'Communist' Mamdani is weathering right-wing attacks just fine

After months of attacks from President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, Fox News, and rival political campaigns, progressive Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has surged to a massive lead over his rivals in recent polling.

According to a new poll from The New York Times/Siena College released on Tuesday, Mamdani has 46% support among the city’s likely voters. That’s 22 percentage points ahead of his closest competitor, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo was easily defeated by Mamdani in the Democratic primary and is now running an independent campaign.

Among the top issues bolstering Mamdani have been his vocal opposition to Trump, particularly centered around immigration. In the poll, 36% of voters said Mamdani would do the best job of standing up to Trump, compared with 31% who said the same about Cuomo.

Mamdani has an even stronger advantage against rival candidates on the issue of affordability, one of the centerpieces of his campaign. Forty-nine percent said he would do the best job on this, far ahead of the 23% who said Cuomo would best address the topic.

The Mamdani campaign has received support from Democrats and progressives across America, including the backing of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who recently campaigned with the mayoral nominee. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries—both from New York—have not yet endorsed Mamdani.

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Mamdani’s surge has come after reports that Trump is meddling in the election, which is taking place in his hometown. The New York Times reported in August that Trump spoke to Cuomo about the race and has considered weighing in on his behalf. Trump is extremely unpopular in New York City and has overwhelmingly lost the city in every presidential election he has run in.

“The fact is that the president has three candidates in this race: one that he’s directly been in touch with, another that he bailed out of legal trouble and now functionally controls, and the final one literally being a member of the same Republican Party,” Mamdani said at the time, referring to Cuomo, current Mayor Eric Adams, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.

Adams, who dodged federal corruption charges thanks to the Trump administration and who has cozied up to Trump, has a pitiful 9% support in the new poll, lagging behind not just Mamdani but also Cuomo and Sliwa.

Trump has falsely described Mamdani as a “communist” and argued that one or more of Mamdani’s rivals should drop out to consolidate support, presenting a stronger alternative to the Democrat.

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In addition to Trump’s attacks, the media empire of right-wing mogul Rupert Murdoch has led a smear campaign against Mamdani. Fox News has suggested Mamdani be deported, while the New York Post has printed a barrage of anti-Mamdani propaganda.

However, the combined pressure of the GOP and Murdoch media has seemingly done little to diminish Mamdani’s momentum.

Mamdani has benefitted from public opinion opposing Trump and  his administration’s conservative policies he embodies, particularly his bigoted attacks on immigrants. Other Democratic leaders from outside Washington are seeing similar grassroots support.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has mounted a campaign against Trump’s plans to invade Chicago, as has Maryland Gov. Wes Moore when it comes to Baltimore. At the same time, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has mocked Trump mercilessly on social media while opposing the administration’s power grabs.

It is a boom time for Democrats who have made the decision to stand up to Trump, and they are creating a model that can be followed from the grassroots level all the way up to the corridors of power in Washington. 

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