Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani may be on track to win New York City’s mayoral election in November despite failing to win over a simple majority of voters, according to Politico.
While Mamdani, the Democratic Party’s mayoral nominee, is currently seen as the frontrunner in the Big Apple’s mayoral race, recent polls have shown him only garnering about 45% support, despite still leading former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa, Politico reported on Thursday. Mamdani may face an uphill battle at furthering his political objectives if he is victorious in the Nov. 4 general election with only plurality support, according to the outlet.
“If he gets under 50%, that means half or more of voters wanted someone more moderate or conservative than he is,” former Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party Basil Smikle Jr. told Politico. “And that says a lot about how he will govern.”
Moreover, one anonymous Democratic political strategist told Politico that Mamdani’s political “enemies” may be seeking to “undermine him” if he is elected mayor.
“It’s a problem for him if he comes under 50%,” the political strategist told Politico. “He has a series of people who are his enemies and they are probably not going to beat him at the ballot box, so they are going to look for other ways to undermine him.”
Current New York City Mayor Eric Adams ended his reelection bid on Sunday, in a move which could shake up the mayoral race.
“Whoever wins will have a mandate. If it’s Cuomo it will be a major come-from-behind effort. If Mamdani, it’s his 46,000-plus volunteers who are passionate, fired up and ready to march through walls for him,” Chris Coffey, head of political consultant firm Tusk Strategies, told Politico. “If Mamdani can use that passion in Albany, or with potential legislative primaries or the threat of them, moderates will take note.”
“And that’s the only real mandate he needs,” Coffey continued.
Despite some viewing Mamdani as a rising star in the Democratic Party, other elected officials in the party have criticizedhim over his far-left legislative agenda. Similarly, Mamdani has faced backlash over his anti-police rhetoric, with The New York Times editorial board writing in June — ahead of the Democratic mayoral primary — that he “minimizes the importance of policing.”
“Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary with more votes than any nominee in history,” Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani’s campaign, told Politico in a statement. “Now, running in an unprecedentedly crowded field, he maintains a 20-point lead across public polling. New Yorkers are ready for change.”
Democratic New York State Sen. Liz Krueger told Politico she thinks Mamdani has had an effective campaign messaging strategy in the mayoral race thus far.
“All the things he is messaging very effectively as the candidate — despite much of the Democratic Party’s attempts to not let him get this far — reflect the fact those are messages that really do work in New York City or in upstate New York and that people running need to address those same issues,” Krueger said.
Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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