AOC endorses Zohran Mamdani in NYC mayor's race
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as her top choice in New York City's mayor race, .
Ocasio-Cortez, a prominent progressive, said Mamdani "has demonstrated a real ability to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack," the Times reported.
of Democratic candidates with 18%, trailing behind frontrunner and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 37% in the same poll.
In 2021, Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Brad Lander for New York City comptroller. Lander is one of the candidates currently in the Democratic race for mayor, competing against Cuomo and Mamdani.
Mamdani has work to do to catch up with Cuomo in the race. The Marist poll showed Cuomo with a clear lead in four out of five boroughs:
- Brooklyn had the closest race, according to the poll, with Cuomo and Mamdani each at 25%
- In the Bronx, 50% of Bronx voters supported Cuomo, 10% supported New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Mamdani was third with 8%.
- In Queens, Cuomo led with 48% and Mamdani was second with 15%
- In Manhattan, Cuomo led with 32%, followed by Mamdani with 21%
- On Staten Island, Cuomo leads with 48%, followed by Mamdani with 11% and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer with 10%.
Mamdani has told CBS News New York's Marcia Kramer he has 20,000 volunteers to knock on doors to help get out the vote. Since many voters skip the primaries, he believes a significant get-out-the-vote effort could be consequential.
Word of the endorsement comes the day after the Democratic candidates faced off in a contentious debate Wednesday night.
Cuomo took aim at Mamdani in that debate.
"Donald Trump would go through Mr. Mamdani like a hot knife through butter. He's been in government 27 minutes. He passed three bills, that's all he's done. He has no experience with Washington, no experience with New York City. He would be Trump's delight," Cuomo said.
"Look, it's true that I don't have experience with corrupt Trump billionaires who are funding my campaign. I don't have experience with party politics and insider consultants. I do have experience, however, with winning $450 million in debt relief for thousand of working class taxi drivers," Mamdani said.
