Zohran Mamdani’s surprise victory came from lefty NYC neighborhoods — and a ‘far broader’ coalition of voters expected for a socialist

Zohran Mamdani’s upset win in the Democratic mayoral primary was driven by voters in crunchy granola Brooklyn neighborhoods — but the socialist also made surprising gains among black and Hispanic New Yorkers.

The 33-year-old Queens assemblyman wiped the floor with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the brownstone liberal bastions of Brooklyn Heights, Fort Greene and the surrounding, predominantly white areas, early data from Tuesday’s primary shows.

But Mamdani also fared better than predicted with voters who don’t traditionally back Democratic socialists.

He made inroads in black and Hispanic neighborhoods across the city where Cuomo expected to coast to victory on the backing of more middle-of-the-road Democratic voters, said John Mollenkopf, director of the Center for Urban Research at CUNY.

“Mamdani developed a much broader coalition than you might have expected from the fact he was a (Democratic Socialists of America) candidate,” he said.

Still, Mamdani’s highest voter turnout was a Brooklyn district representing Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy and Crown Heights, where he garnered more than 20,000 votes to Cuomo’s 5,500, according to the unofficial results from the first round of ranked-choice votes.

A nearby district including Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, and Carroll Gardens was Mamdani’s second-highest draw, with 19,000 votes to Cuomo’s 6,900, the data reveals.

Cuomo’s highest turnout came in two Manhattan districts both covering swaths of the Upper East Side, and Midtown East and Roosevelt Island, respectively, the numbers show.

The data also show Mamdani — a vocal critic of Israel who repeatedly swatted away accusations of antisemitism — ran away with the vote in perhaps-unexpected places.

Some parts of Kensington, a neighborhood with a large Orthodox Jewish community, went to Mamdani by more than 70%, according to the numbers.

Mamdani also carried College Point, a Queens neighborhood represented by City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a Republican firebrand who had called to “deport” the lefty pol during the primary race.

“The ignorance of people never ceases to amaze me,” Paladino said Wednesday about Mamdani’s win.

“He motivated a base that was basically non-existent, OK? He got all these super, super young people. Got some older folks. But for the most part, it was a new brand of people and that’s what he did,” Paladino claimed.

The data shows Mamdani got 45% of his vote from white neighborhoods composed of people who were born in the city, Mollenkopf said.

Mamdani, who would be the Big Apple’s first mayor of South Asian descent if he wins the November general election, also pulled votes from Asian communities in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan, the data shows.

Woodside, Queens overwhelmingly went to Zohran with more than 65% of the vote, as well as Chinatown in Manhattan, according to data.

“Zohran’s come-from-behind victory was bolstered by a surge of Asian support who were encouraged by his ability to connect to people,” said state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens), a Mamdani backer. “Not by talking at them, but by listening to them, and communicating new ideas about how to improve our city for everyone.”

— Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden