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He’s the hottest politician in the US, who managed to attract thousands of young and first-time voters to the Democratic party in his unexpected win in the New York City mayoral primary.
With the Democrats suffering from historically low approval ratings, one might have thought the party would rally round Zohran Mamdani, to learn lessons from the media-savvy 33-year-old and bask in his soaring popularity.
That hasn’t happened.
The most influential political figures in New York state politics have instead studiously avoided any public endorsement of Mamdani, the self-described democratic socialist who has a 22-point lead over his nearest challenger.
New York’s two senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, are yet to back Mamdani. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader who represents a Brooklyn district, hasn’t endorsed him either – despite Jeffries endorsing a candidate for mayor last time round.
Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, endorsed Mamdani on Sunday, describing him as “a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable” in an op-ed for the New York Times – while stating she was not “aligned with him on every issue”.
But the hesitation from New York’s top Democrats, all considered centrist politicians, has led to anger from the left. Bernie Sanders, the progressive Vermont senator who has campaigned with Mamdani, blasted the party as “crazy” in an interview with CNN on Wednesday.
“He was in the polls, 2%, all right?” Sanders said, referencing the lowly start Mamdani had to his campaign.
“He wins, wins by a lot. He has over 50,000 volunteers, people enthusiastic about his campaign. He brings out people, registers all kinds of new people, brings out non-traditional voters. Now, if you were a Democratic leader in a party which is now in the doldrums, you would be jumping for joy: ‘Oh, my God, this is just the guy we want. I want to see this all over the country.’
Sanders described the lack of endorsement from party grandees as “absurd”.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was more diplomatic when asked about Mamdani last week, saying she was “very concerned about the example that is being set”, but it’s clear that grassroots political activists are furious.
“Democratic leaders who refuse to endorse winners of Democratic primaries do massive damage to the party and should be politically defenestrated,” Ezra Levin, the co-executive director of progressive organization Indivisible, said.
“We don’t have time for this post-primary bullshit in the middle of an authoritarian putsch.”
Some from the center of the party have begun to urge Democrats to rally round Mamdani. Jamie Raskin, the Democratic congressman from Maryland, gave a glowing review of Mamdani in an interview with the New York Times this week, describing him as a “significant and inspiring leader”.
“In these times, the Democratic party needs to stick together with the maximum solidarity and focus,” Raskin said.
“Even though I’m not a New Yorker and have never been a New Yorker, I feel that Democrats must stand together to defend not only our party but our constitution and our country.”
Raskin added: “He really wants to rebuild an FDR coalition that is fundamentally committed to the success of the working and middle classes in his city.”
Some believe there are political reasons for the caution. With midterm elections looming next year – Democrats desperately need to pick up seats in Congress if they are to stymie Trump’s agenda – the president and the rightwing media have already begun demonizing Mamdani as a “communist”. There appears to be a belief on the right that tying Mamdani to the wider Democratic party could be beneficial for the Republican party.
“I do think some of the hesitation is because on some of the national Democrat level and some of the donor level, there is some type of fear that an association with a socialist mayor will hurt Democrats nationally,” said Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist and founder of Trip Yang Strategies.
“That is a traditional viewpoint. I respectfully disagree with that. [But] I’m sure that people nationally who have this viewpoint have relayed this viewpoint to the top Democratic leaders in New York.”
Before Hochul backed Mamdani over the weekend, she had shown tacit support: Yang pointed out that Hochul had sometimes spoken positively of Mamdani, something she has not done about Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, or the incumbent Eric Adams. Both, though, have abandoned the Democratic party to run for mayor as independents.
Still, the stalling comes as Donald Trump appears to be wading into the race. Trump advisers, according to numerous reports, have discussed offering Adams a job in the administration if he drops out of the race – something they believe would benefit Cuomo’s chances.
Mamdani’s campaign pledges to tax the very wealthiest New Yorkers appear to have deep-pocketed donors worried, and his stance on Israel’s war in Gaza may also have had an impact. Schumer and Jeffries are both staunch supporters of Israel, while Mamdani has repeatedly criticized the country, and described the situation in Gaza as a genocide – as have many human rights groups, including some from Israel.
For Sanders, however, the motive comes down to money. In the CNN interview Sanders referenced a New York Times report that wealthy New York business leaders had met on Tuesday to, as the Times put it, “plot Mamdani’s defeat”.
“So what you have is an oligarchal group in New York. But you know what they’re worried about? They’re not just worried about Mamdani. If Mamdani wins in New York, the idea will go all across the country. That in fact, you can take on the oligarchs, and you can beat them. That at the end of the day, grassroots organizing, ordinary people, working-class people, standing up and fighting back, are more powerful than the oligarchs and all of their money.
“That is what the oligarchs are afraid of. That’s what the Republicans are afraid of. That is what I fear the Democratic leadership is afraid of.”
