Obama calls Mamdani and offers to be ‘sounding board’ if he wins mayoral race | Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani, who is expected to win the New York City mayoral election on Tuesday, reportedly received a call from fellow Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday, with the former president offering to be a “sounding board” if his anticipated victory actually materializes.
Obama also praised Mamdani’s campaign against her main independent rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.
The call was first reported by the New York Times and later confirmed to Reuters by Mamdani’s spokesman.
“Zohran Mamdani appreciated President Obama’s words of support and speeches about the importance of bringing a new kind of politics to our city,” said Dora Pekec, Mamdani’s spokeswoman.
Mamdani, a Ugandan-born state assemblywoman, polled well ahead of Cuomo and Sliwa ahead of Tuesday’s general election.
Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid sexual harassment allegations, is running as an independent candidate after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary. Sliwa is the founder of Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing unarmed crime.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, shocked political observers with a convincing victory in the primary elections on June 24. Since then, his candidacy has received support from the party, including former vice president Kamala Harris and New York governor Kathy Hochul, and a steady stream of financial support from small donors.
Mamdani’s policies range from raising taxes on New York City’s wealthiest, raising corporate taxes, freezing fixed apartment rental rates and increasing publicly subsidized housing. The financial community has expressed concern that the city’s competitiveness will suffer if Mamdani wins the mayoral election.
His rise, meanwhile, is bipartisan money for Democrats on the national stage, who know they need to appeal to young voters but may be more vulnerable to Republican attacks because of Mamdani’s criticisms of Israel and democratic socialism.
Mamdani campaigned in bars and nightclubs late into the night on Saturday, with Sunday being the last day of early voting, the New York Times reported. reported. A video cited by the Times showed him standing behind a DJ booth and asking into the microphone, “Are we ready to beat Andrew Cuomo?” It seems he said. In the video, he was greeted with cheers.
Obama met on Saturday with New Jersey Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mikie Sherrill, who is running in a tight race against Republican Jack Ciattarelli. He also attended a rally for Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger.
