ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We are going to send Andrew
Cuomo back to the suburbs.
- Zoran Mamdani built a following with viral videos,
pitching himself as an unapologetic progressive
in his campaign to be the next Democratic mayor of New York
City.
He says his campaign has drawn 40,000 volunteers
and knocked on a million doors.
But will that translate into votes?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: Let's win this thing.
- Tuesday's primary is a test of the Democratic party's
direction following President Donald
Trump's victory last November.
The party is divided between the older, centrist establishment
like former Governor Andrew Cuomo
and younger progressives like Mamdani,
a State Assemblyman and a self-described
Democratic socialist.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: The name is Mamdani, Mamdani.
You should learn how to say it.
- He has zero accomplishments.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I want to be very clear.
- And now, he thinks he's going to be ready to be
mayor of the city of New York.
It is laughable.
And it is dangerous.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think Andrew Cuomo is
the perfect representation of the politics of the past,
of leadership within our own party that
helped give rise to Donald Trump and the affordability crisis.
And ultimately, New York City is under attack
from both of those things.
Thank you so much.
- If elected, Mamdani would be the city's first Muslim mayor.
His campaign has resonated with younger New Yorkers.
PAUL MIMS: I am supporting Zohran because I
am sick of the status quo.
And New York has always been historically
resistant to change.
And we need change.
JAROD BAKUM: I think Cuomo doesn't know
how much a dozen eggs costs.
And I think that's indicative of him as a candidate.
And I think Zohran probably does know what a dozen eggs costs.
- Do you think the National Democratic
Party is attuned to what eggs cost and the idea--
JAROD BAKUM: No, no, no, no, no, no.
Senators make over $100,000 a year.
And I don't know how I'm going to make rent next month.
So there's an entire ocean between most of the Democrats
in the Senate and me.
- Do you think Democrats over 80 in Congress should retire?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think it's time for a new generation
of leadership.
- It's been 15 years since Jimmy McMillan captured
the city's attention with the campaign slogan,
"the rent is too damn high."
- Rent is too damn high.
- The rent has only gotten higher since.
Last year, the vacancy rate was just 1.4%.
And the city says average housing costs
rose 68% from 2011 to 2022.
In addition to a rent freeze, Mamdani says he wants to make
it easier to build new housing.
- How fast can you actually have buildings built?
This is one of the critiques of the Biden administration.
They had all these great plans for infrastructure
and development.
But they still haven't broken ground.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: We should eliminate
parking requirements in general for new construction.
I think we should increase density
around mass transit hubs.
We should upzone wealthier neighborhoods
that have historically not contributed
to affordable housing production.
But to your point, a lot of this also
has to do with the processes underpinning that.
But these are also the kinds of policy decisions that decide
whether or not construction can actually take place,
that untangle why Tokyo builds 10 homes
per 1,000 people, Jersey City, seven,
New York City, barely four.
- Most voters we spoke to talked about housing,
transportation, and fighting back against Trump
as their top issues.
PAT BEGLEY: I'm very nervous letting somebody who's
31 years old or 33, who's really passed three bills
and has never really had a job in charge of the city.
So, yes, I am voting for Cuomo.
And I know he comes with a lot of baggage.
But I think we're going to have to fight against Trump.
BERNARD DEVERIN: Andrew Cuomo.
- How come?
BERNARD DEVERIN: He's got the experience,
having been in politics for many, many years.
He's been governor.
I think he's very focused on the issues of the city.
We've got so many people in Congress
that are over the age of 80.
I think it's important that we bring
younger people up the ranks.
But I think at this current time,
I think he's the right choice for mayor.
- Yes or no, do you believe in a Jewish state of Israel?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I believe Israel has the right to exist.
- As a Jewish state?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: As a state with equal rights.
- But some voters we spoke to said Israel was their top issue.
Mamdani has called Israel's actions in Gaza a genocide,
while Cuomo has blamed critics of Israel
for a rise in anti-Semitic attacks.
- So who are you voting for in the mayor's race?
STEVE GIVNER: Cuomo.
- Why?
STEVE GIVNER: Zohran Mamdani, I feel, is anti-Semitic.
He's a threat to the Jewish people and the state of Israel.
That cannot be abided in New York City with
its major Jewish population.
- When you talk to voters, if they bring up the war in Gaza,
what do they actually say?
Like, do you have specifics?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I have heard from many a real despair
around what's been happening in Gaza over the last 18 months
and beyond that, and a despair that has been echoed by many
beyond those who we typically think of as being
the faces of rightful critique.
I was at a synagogue some months ago in the campaign,
where an older Jewish woman came up to me
and whispered in my ear, I disagree
with you on one position.
I'm pretty sure you know which one it is.
But I agree with you on the others.
And I'm going to be ranking you.
And I think that that, to me, also showcases how we're
able to move forward is by being honest about our own positions,
our own assessments, and also being able to speak
to those who don't disagree with us
without becoming disagreeable.
- Progressive candidates tend to perform well among college
educated white voters.
But Mamdani is also trying to gain support
where Cuomo has shown strength, among working
class Black New Yorkers.
- I'm just wondering, is there, like, within the DSA or lefty
politics in general, is there kind
of like a dilettante problem, that there are so many
trust fund babies who talk about socialists,
but they're not able to connect to the actual working class
because they're so remote from that experience?
ZOHRAN MAMDANI: I think the most important thing in our politics
is to be honest.
And I think some of what you're saying
is also an unwillingness to recognize one's
own role or one's own position.
I don't think there is any one single ideology that
is in the majority across our city,
be it a progressive or anything else.
But there is a majority of New Yorkers
who feel left behind by the economic policies
of this mayoral administration or politics today.