NEW YORK (AP) — New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani rallied supporters Sunday with mighty support from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as the race entered its final stages, telling a raucous crowd that his campaign was a “movement of the masses.”
Mamdani, the Democratic candidate, took the stage at a tiny stadium in Queens, where he and two of the country’s leading progressives presented his candidacy as a force to fight billionaires and “oligarchs” who have funneled money and support behind his opponents.
“When you insist on building a coalition with room for every New Yorker, you create exactly that: enormous power,” Mamdani said. “That, my friends, has been your movement and always will be.”
As the crowd chanted his name, Mamdani reiterated his plans to hire thousands of fresh teachers, renegotiate city contracts, freeze rent increases on the city’s 1 million rent-controlled apartments, build more affordable housing and provide universal child care.
As early voting continues ahead of Election Day on Nov. 4, Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, finds himself in an increasingly heated race with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Mamdani, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, who was campaigning in Queens on Sunday.
Cuomo has tried to portray Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblyman, as a naive candidate whose agenda would harm the city. In a radio interview Sunday morning, Cuomo argued that he was the true Democrat in the race and said Mamdani’s democratic socialism would lead to an exodus of residents and businesses.
“The 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’s winning, book plane tickets to Florida now.”
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 following a spate of sexual harassment allegations that he denies. Mamdani has often pressed Cuomo about the allegations, and on Sunday he told the crowd it was time to move on from the former governor’s “playbook of the past.” But he urged his supporters not to take his lead in the polls for granted and go to the polls.
“We cannot allow complacency to undermine this movement,” Mamdani said.
Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have supported his campaign for months, including ahead of the Democratic primary in June. On Sunday, they portrayed Mamdani as an antidote to the creeping authoritarianism of President Donald Trump’s administration.
Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes Queens, said a victory for Mamdani would send a message nationwide that a progressive message can prevail.
“It is no coincidence that the very forces Zohran is running against in this race reflect what we are dealing with at the national level … an authoritarian, criminal presidency fueled by corruption and bigotry and a rising far-right movement,” she said.
Sanders said a Mayor Mamdani would represent “not the billionaire class” but working families.
“In 2025, when the people at the top have never had so much economic and political power, is it possible for ordinary people, for the working class, to come together and defeat these oligarchs?” Sanders said. “You’re damn right we can do this.”
Under the slogan “New York is not for sale,” the rally featured rousing speeches from religious and labor leaders as well as state elected officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The event was hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Sarah Sherman.
Mamdani recently received an endorsement from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a moderate New York Democrat. Jeffries said in a statement that he had differences with Mamdani but supported him as a candidate, adding that the party should unite against Republicans and Trump.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams abandoned his re-election campaign and endorsed Cuomo.
