New York City mayoral front-runner Zohran Mamdani is facing a rising level of resistance from Republicans, Democrats, and independents united in their goal to stop the self-described democratic socialist from winning the general election and running the Big Apple.
Mamdani clinched the Democratic primary late last month, trouncing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by 12 points. This surprised many donors who are now mobilizing to defeat the primary victor.
While New York City’s elite have not yet decided on a formidable candidate to rally behind, a new report suggests Mamdani is facing pushback from all sides.
Media personality Bo Dietl, for example, is teaming up with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to raise $10 million through an outside group to challenge Mamdani, the Wall Street Journal reported.
“How do we stop this guy?” Dietl said of Mamdani. “No one’s dealing with him. In the polls, he’s getting so much attention, and none of these other candidates are stepping up.”
Dietl has been an independent since 2017, and Giuliani has been a longtime Republican. The latter served as mayor from 1994 to 2001.
After New York City’s June 24 Democratic primary, Giuliani called Mamdani an “enemy of America” when asked by British journalist Piers Morgan if he would categorize the up-and-coming politician as such.
“I think he’s going to destroy New York City. I think this is a disaster time for New York City. This guy becomes mayor, the city is gone,” Giuliani warned in an interview with Morgan.
Mamdani is running on several socialist policies, including freezing rent, raising property taxes on “richer and whiter” neighborhoods, establishing government-run grocery stores, and providing free child care. His progressive campaign is concerning many billionaires who wish to keep their money from getting taxed more than it already is.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, who backed Cuomo for mayor and President Donald Trump for the White House last year, is placing his bets on incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. With a net worth of $9.5 billion, Ackman threatened to put “hundreds of millions of dollars of capital” behind an alternative candidate to Mamdani. It’s unclear how much money he is using to take on the young progressive.
The billionaire has notably talked to a new political action committee, called New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25, about donations. The group is launching its anti-Mamdani campaign with at least $20 million.
Despite his previous endorsement of Cuomo, Ackman is calling on the former New York governor to drop out of the race in order to unite behind Adams. Both Cuomo and Adams are Democrats running as independents.
Like Ackman, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has made his dislike of Mamdani no secret.
On Thursday, Dimon called the 33-year-old New York state assemblyman “more a Marxist than a socialist” and argued his campaign’s talking points were “the same ideological mush that means nothing in the real world.”
Another potential alliance to take on Mamdani could be a unity ticket between Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa and Adams. The possibility was raised by Sliwa, who said he would consider joining forces with the incumbent “if it was the only way to stop [Mamdani] from winning.”
The prospect of such a political alliance remains unlikely after Sliwa criticized Adams for offering him a job as Deputy Mayor of Public Safety in exchange for dropping out of the race, claiming the mayor wanted to “poach” his Republican votes. Adams said he made no such offer to Sliwa.
This wasn’t the first time a mayoral candidate approached another to drop out of the race. Earlier this week, Adams claimed Cuomo asked him to stop seeking reelection.
Last week, independent candidate Jim Walden proposed an alliance between himself, Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa with an agreement to back the front-runner in the general election against Mamdani. Cuomo first agreed to the proposal, calling on Adams to do the same.
WHY ZOHRAN MAMDANI MATTERS OUTSIDE NEW YORK CITY
While Mamdani is facing increasing opposition, he is racking up endorsements from key New York Democrats. Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, Jerrold Nadler, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez all support Mamdani. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have been mostly mum on the socialist candidate so far.
Jeffries is planning to meet with Mamdani next week to discuss his vision for New York City.