Zohran Mamdani's NYC Democratic mayoral primary win powered in large part by army of community organizers
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani declared a historic victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday night, and he has plenty of community organizers to thank for helping push voters to the polls.
He exceeded expectations in several historically moderate neighborhoods, like Dyker Heights and working class communities of Queens. According to the city's Board of Elections, 51% of the votes in Richmond Hill and 64% in Ozone Park went to Mamdani, a 33-year-old Democratic socialist who represents the 36th District.
More than 993,000 New Yorkers voted in the primary, compared to the 942,000-plus that took part four years ago.
- Read more: Zohran Mamdani's stunning win in NYC Democratic mayoral primary creates optimism and concern
Zohran Mamdani's proposals resonated with many
Mamdani, the first South Asian man to serve in the New York State Assembly, focused his campaign on affordability, taxing the rich, freezing rent prices, eliminating bus fares, and expanding mental health outreach -- things that resonated with many New Yorkers.
Just ask his community organizers.
"I'm overwhelmed. There's a lot of joy. There's a lot of representation in the possibility of the first Muslim immigrant South Asian mayor," said Mohamed Q. Amin, who has been organizing voters in Richmond Hill for years. "We saw ourselves reflected in his campaign."
State Sen. John Liu issued a statement on the significance of Mamdani's performance in the primary and how the South Asian community helped make it happen.
"Yesterday, New York City's Asian community made a huge impact in a historic primary election. Asian communities in Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan turned out in droves to support Zohran Mamdani's refreshing vision for the future of New York City," Liu said. "Zohran's come-from-behind victory was bolstered by a surge of Asian support who were encouraged by his ability to connect to people, not by talking at them, but by listening to them, and communicating new ideas about how to improve our city for everyone. He created a movement that vocalized the concerns of everyday New Yorkers into an exciting policy platform rooted in optimism that NYC has been missing for far too long.
"His victory, alongside Civil Court judge triumphs from Sheridan Chu and Eve Cho Guillergan, demonstrates the growing political power and engagement of our community. I was proud to support Zohran, Eve, and Sheridan early on, and am exceedingly proud to note that the Asian American community, when inspired, mobilized, and empowered, can turn the tide in the most competitive races," Liu added.
In an interview on MSNBC Wednesday, Mamdani said his victory "is part of a larger referendum on where our party goes, and I think one of the hopes that we had from the very beginning of this campaign was to move our political instinct from lecturing to listening."
"I think his ace in the hole was the youth vote," said Tom Allon, publisher of City & State New York. "I think the millennials and Generation Z are just sick and tired of watching the gerontocracy and the Boomers ... ruin this country and ruin this city, in their minds."
"I believed Zohran Mamdani's message on affordability"
Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park was where the community organizers staged their headquarters for four days.
"Hundreds of canvassers came to this park, picked up materials, and then went into the community to door-knock. And yesterday, hundreds of us were stationed at all the different poll sites in south Queens," Amin said.
"I was here setting up a entire tent and setting up volunteers all day for four days," said Aaron Fernando of the New York City Democratic Socialists of America.
Fernando, a CUNY Law student, was the staging captain for the people-powered, community-centered effort.
"I believed Zohran Mamdani's message on affordability. I'm a rent-stabilized tenant in Astoria now, from Richmond Hill originally, and I've seen problems of buses not being fast enough, the rents going up," Fernando said.
"Seeing a different face, a different kind of politician really resonated with me," voter Ahmed Sleiman said. "The entire slogan of him making it affordable for New Yorkers at the end of the day."
Community organizers say immigrants in the Queens community who are afraid of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showing up at their doors, still opened their doors to learn about candidates and went to the polls.
"We have a lot of folks that are green card holders, folks that are undocumented, but we're also New Yorkers. Young people dominated the poll sites this election cycle," Amin said.
And the work, they say, will continue through November.
