Mamdani To Campaign With Hochul, Cementing A Fruitful Alliance

ALBANY, New York — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani will hit the campaign trail with Gov. Kathy Hochul — the democratic socialist’s first in-person appearances to boost the moderate Democrat’s reelection.

Their destination is voter-dense Brooklyn: On Friday the mayor will hand out campaign literature with the governor in the borough. On Sunday, they’ll be back in Brooklyn to launch a canvassing event together, a person familiar with their plans, who was granted anonymity to discuss the yet-to-be-public schedule, told POLITICO.

The campaign stops will cement a fruitful alliance for both Hochul and Mamdani — two Democrats who represent vastly different wings of their party and are a generation apart in age.

It’s also an acknowledgement by the Buffalo-born governor of New York City’s importance to defeating her Republican rival, Bruce Blakeman.

“Mamdani is the most popular figure in New York City, which is the most vote-rich region,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang, who’s working on a pro-Hochul super PAC. “A Democrat can win statewide simply by running up the score in New York City — it basically guarantees a Democratic win. Tapping into Mamdani is just very smart.”

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed Hochul leading Blakeman 55 percent to 41 percent.

The governor’s deployment of the mayor at a critical moment in the campaign underscores the shifting political environment in New York, where Democrats have long stayed on top by courting a coalition that includes Jewish New Yorkers and older Black voters. Mamdani’s surprise election in last year’s mayoral race knit together a base that was heavily composed of younger people who were activated by his platform to combat the high cost of living in New York City.

But there is an open question whether a significant chunk of Mamdani’s ardent base will turn out for Hochul, who differs with the mayor on issues like support for Israel, policing and taxes. Her embrace of the polarizing Mamdani stands to alienate voters in the bellwether suburbs where Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, is expected to thrive. And, should Hochul secure her second full term, she’s expected to face increased pressure from the left — including Mamdani — to raise taxes on rich people and big businesses.

The mayor, a national figure, is not venturing into races where Democratic candidates are trying to mount upset victories in red states. Instead, he’s helping shape the outcomes of electoral contests in his home state, backing leftist primary challengers against incumbents or establishment favorites in Democratic-dominated House districts this past summer. His political support for Hochul marks an opportunity for the mayor to strengthen a mutually beneficial relationship.

Hochul handed Mamdani his first policy win at the start of the year when she approved more aid for their shared goal of expanding no-cost child care. The governor later sent more state cash to help close a New York City budget gap and then acquiesced to a tax hitting the owners of pricey second homes in the five boroughs — fulfilling a Mamdani campaign pledge to tax the rich.

The governor has also been able to hold together a fractious New York Democratic Party. Mamdani and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed her reelection bid in February, nods that bolstered Hochul’s left flank and ended the campaign of Hochul’s sole primary challenger, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.

Mamdani’s boost for Hochul also comes as the mayor is expected to pursue approval from Albany next year for more tax increases. The governor has opposed income tax rate hikes for wealthy people and large corporations. Already, some Democrats, including New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, have argued tax increases will be necessary to further expand child care services.

The tax fight, though, has not soured the relationship between City Hall and Albany. The two Democrats have displayed little of the public tension that defined the dynamics between their predecessors. And unlike many of her fellow institutional Democrats with more moderate views than the mayor, Hochul has not taken an adversarial approach with his administration.

“She’s not seen him like a foe in the manner of these other establishment Democrats,” said Michael Lange, a political analyst who has written about evolving voting patterns in New York City. “Zohran campaigning for her certainly comes off as genuine. He has positioned Hochul never as a foe, but as a collaborator the whole time. Child care has proven to be such a core issue for both of them.”

During June’s primary elections, Mamdani expended lots of political capital.

He endorsed leftist candidates in three competitive primary races for New York City-based congressional seats and hit the campaign trail for all of them at an aggressive clip while also helping them fundraise. And it paid off: All of Mamdani’s candidates won their primaries, ousting two more moderate incumbents and bolstering the mayor’s stature as a progressive powerbroker.

By contrast, Mamdani has mostly kept his political powder dry in the lead-up to November’s general elections. The mayor attended a Manhattan fundraiser this month for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, the only high-profile candidate outside of New York he has stumped for this year.

Up until now, he hasn’t done much in terms of campaigning for Hochul. In fact, his first overt act of campaigning didn’t come until last week, when Hochul’s team released an ad in which Mamdani was featured bashing Blakeman.

A person close to the mayor, who was granted anonymity to speak about internal deliberations, told POLITICO there's strategic sense for why Mamdani hasn’t gotten more involved in the gubernatorial contest.

Given that the race is seen as less competitive than this summer’s congressional primaries, there hasn’t been as big a need for the mayor to be as active in the gubernatorial battle, according to the person.

Additionally, the mayor’s team sees it as critical that he only be viewed as focusing on New York City, ruling out the idea that he would hit the stump for Hochul in other parts of the state, the person said. Meanwhile, Hochul’s strongest support in next month’s election is already likely to come from the city.

According to the person close to Mamdani, among the people he has leaned on most for advice when it comes to November’s elections are Elle Bisgaard-Church, his City Hall chief of staff; Anna Bahr, his City Hall communications director; Morris Katz, his 2025 campaign strategist; and Patrick Gaspard, a former U.S. ambassador and surrogate for the mayor. With the exception of Bahr, who’s a former aide to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, they have been close political advisers to the mayor going back to last year’s campaign.

Despite the assessment from the mayor’s team, Mamdani commands a sizable base in the Big Apple that he could have ostensibly tried to fire up earlier for Hochul. It’s unclear why he waited as long as he did to try to activate it — though political differences may be at play.

Large segments of Mamdani’s base, including leaders of the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter, dislike Hochul and have railed against her for resisting income tax increases the mayor sought in Albany earlier this year. In that light, it poses an awkward conundrum for Mamdani to try to generate excitement for Hochul among his supporters.

But a second person close to Mamdani who spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity argued that the mayor is simply operating under standard timelines by kickstarting his Hochul stumping this weekend, when early voting starts.

The mayor is also a lightning rod for Jewish voters, who have traditionally served as the backbone of the New York Democratic Party. Hochul remains a staunch Israel supporter and backed a law meant to restrict protests near houses of worship — a measure sought by New York City’s Jewish community following pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

David Greenfield, a former New York City councilmember and now the head of the prominent Jewish charity the Met Council, expects Jewish Democrats will split their tickets this year. But he does not believe Hochul will be penalized for the support she’s receiving from Mamdani.

“Jewish voters are pretty smart,” he said. “We’re capable of holding two ideas at once."