AOC, Bernie rally for Zohran Mamdani as early voting begins in NYC mayor race

NEW YORK – Progressive Stars Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezD.N.Y. and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., team up with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Sunday night for a “New York Is Not For Sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York.

The high-profile campaign event comes nearly a week before Election Day, as New Yorkers head to the polls on the first weekend of early voting, capping a contentious mayoral race in which Mamdani's surprise success catapulted him onto the national stage.

“Zohran Mamdani models a different kind of politics,” Sanders, a former Democratic presidential candidate and longtime progressive leader, said in a statement before the rally.

The trio of self-described democratic socialists have strengthened the Democratic Party's progressive base at a time when Democrats are still grappling with devastating losses in 2024 amid growing discontent with the president. Donald Trumpa broad agenda for the second term.

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When Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez teamed up for “Tour “Fight against the oligarchy” earlier this year they caused a stir, inspiring thousands of Democrats left without a clear party leader to rally across the United States.

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“As mayor, he will not run a top-down administration funded by billionaires and run by consultants. Instead, Zoran will be a champion for New York's working people,” Sanders said.

Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez campaigned alongside Mamdani in his bid to lead the country's most populous city.

On Friday night, Sanders appeared at the “Get Out the Vote” virtual event with Mamdani. Last month, Sanders and Mamdani teamed up for a “Fight the Oligarchy” rally in Brooklyn.

Ahead of the Brooklyn Town Hall event, two progressive leaders marched with union members in the Labor Day Parade in Manhattan. On the same day Mamdani posed for a photo with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez in Astoria, Queens, drawing millions of views.

Sanders, the two-time second-place Democratic presidential candidate, was an early backer of Mamdani's primary campaign along with Ocasio-Cortez. Their support helped Mamdani cement progressive support among the 11 candidates in the final weeks of the race.

Mamdani's main disappointment sparked a political earthquake as the Democratic socialist easily defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was widely expected to secure the Democratic nomination.

Mamdani's cross-endorsement with fellow progressive New York City Controller Brad Lander paved the way for Mamdani to consolidate support against Cuomo through ranked-choice voting.

Cuomo has since launched an independent campaign, fueling a competitive and contentious general election battle.

Since winning the Democratic nomination, Trump has called him “100% communist crazy” and “my little communist,” catapulting Mamdani onto the national political stage. Mamdani rejected the moniker, saying he identifies as a democratic socialist like Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez.

As Trump began criticizing Mamdani, New York Democrats chose to refrain from supporting the socialist candidate, who has made many ambitious campaign promises such as fast and free buses, city grocery stores and free child care, all of which he plans to pay for by raising taxes on corporations and the richest 1% of New Yorkers.

After months of withholding their support, Gov. Kathy Hochul finally endorsed Mamdani last month, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries finally confirmed his support in a statement Friday. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has not yet supported the initiative.

The pressure has been building since Mamdani won the Democratic primary for mayor in June. Eric Adamswho also ran as an independent candidate, or Cuomo, dropped out of the race to consolidate support against Mamdani. Adams dropped out of the race and endorsed Cuomo on Thursday.

That pressure reached a boiling point last week when billionaires including Red Apple Media CEO John Catsimatidis and hedge fund CEO Bill Ackman called on Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race to clear the path to victory for Cuomo.

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Last Fox News pollheld from October 10-14, ahead of the first general election debate last week, showed Mamdani with a significant lead in the race. According to the poll, Mamdani leads by 21 points among registered New York voters, with 49% of voters supporting Mamdani, 28% supporting Cuomo and 13% supporting Sliwa.

Mamdani also rose above the 50 percent threshold among likely votersreceiving support of 52%, Cuomo – 28%, and Sliwa – only 14%.