Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City’s mayor, giving the progressive state assemblyman a hopeful boost mere weeks ahead of the Democratic primary that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dominated in the polls.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack,” Ocasio-Cortez told The New York Times Thursday, ahead of the release of a formal endorsement. “In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”
In a statement recognizing her endorsement, Mamdani hailed Ocasio-Cortez as a “once-in-a-generation leader who has led the fight for working people in Congress.”
“On June 24, with [Ocasio-Cortez’s] support and this movement behind us, we will do the same,” he said, referring to the race’s fast-approaching primary.
Mamdani, 33, is similar to Ocasio-Cortez, 35, in that he is a New York City Democratic Socialist, a millennial and a person of color who has quickly risen in popularity through grassroots efforts in their shared borough of Queens.
