Zohran Mamdani suited up on Tuesday and entered a boardroom in Midtown Manhattan that was full of enemies: capitalists—and very rich ones, at that. Why would Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Dara Khosrowshahi of Uber, billionaire hotel chief James Tisch, and at least 100 other business leaders bother meeting with someone who proudly calls himself a socialist?
When I asked a Democratic consultant who used to work with the campaign of one of Mamdani’s rivals in the race to become New York City’s next mayor, the consultant didn’t hesitate. “Oh,” he told me, “it’s because they know he’s going to be the mayor.”
Since Mamdani’s shocking upset in last month’s Democratic primary, the 33-year-old state assembly member has racked up major union endorsements, out-fundraised his opponents, and polled far ahead of everyone else. His support is strongest among young voters, renters, and organized labor—groups that felt sidelined by the establishment but now see one of their own within reach of power. Mamdani’s insurgent campaign, rooted in grassroots organizing and an unapologetically anti-capitalist message, has jolted the city’s elite donor class and sent rivals scrambling.
It suddenly looks like Mamdani’s race to lose. All the political consultants I spoke to this week agree on one thing: Unless Mamdani somehow self-destructs, two of his three biggest challengers would need to drop out for anyone to defeat him. None of them seems at all interested in quitting.
Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor, called me Tuesday from his campaign headquarters to insist that if anyone quits, it won’t be him.
