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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Arwa Mahdawi

Why establishment Democrats still can’t stomach progressive candidates like Zohran Mamdani

a man speaking
Zohran Mamdani speaks during the New York City Democratic mayoral primary debate on 12 June in New York City. Photograph: Vincent Alban/AFP/Getty Images

Who’s afraid of Zohran Mamdani? The answer, it would seem, is the entire establishment. The 33-year-old democratic socialist and New York City mayoral candidate has surged in the polls in recent weeks, netting endorsements not just from progressive voices like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders but also his fellow candidates for the mayoralty, with Brad Lander and Michael Blake taking advantage of the ranked-choice voting system in the primary and cross-endorsing Mamdani’s campaign.

With the primary just around the corner, polls have Mamdani closing the gap on Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor of New York. This has spooked the establishment, which is now doing everything it can to stop Mamdani’s rise.

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