By Gloria Pazmino and Ethan Cohen, CNN

New York (CNN) — Zohran Mamdani clinched victory Tuesday in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor and quickly drew more attacks and threats of arrest from President Donald Trump, a Queens native likely to be a central figure in one of this year’s most important contests.

Mamdani, the 33-year-old state assemblyman and democratic socialist, had been all but assured to be the party’s nominee after the June 24 primary. But because Mamdani hadn’t won a majority of first-choice votes, it took a tabulation of the city’s ranked-choice votes released Tuesday to put Mamdani over 50% he needed to win.

Tuesday’s results, which aren’t final but include nearly all the votes that will be counted in the race, showed Mamdani defeating Cuomo 56% to 44% in the final round, a resounding and once-unthinkable victory that has shaken national politics and advances him to November’s general election.

“This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable,” Mamdani wrote on X after the results were posted. “And we will do it together.”

Democrats are trying to figure out how to capitalize on Mamdani’s success with younger progressives, even as some distance themselves from his ideas to provide free busing, enact a rent freeze and raise taxes on millionaires, as well as his criticism of Israel. Republicans, meanwhile, have tried to elevate Mamdani as the face of their opposition.

While speaking to reporters during a visit to a new migrant detention facility in the Florida Everglades, Trump falsely suggested that Mamdani was in the country “illegally” and said Mamdani would be arrested if he interfered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were he to be elected mayor.

“We don’t need a communist in this country, but if we have one, I’m going to be watching over him very carefully on behalf of the nation,” Trump said, repeating an attack he made last week after the primary.

Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and came to the United States as a young child, is a naturalized U.S. citizen. He is a self-described democratic socialist who has said he would work to preserve New York City’s sanctuary status and help protect its migrant residents.

He said in a statement that Trump had threatened him “not because I have broken any law but because I will refuse to let ICE terrorize our city.”

“His statements don’t just represent an attack on our democracy but an attempt to send a message to every New Yorker who refuses to hide in the shadows: if you speak up, they will come for you,” Mamdani said.

Trump backs Eric Adams and says he offered the mayor ‘help’

Mamdani’s victory sets up a potentially messy contest in November. Mayor Eric Adams, four years after winning the Democratic primary, is seeking reelection as an independent. Republican Curtis Sliwa is running. And Cuomo, the former New York governor, is keeping his “Fight and Deliver” ballot line for the general election, although he hasn’t committed to running an active campaign.

Trump, a lifelong New Yorker who moved to Florida during his first term in office, acknowledged Mamdani had a strong chance to win the election in November because of the city’s overwhelming Democratic electorate. He also heaped praise on Adams, suggesting he would be a good alternative to Mamdani in November.

“You have a good independent running – Mayor Adams, who is a very good person,” Trump said.

At one point, Trump referenced the corruption and bribery indictment his Justice Department moved to drop against Adams. Both before and after his victory last fall, Trump was critical of the indictment brought against Adams by former President Joe Biden’s administration.

“I helped him out a little bit; he had a problem,” Trump said.

Adams has made a point of not criticizing Trump and has said he is willing to help the president enforce his deportation agenda when it comes to violent individuals. He did not directly answer Tuesday when asked about Trump’s threat to arrest Mamdani.

“Anyone that is elected or not should never interfere with federal authorities carrying out their functions, because if someone doesn’t like ICE, what happens if they don’t like the IRS?” Adams told reporters. “What happens if they don’t like Environmental Protection? You can’t pick and choose.”

Mamdani in his statement Tuesday said Trump’s praise of Adams was “unsurprising, but highlights the urgency of bringing an end to this Mayor’s time in City Hall.”

Cuomo remains in the picture

Cuomo hasn’t said whether he will formally stay in the race and run an active general election campaign as the “Fight and Deliver” candidate after a desultory primary race. If he does, Cuomo is likely to try and connect Adams to Trump while continuing to argue Mamdani is too far to the left and too inexperienced to run the nation’s largest city.

Cuomo and Adams have historically attracted the same voters – moderate Democrats and Black New Yorkers who have consistently backed them both, even though preliminary data suggest Mamdani has significantly eroded that base of support.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, issued a statement Tuesday which noted the former governor has not yet decided on an active run but made clear he was considering doing so. Azzopardi argued a “massive spike” in voters under the age of 30 had made it impossible to predict Mamdani’s victory.

“Extremism, division and empty promises are not the answer to this city’s problems, and while this was a look at what motivates a slice of our primary electorate, it does not represent the majority,” Azzopardi said. “We’ll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps.”

In his statement, Azzopardi also took a swipe at Adams, noting that despite his primary loss, Cuomo still managed to capture more than 24,000 more votes than Adams did in the 2021 primary when he was first elected.

For his part, Mamdani issued a statement Tuesday mentioning Adams and not Cuomo.

“Last Tuesday, Democrats spoke in a clear voice, delivering a mandate for an affordable city, a politics of the future, and a leader unafraid to fight back against rising authoritarianism,” he said. “I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers who voted for our campaign and am excited to expand this coalition even further as we defeat Eric Adams and win a city government that puts working people first.”

This headline and story have been updated with additional details. Cohen reported from Washington.

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