The final time Bernie Sanders headlined a rally in Queens it was 2019, he was attempting to reenergize his presidential campaign after a coronary heart assault, and Zohran Mamdani was asking attendees to signal petitions for his first meeting run.
On Sunday afternoon, the Vermont senator is anticipated to assist fill a stadium in Queens for Mamdani within the hopes of powering him to a powerful end in his bid to be New York City mayor.
During his campaign, Mamdani has echoed the identical working-class-focused message utilized by Sanders greater than three a long time in the past when he first ran for mayor of Burlington, Vermont.
“He said when he was running to be the mayor of Burlington, that Burlington is not for sale,” Mamdani informed NCS in an unique interview on Sunday. “It continues to be the rallying cry for working class people across this country, and for us, it’s that New York City is not for sale.”
The rally’s slogan, “New York Is Not for Sale,” is a dig on the vocal rich New Yorkers, together with folks like Bill Ackman and John Catsimatidis, who’ve been talking out in opposition to Mamdani’s candidacy, and in lots of circumstances additionally donating to the tremendous PAC that is aligned with Cuomo.
“We have the same billionaires who funded Donald Trump’s campaign funding Andrew Cuomo’s, and whether it be Bill Ackman or the Waltons, people who think they can look at a city like ours, they can appraise it and they can buy it,” Mamdani stated.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shall be on the rally, too, as Mamdani heads into the ultimate week of this stunning campaign attempting to emphasise the vitality and agency rooting on the left that powered him from 1% within the polls within the spring to doubtlessly profitable metropolis corridor.
As he heads into the final stretch earlier than the overall election now that early voting in NYC has begun, Mamdani is additionally attempting to sign a united entrance amongst Democrats – exhibiting that his agenda has the backing of the three strongest lawmakers within the state.
Mamdani shall be joined on stage Sunday by Governor Kathy Hochul, marking the primary time the 2 campaign collectively. Also on stage shall be State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. The trio of lawmakers are sometimes called “the three people in the room,” – a nod to their legislative, budgetary and government energy.
“It shows that this is not just an agenda that is principled, it’s not just one that’s popular, it’s one that’s possible,” Mamdani stated.
Hochul has stated she would not assist elevating taxes on the rich to pay for Mandani’s proposals, however she has embraced his common childcare proposal and signaled she would discover a strategy to fund this system with out elevating taxes.
Mamdani will want the trio’s legislative assist to enact main elements of his agenda if he is elected in November, and whereas he referred to them as “partners,” Mamdani has not but endorsed Hochul in her personal race subsequent yr. The governor will possible face a problem from Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, who not too long ago referred to Mamdani as a “Communist jihadist.”
“I have appreciated my relationship with the governor,” Mamdani stated. “The governor hasn’t yet asked me for that endorsement, and what I’m focused on right now is these next 9 days running through the tape, and then building that relationship with the governor.”
When he takes the stage on Sunday, Mamdani is anticipated to maintain hitting the three central themes of his campaign: freezing rents, making buses free and increasing common childcare.
Mamdani is nonetheless attempting to broaden his assist throughout a celebration which stays divided on combat again in opposition to President Donald Trump. On Friday he welcomed the long-withheld backing of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic chief and Brooklyn congressman. Jeffries endorsed Mamdani whereas making it clear the 2 had political variations.
Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America stated Sunday he “appreciated the work” Jeffries is doing across the authorities shutdown and attempting to stop hundreds of thousands of Americans from shedding entry to well being care. He additionally stopped quick of backing any problem to the House Minority chief which Mamdani’s allies in DSA have referred to as for.
“I am not having that conversation. I’m not thinking about that,” Mamdani stated. “I appreciate the conversations with Congressman Jeffries as it comes back to affordability, our shared constituents, and the fact that in as much as we have to fight authoritarianism, we also have to fight for a democracy that New Yorkers see as being able to deliver on their material needs.”
The capability of the theater the place Mamdani held his final huge rally two weeks in the past was simply over 3,000. In an indication of the Mamdani campaign’s confidence about his momentum, Forest Hills Stadium’s capability, the place Sunday night time’s rally with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez shall be held, is 13,000. And similar to that final rally, held in Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, placing this rally outdoors the same old circuit of Manhattan venues is itself a consultant alternative of how Mamdani is pitching himself.
Andrew Cuomo, operating as an impartial after shedding to Mamdani in June’s Democratic main, has by no means held any type of rally – nor has Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
NCS’s Edward Isaac Dovere contributed to this report.