‘Making history’: Mamdani to voters on election eve as Trump backs Cuomo

For Zohran Mamdani, Astoria, the Queens neighborhood where he has served as a state assemblyman for five years, is where he made his first public address following his unexpected victory in the Democratic Party’s Mayoral Primary in June.

The 34-year-old made his final appearance before Tuesday’s election day on Monday, playing in the background of children’s laughter at a playground in the dusk.

His advice to his enthralling army of volunteers, who according to the campaign is made up of more than 100 000, is “Leave everything out on the field.”

Making history, he said, “shows that when you focus and fight for working people, you can actually remake the politics of the place you call home.”

In the biggest city in the United States, Mamdani has argued that it is his and his mayoral campaign that can actually address those issues, despite the country’s president’s deep concern over an affordability crisis.

Indeed, Trump loomed large on Monday as Mamdani addressed a crowd of supporters, some sporting the campaign’s ostentatious yellow beanies, and a horde of local, national, and international media.

The US president has repeatedly criticized democratic socialist Mamdani as a “bad democrat” over the “communist,” a label he has repeatedly used against former governor Andrew Cuomo.

Elon Musk, a billionaire, also backed Cuomo, a Democrat who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic Party’s primary.

Mamdani continues to hold on in the most recent polls, even though he is losing. The former governor’s endorsements, who have explicitly urged conservatives to support him instead of running against Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, could further destabilize the race.

Mamdani’s supporters said on Monday that they hoped that their candidate’s speech would serve as a coda to the deeply entrenched, donor-dominated Democratic establishment that Cuomo is perceived as representing.

Tasnuva Khan, one of the canvassers on Monday, said, “I feel amazing right now,” adding that the election had revealed both the legitimacy of Muslim voters and Bangladesh’s rapidly expanding Bangladeshi population.

If elected, Mamdani would lead the city as the first Muslim, first as a person of South Asian descent, and first as an African-born leader.

“But I’m attempting to maintain balance. Votes are what determine elections. I believe we can definitely deliver, she told Al Jazeera, as long as we kind of stay focused, reach out to our community members, continue canvassing, and knock on doors.

However, dentist Shabnam Salehezadehi, a supporter of Mamdani and a supporter of the mayoral candidate, claimed she feared the real challenges would arise after the election.

She noted that only winning is the minimum, but he must win support from a coalition of state and city lawmakers to get Mamdani to pass many of his bold promises, including free buses, universal childcare, and rent freezes for a large portion of city apartments, which were paid for by raising taxes on corporations and the wealthy.

Salehezadehi added that she was first drawn to Mamdani because of his unwavering support for Palestinian rights, a break from the traditional Democratic mainstream. “I’m really anxious … not so much whether he’ll win or not,” said Salehezadehi.

“I just genuinely hope we have the mandate to demonstrate Zohran Mamdani’s support,” she said.

Election day is approaching.

Cuomo also traveled to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx on the final day of the race.

The former governor sat on a bench overlooking nearby street vendors in the Bronx’s Fordham neighborhood, which was a representative of some of the minority-dominated working-class districts Cuomo won in the primary.

In his opinion, New York would turn out to be a “socialist city” if Mamdani were to win.

In Venezuela, “Socialism did not work.” In Cuba, socialism failed. In what has become a a refrain in the final days of the race, he declared, “Socialism will not work in New York City.”

He responded to a question about the nod from Trump at a subsequent meeting in Manhattan’s Washington Heights, which comes as Cuomo has already come under fire for having received many of the same billionaire donors as the Republican president.

“I was called a bad Democrat,” he said. I’m a good Democrat, proud Democrat, and I’m going to continue to be so. Cuomo claimed that Madamdani is not a communist. He is a socialist, he claims. However, socialist mayors are not necessary either.

The “socialist label” does not, however, prevent Gwendolyn Paige, a 69-year-old special educator from the Bronx, from supporting Mamdani.

She instead cited the legacy of Cuomo. Mario Cuomo, Cuomo’s father, also held the office of state governor. In 2021, the younger Cuomo resigned due to allegations of sexual misconduct.

Even as she refuted Trump’s endorsement, Paige told Al Jazeera from the Fordham neighborhood, “Cuomo is the only person who will stand up for the Trump administration.”

She said, “Listen, Trump will say something else tomorrow.” So I don’t put a lot of stock in it.

Just one-third of the city’s 4.7 million registered voters have already cast their ballots in early voting.

On Tuesday, from 6am to 9pm (11:00 GMT, Tuesday to 22:00 GMT, Wednesday), polls will be open, with a winner anticipated to emerge in the hours following. In January, the winner will take office.

Some votes are still up for grabs with only hours until the election day.

For low-income Americans in the US, including those who are not covered by a bill passed by Trump and Republicans earlier this year, Lisa Gonzalez, a retired Army veteran, highlighted the dire times ahead.

In the event that Mamdani is elected, Trump has threatened to reduce federal funding for New York City and deploy the National Guard.

Source: Aljazeera