(NewsNation) — New York City voters are casting their ballots Tuesday to elect their new mayor, who will replace outgoing Mayor Eric Adams.

The race has been in the national spotlight since 34-year-old New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, seized the Democratic ticket from Adams and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Both Cuomo and Adams reentered the race as independent candidates, but the latter dropped out after his campaign failed to pick up steam.

Voters on Tuesday will decide between Mamdani — who held a wide polling lead in the weeks leading up to Election Day — Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. New York City uses a ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference; a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to win.

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Mamdani focused his campaign on affordability, touting his policies of freezing rents in rent-controlled apartments and making buses free in the city, among other issues. He saw the backing of New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but saw slower support from leaders of the larger Democratic Party.

Mamdani drew younger voters in higher numbers than the previous election year, in what could be a record year for voter turnout. Mamdani, a Muslim, faced both Islamophobic attacks and accusations of antisemitism for his past comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Cuomo, meanwhile, saw support from his once bitter rival, Adams, who endorsed Cuomo in an effort to stymie a Mamdani win. The 67-year-old former governor and scion of New York political royalty built his campaign on public safety and proposed hiring more police officers. Cuomo, a supporter of both Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, banked on the support of Jewish New Yorkers and those who opposed a democratic socialist mayor.

More than 700,000 people cast early ballots by Nov. 2, with a higher percentage of Gen Z voters than last year, according to the New York Times. Polls in New York City close at 9 p.m. EST.

See results of the New York City mayoral election below as they come in:

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