DSA Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani is considering a run for NYC mayor

Socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani is seriously considering a run for mayor, City & State has learned.

The state legislator has reached out to multiple people to discuss challenging Mayor Eric Adams in next year’s Democratic mayoral primary, according to eight people familiar with those conversations.

Mamdani is a member of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, and two people close to him said that his candidacy is something of an open secret within the organization. Another person said that NYC-DSA’s Citywide Leadership Committee briefly discussed Mamdani’s potential candidacy at a meeting on Saturday. 

In a statement, NYC-DSA co-chair Eric Thor – who was not one of the eight sources who confirmed the rumors of Mamdani’s potential candidacy to City & State – praised Mamdani’s accomplishments but declined to say whether the socialist organization planned to support him.

“For years, Zohran has delivered wins for tenants and public transit riders while in office,” Thor said. “As of now, NYC-DSA has no specific plans for the mayoral race. Our 2025 election cycle will begin with our extensive democratic process this fall. Whether DSA endorses in any race, we are committed to opposing Eric Adams’ right-wing austerity mayorship.”

Three people also said that Mamdani had discussed a potential run for mayor with leaders in the state Working Families Party, which is trying to coordinate progressive challengers to Adams. A spokesperson for the WFP declined to comment. Mamdani also declined to comment.

Mamdani is a rising star on the left. He won election to the Assembly in 2020, unseating former Assembly Member Aravella Simotas, and is now a member of DSA’s eight-member “Socialists in Office” bloc in Albany and one of only three Muslim lawmakers in the state Legislature. His Assembly district in Western Queens includes much of Astoria – a neighborhood with a significant population of Muslim and Arab voters that is also the heart of the modern socialist movement in New York City, so much so that it is sometimes playfully referred to as “The People’s Republic of Astoria.”

Like state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who is already raising funds for a mayoral run, Mamdani is young and charismatic. But unlike Myrie, who has recently shied away from his progressive reputation, Mamdani is an unabashed socialist who would own the far-left lane in the race. Although he would likely struggle to attract any support from conservative and even moderate Democrats, particularly those who are supportive of Israel, he could run up the margins with younger progressive and Muslim voters.

Since Israel invaded Gaza in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, Mamdani has been one of the loudest voices calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire. In December, he participated in a hunger strike outside the White House to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel. 

He has also sponsored legislation, known as the “Not On Our Dime Act,” that would prohibit New York-based charities from providing funds to Israeli organizations involved in either illegal West Bank settlements or the war in Gaza. That bill garnered extreme pushback when he first introduced it last year, earning condemnation from dozens of state legislators. But it has attracted support from a handful of progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani’s fellow socialists in office.

Mamdani has also championed less controversial legislation. One of his biggest legislative wins was “Fix the MTA,” a package of bills he co-sponsored with Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris, whose district overlaps with his. The legislation aims to increase funding for the MTA and eliminate fares for bus rides, and a version of the plan – including a fare-free bus pilot program – was included in last year’s state budget.

Eugene Noh, a progressive political consultant in Western Queens, told City & State that there are good reasons for Mamdani to run, even though it is unlikely he could win. Noh, who has not spoken directly to Mamdani but is familiar with the rumors about him running, believes that he could assemble a small but significant base of Muslim and progressive voters across the city.

“If Zohran were to run for mayor, I think it would be a great move for his career. Zohran is the leftest leftist and would consolidate the socialist and far-left vote…and if you look at the Muslim voters throughout New York City, I think Zohran over the last year has done a great job of building credibility for himself and, as a result, he'll be able to activate a lot of these Muslim voters.”

Multiple candidates have indicated interest in challenging New York City Mayor Eric Adams next year in addition to Myrie and Mamdani. Comptroller Brad Lander is expected to make an announcement this month, and former Comptroller Scott Stringer is already showing strong fundraising. State Sen. Jessica Ramos is also reportedly considering a run. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has reportedly said he would run if Adams is felled by federal inquiries into his campaign. Adams has so far not been accused of wrongdoing, though people close to him have been investigated. 

The city’s use of ranked-choice voting could make a candidacy like Mamdani’s more viable – allowing him to form strategic alliances with other progressive candidates and avoiding a situation where multiple left-leaning candidates split the vote.

Mamdani has almost nothing to lose by entering the primary, since he could run for mayor without giving up his Assembly seat. Even if he were not able to win the Democratic nomination for mayor, he could still dramatically increase his citywide profile, setting the groundwork for a future campaign, and then just run for reelection to the Assembly in 2026.

As one progressive consultant put it, “Zohran’s a rising star for the left who, if he runs for mayor, would leave the race as either mayor or as an even bigger rising star on the left.”