Mamdani appeals to non-Democrats with general election push, vows government can meet voters' 'material needs'

Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani made an appeal to non-Democrats during brief remarks in Brooklyn on Sunday, kicking off his general election campaign. 

Mamdani, who defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 13 percentage points in the June primary, recently concluded his five-day, anti-Donald Trump tour of each of New York City's boroughs last week. 

Without referencing Trump this time around, Mamdani addressed supporters in Brooklyn on Sunday with a message on affordability and local government being able to take care of voters' "material needs." 

"Are there more New Yorkers who want to join this movement for a city that they can actually afford?" Mamdani, who's campaigned on socialist and communist ideas, such as government-run grocery stores and rent freezes, said. 

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Mamdani recalled a conversation he said he had on primary election day with a volunteer of an organization who endorsed his campaign. He said the volunteer had "gotten a phone call from a coworker about aunties and uncles who were breaking down at the poll sites after they'd been informed they weren't registered as Democrats and able to vote at that time." Only registered Democrats were eligible to vote in the June primary. 

Mamdani also told the story of an 18-year-old man pulling up next to him on a motorbike on primary election night to ask for a selfie. Mamdani said he asked the young man if he had voted and that they used his license to check his registration. According to Mamdani, the man was a registered Republican, who was ineligible to vote in the primary but who could support the Democratic socialist candidate in the November general election. 

"I tell you the story of that 18-year-old young man, of those aunties and uncles who had to be pulled away from those poll sites to remind us of how many more New Yorkers there are for us to speak," Mamdani said. "And I thank you for being here, because so often, any victories in politics are described as if they are that of just the candidate. But you know the truth. This is your victory. It is your work that took us from 1% in the polls to beating a former governor by 13 points." 

Mamdani credited his campaign canvassers, who went door to door in six-floor walk-ups, rain or shine, for taking "a campaign that was considered, at best, an interesting idea to one that has won the most votes of any in New York City primary history."

Mamdani received more than 573,00 votes in the June primary, though voter turnout was less than 30% of registered Democrats. 

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"I thank you for being here today, because what you show is that this movement is just getting started. Yeah, we are just getting started because we know there are so many more neighborhoods for us to reach, so many New Yorkers for us to speak to and so many more people who we can finally show that there is the possibility that local government could actually meet their material needs," Mamdani added on Sunday. "And I thank you for doing this, because you are the ones who are changing history in this city and in this country, and it's an honor to be one part of this movement with each and every one of you."

Mamdani – who has recently walked back his long-vocal stance on defunding police – concluded his remarks without taking questions from the press, but earlier Sunday took to social media to address a mass shooting in Brooklyn. 

He said the Crown Heights incident had "stolen the lives of three New Yorkers and injured eight more," adding that he was "grateful for the first responders who rushed towards the danger and worked to save lives."

"We cannot accept gun violence in our city," Mamdani wrote. 

Cuomo, who is running as an independent in the November election, has recently increased attacks on Mamdani for living in a rent-stabilized apartment despite his wealthy upbringing. 

Mamdani, the son of an acclaimed Indian filmmaker and a Columbia University professor, recently returned from an extravagant wedding celebration in Uganda. He has also recently walked back his prior support for the phrase "globalize the intifada" after widespread criticism and concern from the New York Jewish community. 

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is also running as an independent in November. The Republican mayoral hopeful is Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.