Zohran Mamdani openly presents himself as a democratic socialist in a city that yearns for policies supporting the working class. He mainly advocates for policies on his platform related to rent freeze, free buses and free child care. The bottom 50% of New Yorkers, the ones who keep this city running, make less than $80,000 annually.
Mamdani ultimately won the Democratic primary with more than 56% of the vote after ranked-choice tabulation, and polls show him regularly being favored over 40%. His campaign principles are strong and he is incredibly charismatic.
His recent, fun city-wide scavenger hunt was characteristic of a candidate who wants to unite a city and foster community. For a candidate who campaigns on galvanizing city politics, however, Mamdani’s list of legislative accomplishments is a bit short.
In his four years in the state assembly, he passed three bills. Two of those bills altered government processes, and the other legalized drinking inside the Museum of the Moving Image.
The work he boasts the most is creating five free bus routes, one in each borough, for a year as a pilot program. It was an item taken from a bill he introduced in 2022 that got folded into the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget in 2023.
This program allegedly did not get renewed due to disagreements with his colleagues, which they denied. Mamdani has also not voted during budget meetings out of protest.
While having a politician who is very strong in their values is something New York City’s political landscape desperately needs, New York needs someone who can change policy in real time to reflect the needs of the city. During Andrew Cuomo’s term as governor, he raised the minimum wage to $15, helmed major infrastructure changes and legalized same-sex marriage.
At the same time, Cuomo shut down a corruption investigation team, had sexual misconduct lawsuits and met with the wealthiest landlords in New York recently, declining to comment on the meeting.
To get a good look at the candidates, it’s also worth noting their display of endorsements. Cuomo does not have an endorsements section on his website, but boasts his 190 press releases.
Mamdani beats him with more than 66 endorsements, mostly from current or former government officials who have served at various levels of government, and various charitable and political organizations throughout NYC. And as of Sept. 14, he has the endorsement of Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Cuomo frequently flings socialist accusations against Mamdani. Ashik Siddique, a Democratic Socialists of America co-chair, said, “While [the DSA is] proud that Zohran works closely with NYC-DSA, we also understand his platform for mayor is not identical to the DSA National platform.” Mamdani has also explicitly stated that his policies differ from that of the DSA.
The DSA website states their primary goal to be “building working class power to challenge the dominance of the wealthy,” a sentiment that has been very apparent throughout his campaign, but he is not running on their platform. He seeks to subsidize the lives of working-class people.
Ultimately, Mamdani is a popular candidate during a time of great financial struggle for many New Yorkers.
When looking at the donations and support he has received, a great deal of it has been from working-class New Yorkers. According to the NYC Campaign Finance Board, more than 30,000 of the donations were between $1-175, while roughly a third of the donations Cuomo has received have been over $1,000.
The answer is crystal clear: Mamdani, while lacking professional experience, represents a hope the vast majority of working-class New Yorkers hold — to live in their city without financial stress.
