Bernie Sanders endorses Zohran Mamdani for NYC mayor
Sen. Bernie Sanders is endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary election.
By Renee Anderson
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NEW YORK (WCBS) — Sen. Bernie Sanders is endorsing Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary election.
Sanders made the announcement Tuesday morning, saying in a statement, “We need a new politics and new leadership which is prepared to stand up to powerful corporate interests and fight for the working class.”
Zohran Mamdani is running an inspirational grassroots campaign, centered on the construction of 200,000 new affordable housing units, a rent freeze, free public buses, cutting fines and fees for small businesses, investing in citywide mental health services, city-owned grocery stores, universal free childcare and a minimum wage increase. He will pay for this agenda by asking corporations and the richest 1% of New Yorkers to pay their fair share in taxes.
Unlike the corporate Democratic establishment, Zohran is funding his campaign largely through small-dollar donations, including more than 27,000 individual contributions.
At this pivotal and dangerous moment in American history, status quo politics is not good enough. We need the kind of visionary leadership that Zohran is providing in this campaign. In my view, Zohran Mamdani is the best choice for mayor of New York City.
Mamdani responded with a statement, reading in part, “As Mayor, I will strive each and every day to live up to Senator Sanders’ example, making New York affordable and hopefully making Brooklyn’s own proud.”
Sanders’ endorsement follows that of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who threw her support behind Mamdani and encouraged voters to rank him number one in the city’s ranked choice voting system.
Early voting is underway in the Democratic primary, and Mamdani has been polling second behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is running for reelection as an independent and bypassing the primary.
Cuomo has also received some high profile endorsements, from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former New York Gov. David Paterson.
On Monday, The New York Times Editorial Board urged New Yorkers not to vote for Mamdani, writing in part, “We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots. His experience is too thin and his agenda reads like a turbocharged version of Mr. de Blasio’s dismaying mayoralty,” referring to former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Last week, a Times opinion panel came out in support of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander instead.
Mamdani, meanwhile, has taken advantage of ranked choice voting by cross-endorsing fellow candidates Lander and former state Assemblyman Michael Blake.
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