent poll showed Mamdani within range of Cuomo and prevailing in the final round, most of the polls consistently showed Cuomo ahead.

But that polling lead didn’t materialize as voters headed to the polls. Mamdani is currently on track to be ahead in the first round and won’t need as much support from other candidates’ voters to reach a majority.

With 92 percent of the estimated vote in........

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