In the busy race of New York City mayors, Zoran Mamdani became a magnet of attention, and rose to polls and raised funds through the approach of everyone who was said to be social media savvy.
He paid some of the thousands of small donors home visits and plunged the New Year into the sea to freeze rent. He quickly broke Ramadan by eating a burrito on the Q train, and then Fake apologised for violations of subway etiquette.
But for Mamdani, a 33-year-old state legislator from Queens, winning the Democratic primary in June still represents a difficult challenge beyond trying to turn social media virality into a vote.
While many of his progressive rivals in the race have adopted more centralist positions on certain issues such as policing and public safety, the democratic socialist Mamdani continues to embrace the left-leaning view that is less popular with New York voters.
Nevertheless, it has proven to be an effective campaign strategy. Mamdani has become the standard bearer of the progressive Democrats as a fresh alternative to his more veteran rivals, particularly former governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams, Brad Lander and the mayor of the city.
But winning elections on a hyper-progressive platform is a challenge. Mamdani admits this and knows he needs to be his supporters (the many supporters outside the far left and the city's traditional power structure).
In primary elections, where voter turnout rarely exceeds a quarter of eligible voters, new voters can influence the outcome of Mamdani's characteristics.
During his recent campaign visit to the Mass Bronx Muslim Centre in the Little Yemen area of the East Bronx, Mamdani pleaded with the assembled people to use their electoral power more fully. More than 350,000 of the roughly one million Muslims in New York have been voted, according to figures from the Council on America and Islamic Relations. However, in the last mayoral election, only about 12% voted.
“I don't blame anyone in our community for not voting because in many cases it feels like they don't really get to vote,” Mamdani told a group of about 100 people. “But this June 24th, this Democratic primary will have the opportunity to tell the world that Muslims are not in New York City, but in City Hall.”
He asked the congregation if they had enough money to pay for rent, groceries, childcare and their electricity bills. Many sat with intense attention, nodding their heads while he spoke. He recited the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, arguing that their shared goal should be to make people's lives better.
“Spreading the good news,” Mamdani told the group that his campaign focused on making the city more affordable, calling it a “campaign to make New Yorkers dreams again.”
Mamdani highlights the campaign's Corestaples, free buses, rent freezes and city-owned grocery stores.
The campaign is usually aimed at so-called triple prime voters who voted in three consecutive primary elections. Mamdani has turned his attention to those who don't hear regularly from political campaigns. He bets that he focuses on living expenses and resonates with those who feel ignored by the government. It's a strategy that appeals to disgruntled Trump voters, especially in working-class neighborhoods outside of Manhattan.
Even the conservative Manhattan Institute recognizes Mamdani's momentum and appeals to John Della Volpe, a poller from a solid social sphere called “disgruntled person,” a working-class New Yorker who worries about public safety and finds it too difficult to move forward.
“I want you to entertain the idea that socialist Zohran Mamdani can actually become the next mayor of New York City,” read the Manhattan Institute newsletter. “I know it sounds crazy, but we live in strange times.”
Mamdani has already raised about $7 million since joining the race in October, including a public matching fund. Despite the once-limited recognition of the name, he currently boasts more than 16,000 individual donors. Most polls show him in third place just behind Adams and the candidates.
“He creates excitement among voters that aren't always reflected in New York City's leadership,” said Jasmine Gripper, co-director of left-leaning labor families. “He's talking to candidates who hold their values, who look like them, who come from their community and who he's leaning towards.. ”
Young voters are occurring more frequently. According to a survey by the New York City Campaign Finance Committee, about one in five people under the age of 40 voted in the 2021 mayoral primary, starting from about 13% of voters in 2013. Overall turnout at around 27% of registered voters was one of the highest in recent election years.
Under a ranked selection system that allows voters to select as many as five candidates in order of preference, Mamdani's expansion of base can help some of his more like-minded rivals. If he finishes third or higher, his vote could be sent to candidates in the next rank of his supporters.
Mamdani has already committed to recruiting at least one yet unknown opponent to stop Cuomo's momentum, leading the vote by wide margins. Workers' families also support progressive candidate slate and encourage voters to “dreams.” Don't rank Eric or Andrew as mayors. Several candidates, including Mamdani, support the idea.
Cuomo has already opposed the characteristics of his campaign to the “left” without mentioning Mamdani by name. Former governors often defeat the police “three stupid words ever spoken in politics” despite signing police reform. In contrast, Mamdani is calling for several cuts in police spending in areas such as telecom offices and strategic response groups.
Tripyan, a Democratic strategist not associated with the mayoral campaign, said Mamdani's outreach to young voters in Brooklyn and Queens and the growing interest from Southeast Asian voters and Muslims could help them grow voters in ways that are not seen in recent memory.
“His policy proposals don't seem radical,” Yang said, referring to Mamdani's affordable platform. “The only thing radical about Zohran is probably his open democratic socialist affiliation.”
American New York Civic Socialists consider it positive. The group has added 1,500 new members from more diverse races and age groups since it approved Mamdani in October, the leader said. They pointed to a fierce conflict as the moment when Mamdani, the top White House immigration enforcer, Tom Homan, recently successfully conveyed the frustration of many New Yorkers at the state capitol in Albany.
“People want to fight, defend their rights and fight against the Trump administration's authoritarian policies,” said Gustavo Goldillo, co-chair of the group. “But that's not enough. There's also the vision to attack, and Zohran's campaign provided a way for that vision.”
Several of Mamdani's rivals warned of his potential and tried to attack him where he could be vulnerable.
New York City is home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel, and Mamdani has been criticized for accusing Israel of committing genocide in the war in Gaza. He sponsored a bill that would ban New York charities from funding certain organizations they said were linked to “Israel war crimes.”
Hedge Fund manager and mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson recently sent a funding email with the subject “Stop Mamdani,” citing his “far-left platform,” “fiery rhetoric against the NYPD and Israel,” and his father cited support from a professor at Columbia University, whose father is a professor. The Trump administration has accused the university of not enough to quell anti-Semitism on campus.
But Mamdani's enemy also has its own vulnerability to deal with.
At some of the mosques in which Mamdani appeared, members approached him with stories and photos of Mr. Adams talking to him. They recall how the mayor spoke about growing up in a working-class family, and vowed to his administration to “delivery of the dignity they have been denied” at city hall.
“The reason we are in this moment is because he betrayed those voters,” Mamdani said of the mayor. “We're trying to keep our promises.”
