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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has endorsed democratic socialist assemblyman Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City. It could give Mamdani a significant boost as he strives to topple former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from the top of the polls in the final two weeks of the race.
This is a crucial endorsement for Mamdani. In about six months he's gone from an obscure 33-year-old state assemblyman from Queens to left-wing superstar and the most viable contender to take on a powerful establishment Democrat in a crowded race decided by ranked-choice voting.
Mamdani appears to be the top candidate of young people and progressives.
The New York Times reports that Ocasio-Cortez and her aides studied Mamdani and other candidates for weeks before deciding that he was the one she wanted to put her weight behind.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times. “In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”
Ocasio-Cortez said that, after Mamdani, she will rank New York City Council speaker Adrienne Adams, city comptroller Brad Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, and state senator Zellnor Myrie, in that order, on her ballot.
Mamdani is running on an unapologetically left-wing policy platform. As The City reports, Mamdani "is running on a platform of affordability: free buses, city-run grocery stores, universal childcare and a rent freeze."
Cuomo, who resigned from the governor post in 2021 in response to sexual harassment allegations, has maintained a double-digit lead in most polls in the race, and Mamdani has been coming in second. (Cuomo has denied the allegations.) While Mamdani still faces a challenging road ahead, he seems to have a monopoly on the excitement factor of the race. His fundraising numbers have been exceptionally strong, he has emerged a social media darling and viral video savant, and he has by far the biggest ground game in the race with an army of canvassers enthusiastically fanning across the city.
Mamdani appears to be the top candidate of young people and progressives, whereas Cuomo represents older, more moderate Democrats. Cuomo ultimately has a huge name recognition advantage — his scandal doesn't seem to have swayed many establishment Dems against him.
What Mamdani needs is a way to build trust with voters as a young candidate who many voters have little to no familiarity with. Winning an endorsement from one of the most prominent Democrats in not just New York City politics, but national politics, is one way to help build that trust.
Will it be enough? Ocasio-Cortez touched on why Mamdani faces such a tough road when she observed to the Times: “Trust can’t be built quickly."
With a little more than two weeks until the June 24 primary, it’s not clear if that leaves enough time for Mamdani to gain the momentum, and trust, he'll surely need for a win.