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There’s a reason he resonates with so many New Yorkers, and it’s not just because he’s relatable—he grew up here, almost failed Mandarin class, and got sent to detention one too many times in high school—it’s because he’s straightforward, funny, and sincere. He is the antithesis of politics for show. He has proven to be what many voters now think is impossible: an elected official for the people.

Zohran Mamdani, the young democratic socialist who has been rising in the mayor’s race, is now ahead of Andrew Cuomo with just two weeks until the Democratic primary, a new poll reviewed in full by POLITICO found.

In elevating the assemblyman, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, 35, chose the candidate closest to her own mold. Mr. Mamdani, 33, is a leftist representing Queens, a millennial and a person of color who entered the race as a long shot only to jump to second place by igniting grass-roots support with memorable policy proposals and viral videos. His platform echoes the congresswoman’s…He wants to make city buses free, freeze rent increases on rent-stabilized apartments and open city-run grocery stores — all funded by a $10 billion tax hike on businesses and the superrich.

Sanders said in a statement that Mr. Mamdani was running an “inspirational” campaign and was a “visionary” leader. He praised his plan to tax the wealthy. “Our nation faces a fundamental choice: Will we continue with a corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires or will we build a grass-roots movement fueled by everyday people, committed to fighting oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy?” Mr. Sanders said.

In 2021, Mamdani went on a 15-day hunger strike to protest predatory loans that targeted the taxi drivers who purchased “medallions”, the physical certificate required to operate a yellow cab. The city eventually caved and struck a deal with medallion loan guarantors, securing $450m in transformative debt relief for these drivers.

A New York City mayoral candidate wants the city to open its own, more affordable grocery stores. The idea has gained momentum in Chicago and other cities.

Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist from Queens who is running for mayor, wants to raise New York City’s minimum wage to $30 an hour by 2030.

Mamdani’s multifaceted housing plan… involves the city taking the lead on paying for new housing production rather than private developers. It builds on Mamdani’s marquee housing proposal, which he rolled out when he announced his candidacy last fall: Freezing the rent for all stabilized tenants.

Green Schools for a Healthier New York City is meant, Mamdani said, “to showcase that taking on the climate crisis is also an opportunity to transform the quality of life for working-class New Yorkers, and to do so specifically at the point where so many interact with government the most, which is our public school system.”

As Democrats around the country debate moderation, doing nothing or pursuing a politics of abundance — calling for government to stop getting in the way of things like building housing with over-regulation — Mamdani is an example of another path, one that follows in the footsteps of Sanders by lifting up concrete leftist policies toward a social safety net and affordable cost of living.

In the crowded race for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani has become a magnet for attention, ascending in the polls and raising money through a mix of social media savvy and a plain-spoken, everyman approach.

The democratic socialist, who is currently serving as a state assemblymember from Queens, said he plans to announce Monday that his campaign is the first in the New York City mayor's race to hit the fundraising cap. He said he has raised more than $8 million with projected matching funds from about 18,000 donors citywide and has done so at a faster rate than any campaign in city history.

Mr. Mamdani, who has called on Mr. Adams to resign, said in an interview that the mayor had failed New Yorkers. He said that he would focus his campaign on addressing the city’s affordability crisis.

In the crowded 2025 mayoral primary race, Zohran Mamdani stands out. The 33-year-old Queens State Assemblymember was behind the City's first free bus pilot, introduced legislation that would bar charities from funding illegal Israeli settlements, and went on a hunger strike to secure debt relief for taxi drivers. Mamdani was born and raised in Uganda until he moved to New York at the age of seven, and would be the city's first Muslim mayor.

A recent surge of glowing profiles and features have underlined the New York state assemblyman’s unlikely No. 2 position in polls for mayor, behind only Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor who leads the race. They tend to point to his acumen online, especially on TikTok—this kind of video is a prime example—and his ambidextrous appeal to different voters despite his unapologetic democratic socialist politics. His fundraising, driven by small donors, has topped $8 million. He is the rare Democrat who is meeting the most stark and uncertain moment in the party’s recent history with a message that’s both urgent and, against all odds, upbeat.