Socialist Zohran Mamdani aims to win his New York City mayoral campaign by harnessing the strength of his volunteer army, which has set out to break the single-day canvassing record of over 200,000 doors knocked.
The push coincided with the final day of early voting in the election on Sunday.
Mamdani has a robust ground game with support from the Democratic Socialists of America, which also helped Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) win election in 2018. His campaign had reached at least 5,500 volunteers on Monday, 1,000 short of their set goal of 6,500 for Sunday.
The 34-year-old wants to spread the word of his candidacy far and wide.
“Every single minute of the day, I am looking to speak to as many New Yorkers as possible. That means New Yorkers across the five boroughs and that means sometimes even in multiple languages,” Mamdani told reporters at a canvass launch in Harlem.
Stacks of doorknob hangers in English and Spanish sat on a table at the canvass launch as leaders used megaphones to instruct crowds of volunteers. Most canvassers carried stacks of the hangers as they embarked on their canvassing tours in 3-hour shifts.
The hangers informed voters of Mamdani’s key campaign promises, including freezing the rent, making buses fast and free, and providing no-cost childcare. “Vote Zohran for a city you can afford,” they said.
It’s unclear whether the Mamdani campaign broke the canvassing record on Sunday, as the campaign would not comment on the feat. Mamdani did say that such an accomplishment was not owed to one campaign but to many across the state on the same day.
18-year-old Ella Devi, a self-professed “baby canvasser,” spoke to the Washington Examiner at Union Square following a midday canvassing shift. Devi knocked 100 doors, though most people weren’t home on a Sunday when many locals either ran or watched the New York City Marathon.
Devi, who is from downtown Manhattan, said she supported Mamdani because she is a Democratic socialist and wants to see the city become more affordable, though she wouldn’t benefit from his policies.
“I want to see New York become more affordable, even though I don’t personally benefit from his policies on affordability. I know many others in New York do benefit,” she added.
Devi said everyone she knows is canvassing for Mamdani. As for the teen’s motivations, she said she got into politics because she was bullied for her race.
“I was bullied at school because of my race…that kind of radicalized me. I said, okay, like, I need to, you know, I don’t want to really live in this world forever. And I was in eighth grade during 2020, during the Black Lives Matter protests, and I participated in them, and I participated in Occupy City Hall, and that’s where I got my start,” she said.
Her participation in the Mamdani canvassing effort has come with risk. Devi said she’s received threats online after posting a photo of her to her around 11,000 X followers suggesting she voted for Mamdani. She said it’s only motivated her to stomp the concrete more.
“I got a large amount of rape and death threats. And so I told myself that for each threat I got, I would sign up for another shift. So this is my second shift. I have two more coming,” she said.
She also has anxiety during the canvassing process. Devi says she always hopes the person she’s about to speak to isn’t going to assault her. The canvasser believes her fear of the encounters is because of the Islamophobia Mamdani has faced in the campaign.
“Some people in New York City are very fearful of having a Muslim be the mayor of New York City. And they react to him with a lot of Islamophobia, with racism,” she said. Devi said she’s received comments on social media saying she supports jihad and should prepare to wear a burqa.
Her hope is that Mamdani is New York City’s next mayor, making him one of the youngest ever at 34-years-old. She said his election would “prove that Gen Z can really have some political power.”
Top Mamdani surrogates praised the campaign for its organization and discipline.
“I’ve never in my career or life seen anything like this,” Lindsey Boylan, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s first sexual harassment accuser, told the Washington Examiner. “It’s absolutely about people power but it’s also about incredible and disciplined organization at the campaign.”
She urged volunteers to canvass for Mamdani on Monday. Boylan said she will canvass for Mamdani next Monday and Tuesday.
Former New York State Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou told the Washington Examiner that Mamdani has wide influence from many community groups, including DSA, the New York Working Families Party and the New York Taxi Workers Alliance.
“He has ground from so many community groups. He started with a strong coalition made up of New York Communities for Change, CAAAV from Chinatown, DRUM, the NYTWA, and others. These amazing orgs are the ones that provided so much people power on top of the NYWFP and DSA,” she said.
She also believes Mamdani is not only known in the community circles, but he energizes them.
“They are all willing to fight for him because they all know him from the many different fights we have had on the ground. From building public renewables, to debt relief for drivers, to affordable housing,” she said. “He has kept his promises and he has stood shoulder to shoulder with us. So that’s why we are willing to fight for him.”
The former assemblywoman Niou used the power of the progressive Working Families Party and NYCC in a narrow loss to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) in the 2022 Democratic primary for New York’s 10th congressional district.
With a robust and energetic campaign operation, Niou believes the Mamdani campaign should be able to reach their door-knocking goal. “I think they will absolutely be able to make their goal,” she said.
At the least, they might have motivated thousands of New Yorkers to vote. On the final day of early voting, more than 150,000 New Yorkers cast their ballots. A definitive positive omen for the Mamdani campaign is that 18 to 29-year-old voters have already well exceeded their 2021 turnout numbers.
It’s a group effort to turnout voters, Niou said. “It’s something everyone is working on together.”
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Mamdani even received a push from progressive icon Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Sunday. “With your help, @ZohranKMamdani, who began his mayoral campaign at one percent in the polls, may pull off one of the great political upsets in modern American history. Don’t ruminate. Don’t hesitate. Don’t procrastinate,” he wrote on X.
“Get out and vote.”
