New York — New York mayoral candidate Zahran Mamdani rallied his supporters on Sunday with major support from US Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Race He reaches his final stage, where he tells a raucous crowd that his campaign is a “movement of the masses.”
Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, took the stage in a small arena in Queens where he and two of the country’s most prominent progressives pitched his candidacy as a force to confront billionaires and “oligarchs” who have thrown money and support behind his opponents.
“When you insist on building a coalition that includes every New Yorker, that’s exactly what you create: massive power,” Mamdani said. “This, my friends, has been your movement, and it always will be.”
As the crowd chanted his name, Mamdani reiterated his plans to hire thousands of new teachers, renegotiate city contracts, freeze rent for low-income residents, build more affordable housing and provide universal child care.
With early voting starting before Election Day on November 4, Mamdani, a democratic socialist, is in a difficult position. Race increasingly caustic With former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, campaigning Sunday in Queens.
Cuomo sought to paint Mamdani, a 34-year-old state Assemblyman, as a naive candidate whose agenda would harm the city. In a radio interview Sunday morning, Cuomo confirmed that he is the real Democrat in the race while saying Mamdani Democratic Socialism It will lead to the migration of residents and companies.
“Socialists want to take over the Democratic Party. That’s what Bernie Sanders is about. That’s what AOC is about,” Cuomo said, adding: “He won, book your plane tickets to Florida now.”
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after a barrage of sexual harassment allegations, which he denies. Mamdani has frequently pressed Cuomo on the allegations, telling the crowd Sunday that it was time to put behind the former governor’s “playbook of the past.” But he urged his supporters not to take his lead at the polls for granted and to go vote.
“We cannot allow complacency to creep into this movement,” Mamdani said.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have backed his campaign for months, including ahead of the Democratic primary in June. On Sunday, they cast Mamdani as an antidote to what they described as the creeping authoritarianism of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes Queens, said Mamdani’s victory would send a message nationally that a progressive message can prevail.
She said: “It is no coincidence that the forces that Zahran faces in this race mirror what we face at the national level: a criminal authoritarian presidency fueled by corruption and fanaticism, and a rising far-right movement.”
Sanders said Mayor Mamdani will not represent the “billionaire class” but rather working families.
“In 2025, when the people at the top have never had so much economic and political power before, is it possible for ordinary people, the working class, to come together and defeat these oligarchs?” Sanders said. “You’re right we can.”
Under the slogan “New York is not for sale,” the rally included rousing speeches from faith and labor leaders along with state elected officials including Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The event was moderated by Sarah Sherman of “Saturday Night Live.”
Mamdani recently won the endorsement of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a moderate Democrat from New York. In a statement, Jeffries said he has differences with Mamdani but supports him as a candidate, adding that the party must unite against Republicans and Trump.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams has abandoned his re-election campaign and He endorsed Cuomo.