New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, a fact that guided many New Yorkers’ votes in Tuesday’s mayoral primary election.

The 33-year-old, Ugandan-born Muslim socialist who bested former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary with surprising ease on Tuesday night would have once seemed like a walking advertisement for making Republican Rudy Giuliani mayor for life. Or at least Michael Bloomberg.

Cuomo, who long led polls in the Democratic primary, conceded Tuesday night before vote-counting was even finished.

Good Thursday morning, Illinois. And welcome to the return of civilized temps. Progressives see it as a hopeful trend that started in Chicago with the 2023 election of Mayor Brandon Johnson. But moderates say it’s a case of voters just not wanting Cuomo back in office. One thing everyone agrees on: Mamdani’s good ground game and focused messaging were central to his success. “New York and Chicago are the test cases and proof positive that people want government to work for them,” said Christian Perry, Johnson’s political director. Both Mamdani and Johnson rose from obscurity to secure first round victories with support from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. It’s relative: Democrats want leaders who they can relate to in age and in life, Perry said in an interview. “They want equitable access to opportunity, and they’re willing to take a chance on a 33-year-old New Yorker and [a teacher] from Chicago, both who bring new and inspired leadership and a will to fight.” Counterpoint: Other Democrats say it has less to do with party dynamics and more about Cuomo being a flawed candidate. Afterall, he did resign as governor amid a sexual harassment investigation (even if he wasn’t charged). “It’s a significant win but it’s also a significant rebuke of Andrew Cuomo,” said former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democratic reformer. “The reality of having Cuomo back in power as mayor of one of the most important cities in the world, I think sunk in. There were a number of voters who said ‘No thanks.’ The idea that it’s a resurgence of the far-left wing of the Democratic Party, I’m not so certain that’s right.” What everyone seems to settle on is that Mamdani focused relentlessly on affordability. It wasn’t about being progressive or not, it was about being able to live comfortably in the big city. There’s another Chicago angle, too. Mamdani campaigned on a plan to create municipal grocery stores. Johnson pursued a similar idea before abandoning it, but the state has made inroads. Economic Security Illinois has advocated for public options and helped inform Gov. JB Pritzker’s Grocery Initiative. Venice, a small town along the Mississippi River, was the latest recipient. Messaging matters: The grocery initiative was part of Mamdani’s positive messaging that ran counter to Cuomo’s fear-based rhetoric, adds Lightfoot. Winning formulas: “I don’t think ‘the world is going to hell in a handbasket’ is a winning formula in a heavily Democratic city,” Lightfoot said. “People have pride about their city. They have pride in where they live and where they raise their children, where their jobs are. And if you describe a reality that is so different from their daily experience, I don’t think that is a winning formula.” The debate isn’t over. Mamdani heads to a general election, where he’ll face current Mayor Eric Adams, who’s running as an independent, and Cuomo might run on his own, too. Democrats are scrambling to figure out what Mamdani’s win means for the party: “It says to me that JB Pritzker, who is more progressive, more aggressive against Trump, is maybe in a better spot right now than [Gretchen] Whitmer, who represents more of the heads-down approach,” said one Democratic operative who advises 2028 candidates, referring to the governors of Illinois and Michigan, respectively,” via POLITICO. 8 top Democrats on Zohran Mamdani’s win and the future of Big City politics: “Affordability was the jet fuel that drove his surge. It’s also an issue that travels,” David Axelrod said, via POLITICO. The slow, painful death of the American political dynasty: Andrew Cuomo’s downfall fits into a larger national story — the extinction of some of the country’s mightiest political families, including a Kennedy in Massachusetts, a Daley in Illinois and a Graham in Florida, by POLITICO’s Alexander Burns. 10 YEARS AGO TODAY, the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. In honor of the anniversary of the legal case — Obergefell v. Hodges, the Obama Foundation will unveil select artifacts that will be on display at the Obama Presidential Center when it opens in 2026. Commissioner Kevin Morrison on same-sex marriage: The possibility the high court may someday diminish the LGBTQ+ community’s civil rights terrifies him, but he’s encouraged by “people coming together with a consolidated effort, fighting back against rights that are under threat,” by the Daily Herald’s Barbara Vitello. — State Rep. John Cabello is running for re-election in his 90th District. Except for a two-year break, he’s served the district since 2012. He also has a long career in law enforcement. “I am running for re-election because I want to continue to be a voice of reason and common sense in a legislature that is increasingly partisan,” Cabello said in a statement. — SCOOP: Pope Leo XIV among 1 in 4 Illinoisans with unclaimed property: “A Robert Prevost of New Lenox is owed an amount under $100 from PayPal,” reports Lee Enterprises’ Brenden Moore, who analyzed the state’s unclaimed property database. — Illinois Democratic lawmakers ask RFK Jr. to stop sharing Medicaid data with Trump deportation officials, by the Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles. — SNAP to it: Gov. JB Pritzker joined 23 governors in a letter urging congressional leaders to protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The governor’s team says SNAP helps about 427,000 Illinoisans. Their letter is here. — Census Bureau estimates show fast-growing Asian population in metro Chicago: “Since 2020, the Asian population in metro Chicago has grown by an estimated 11.6 percent, more than double the rate of growth for the next highest group,” by WBEZ’s Amy Qin. — Northwest Side funeral home gets city’s lucrative $4.4M body removal contract: “Current and former Chicago police officers once saddled with the grisly job of ‘body snatchers’ question whether a single funeral home can handle the citywide task,” by the Sun-Times’ Tom Schuba and Fran Spielman. — Hundreds pack funeral for slain Chicago Police Officer Krystal Rivera, by the Block Club’s Alex V. Hernandez — Northwestern University undertaking a variety of cost-cutting measures amid financial pressure: “The cuts come after the Trump administration enacted a federal funding freeze of $790 million in April,” by the Sun-Times’ Selena Kuznikov. — State Rep. Kelly Cassidy made the national political power list put out by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. — Bill Silverstein has been named board chair of the Museum of Contemporary Art. Silverstein, a real estate developer, succeeds fellow philanthropist Cari B. Sacks, whose term has just wrapped up. We asked what you think about ranked-choice voting. Eli Brottman: “It gives candidates who have fewer funds a chance.” Pamela Calvert: “It creates more coalition-building, and it lowers the incentives for negative campaigning.” Eric DeBellis: “It reminds voters that this is not sports and you don’t have to hate everyone running except your top choice. It encourages everyone to behave like adults.” Lucas Hawley: “It allows voters to express preferences more fully — especially when feeling strong opposition to certain candidates.” Patrick Keane: “It erases the need for party primaries and breaks down power structures that have been entrenched in the nation’s election system for decades.” Charles Keller: “If voter ID is too hard for people to do, then ranked-choice voting will be impossible for those same people to understand.” Jason Liechty: “There are no spoilers, no holding one’s nose to vote for the least-bad, incentives for candidates to play nice with one another, no runoffs.” David Melton: “It encourages candidates to take reasonable positions on important issues and eliminates the need for costly primary elections.” — Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) wants to reshape government — literally. The suburban Democrat introduced legislation that would increase the size of the U.S. Senate and House and “restore the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to better align with Article III of the U.S. Constitution.” In his one-page summary, he says he wants to establish 12 at-large senators to be elected through a national popular vote and 230 additional House members. — Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) is criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the dedicated LGBTQ+ youth crisis hotline within the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. The rebuke came during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing. Here’s the video.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo has conceded the Democratic race for New York City Mayor... so what happens now for the former governor?

Donors and advisers mounting a campaign to convince Andrew Cuomo to drop out of the New York City mayor’s race are facing an imminent deadline to get his name off the ballot.