Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a key progressive member of the Home whose district covers swaths of the Bronx and Queens, endorsed New York Metropolis mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Thursday for the town’s upcoming Democratic mayoral primary — someday after the candidate clashed with front-runner former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and different candidates on the talk stage.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated an actual means on the bottom to place collectively a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that’s strongest to steer the pack. Within the last stretch of the race, we have to get very actual about that,” Ocasio-Cortez told the New York Times in an interview printed on Thursday.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends the Home Power and Commerce markup of the FY2025 funds decision in Rayburn constructing, on Might 13, 2025.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Name by way of AP Photos
“In 2018, A.O.C. shocked the world and adjusted our politics for the higher along with her historic victory. On June 24, we are going to do the identical,” Mamdani informed the Instances in an announcement.
Mamdani, a state assemblymember and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, has been steadily inching upward within the polls and fundraising. He’s working on a progressive platform that features a hire freeze for rent-stabilized residences, eliminating fares for New York Metropolis buses and opening city-owned grocery shops. Mamdani envisions the latter two being funded by increased taxes on companies and rich people; some have cautioned that he would need support from state government for these taxes.
Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani speaks throughout a Democratic mayoral main debate, June 4, 2025, in New York.
Yuki Iwamura, Pool by way of AP
Her announcement got here the day after a chaotic two-hour debate punctuated by candidates shouting over an more and more exasperated slate of moderators.
9 Democrats who want to be New York Metropolis’s subsequent mayor sparred over how they’d work together with President Donald Trump, public security, affordability and different subjects.
Out of those that had been onstage, Cuomo leads the pack in polling whereas Mamdani is slowly closing the hole in second place. The remainder of the candidates have struggled to interrupt by.
Every candidate was requested how they might work with — or cost towards — Trump if elected mayor. Cuomo vowed that he’s an adversary that Trump couldn’t finest.
“He could be overwhelmed. However he has to know that he is up towards an adversary who can truly beat him. I’m the final particular person on this stage that Mr. Trump desires to see as mayor, and that’s the reason I needs to be the primary selection for the folks of the town to have as mayor,” Cuomo stated.
Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks, within the New York Metropolis Democratic Mayoral Main Debate at NBC Studios, on June 4, 2025, in New York.
Pool/Getty Photos
Mamdani, answering the query, stated, “I’m Donald Trump’s worst nightmare, as a progressive Muslim immigrant who truly fights for the issues that I consider in, and the distinction between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my marketing campaign will not be funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C. … I’ve to choose up the cellphone for the greater than 20,000 New Yorkers who contributed a mean donation of about $80 to interrupt fundraising data and put our marketing campaign in second place.”
Cuomo didn’t straight reply to Mamdani’s assault on the talk stage.
Some billionaires who’ve beforehand supported Trump, reminiscent of distinguished hedge fund supervisor Invoice Ackman and Dwelling Depot founder Ken Langone, have donated to an unbiased group, the tremendous PAC Repair the Metropolis, that helps Cuomo. Cuomo’s marketing campaign will not be allowed to coordinate with the group. In response to reporting on Cuomo’s rich supporters, Repair the Metropolis spokesperson Liz Benjamin told the New York Instances that “donors have supported Repair the Metropolis as a result of they know that Andrew Cuomo has the fitting expertise and the fitting plans for New York Metropolis.”
A number of controversies surrounding Cuomo — together with accusations against him of sexual harassment, which he denies — got here up throughout the debate.
Former state assemblymember Michael Blake, whereas answering a query on public security, introduced up the sexual harassment allegations towards Cuomo: “The individuals who do not feel protected are younger ladies, moms and grandmothers round Andrew Cuomo, that is the best menace to public security in New York Metropolis.”
Cuomo, later requested concerning the allegations — and if he would do something in another way given investigations that alleged his management fostered a poisonous work surroundings — informed the moderators, “Let’s simply be sure we have now the details. A report was executed 4 years in the past ensuring allegations. I stated on the time that it was political and it was false.”
He added that 5 district attorneys discovered “nothing” and he was dropped from one case.
“I stated on the time that if I offended anybody, it was unintentional, however I apologize, and I say that at present.”
