Gov. Andrew Cuomo defeated Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout in Tuesday's Democratic primary by a margin that just before 11 p.m. stood at roughly 20 percent.

"The Democrats of this state have spoken, and I will not be your next governor," Teachout told her supporters in New York City just before 11 p.m.. "But the Democrats of this state have been heard."

Preliminary results, however, gave Teachout the edge in all four counties in the Capital Region. In Albany County — the seat of state government that Cuomo hopes to return to lead in January — the governor lost by more than 20 percent. Two hours after polls closed at 9 p.m. statewide, he trailed in Schenectady, Rensselaer and Saratoga counties as well.

Cuomo's running mate, Kathy Hochul, survived her own primary battle against Columbia law professor Tim Wu. The former congresswoman and Erie County clerk won a narrower victory to set up the November showdown that has been expected since May: Cuomo and Hochul against Republicans Rob Astorino, the Westchester county executive, and Chemung County Sheriff Chris Moss.

The standup comedian Randy Credico had 4.1 percent of the gubernatorial vote statewide.

The results fell in line with estimates for the race, though the Teachout total was higher than the 20 percent to 30 percent that observers had predicted. While Wu was viewed as possibly having a better chance to defeat Hochul, he also was thought to likely lose to the governor's running mate.

Teachout said her progressive effort had been worth it. "This was a campaign that took on the machine with not a lot of money," she said.

Through the summer, her effort channeled widespread liberal disappointment with Cuomo's fiscal policies and his record on public ethics, including the currently raging controversy over his decision to mothball his Moreland Commission ethics investigation in March, midway through its tenure.

Cuomo made no public appearance Tuesday night, but released a statement.

"Today's outcome is a testament to the progress we have made together over the last four years: restoring economic opportunity, replacing dysfunction with results, putting people before politics and re-establishing New York as a progressive leader for the nation," he said. "I also want to congratulate Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu on running a spirited campaign, engaging in the democratic process and having the courage to make their voices heard."

One of the main storylines throughout primary day was miserably low voter turnout. Teachout's camp, as well as other less partisan watchers, predicted between 500,000 and 750,000 votes to be cast Tueday. With 50 percent of the precincts across the state reporting at 10:30 p.m., just 252,493 votes had been cast. Before 10:30 p.m., only 12,000 ballots were reported to be cast in Albany County. By comparison, though the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2010 between Carl Paladino, the eventual winner, and Rick Lazio brought in fewer than 500,000 voters, and the 2006 Democratic gubernatorial primary between Eliot Spitzer and Tom Souzzi brought in 726,947 votes, with 326,000 votes being cast upstate.

With early returns in, some wasted no time in praising the Cuomo-Hochul ticket.

"Today is a day of hope and celebration for working families across New York," union leader Hector Figueroa of 32BJ SEIU said. "With the primary victory tonight of Gov. Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, we will be able to turn an agenda that prioritizes the needs of working families into a reality."