In the wake of Zohran Mamdani's upset victory in New York City's Democratic primary six weeks ago, the city's real estate executives and financiers are reportedly forming super PACs in an effort to defeat the self-described democratic socialist.
Mamdani's 12-point win came even as he ran a much tighter financial campaign than former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as a third-party candidate in the general election and who enjoys broad support among New York's business elites.
"The long-held idea in politics that the candidates with the most money win is no longer an assured position," Grace Rauh, the executive director of Citizens Union, told The New York Times. "That is part of the reason why many wealthy donors and interests who are looking at this race, in New York and perhaps beyond, are responding in a bit of a state of panic."
Approximately $26.6 million was poured into supporting Cuomo's mayoral bid and opposing Mamdani's, and Citizens Union told the Times that the spending in this mayor's race looks very different than in 2021. Four years ago, $31.4 million was reportedly more evenly spread out among six mayoral hopefuls.
The main super PAC backing Cuomo, Fix the City, "essentially replaced his field operation," Citizens Union said, and raised three times as much money as Cuomo's campaign.
Rauh, who has seen five campaign cycles for New York City mayor, said there were "lessons to be learned" from the primary about the value in getting supporters "to not just write you the check," but to roll up their sleeves and pitch the candidate with neighborhood canvassing and other campaign activities.
With the Mamdani campaign, "we saw that on a scale I had never seen in a local race in New York City," Rauh told the Times.
Many corporate leaders the outlet spoke with view Mamdani as an existential threat who, they say, will destabilize the city with his progressive policies, including his past calls to defund the police.
Last week, real estate executive Jared Epstein cited the recent Midtown Manhattan rampage that left five people dead in a Park Avenue office building.
"This tragedy is not just a moment of mourning; it's a call to reject policies that would make our city even more vulnerable," Epstein reportedly said on a New Yorkers for a Better Future fund-raising call with 200 potential donors.
In a Monday opinion piece for Rolling Stone, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said "the people picked Mamdani, but it turns out there are some billionaires and Wall Street CEOs who can't stand the idea of a mayor who wants them to pay their fair share to create a city that everyone can afford.
"So the billionaires are dumping millions and millions of dollars into the race, backing either of two deeply flawed candidates: Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. Maybe we should be asking ourselves why these Wall Street executives are pouring in millions of dollars to stop Mamdani, the affordability candidate.
"Cuomo and Adams are tripping over themselves to haul in millions of campaign dollars from billionaire donors. In a democracy, billionaires should not be able to buy our elections and control our politicians. Elected officials should work for their constituents, not use their government offices to hand out favors to a well-connected few."
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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