Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has decided which New York City mayoral candidate to throw her valuable endorsement behind ahead of the June 24 primary.
Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani as her top choice in the city's ranked choice election, her office confirmed to NBC New York.
"So exciting to receive endorsement from a congresswoman I’ve admired for years," Mamdani said in response to the endorsement.
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WATCH HERECapturing the congresswoman's second choice will be City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, followed by ranking City Comptroller Brad Lander third, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer fourth and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie fifth, according to her office.
"I’m very honored to have her endorsement and I thank her for it," said Adams, who released her first TV ad Thursday.
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SIGN UP Lander said he was "grateful to have the congresswoman’s support and I will keep plugging forward."
The New York Times was first to report Ocasio-Cortez's preferences.
Politics
The Working Families Party has also announced it will rank Mamdani first in a bid to beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the hotly-contested race, of which Cuomo has been leading in the polls.
Cuomo faced fierce criticism from the other candidates during Wednesday's primary debate on WNBC and WNJU, but later told News 4 that he had planned for that.
"I think as the front runner that’s what they do. It’s to be expected," Cuomo said.
Early voting begins June 14.
What to know about Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani is a progressive state lawmaker who is running for mayor. A self-described Democratic socialist, he was born in Uganda, but raised in New York City.
Mamdani is running his campaign on a platform focusing on lowering the costs of New Yorkers while making their lives easier.
When it comes to the topic of housing, Mamdani hopes to freeze the rent, build affordable housing, crack down on bad landlords and support homeowners.
He also looks to make the city safer by creating a Department of Community Safety "to prevent violence before it happens by prioritizing solutions which have been consistently shown to improve safety. Police have a critical role to play. But right now, we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net—which prevents them from doing their actual jobs."
Mamdani 's proposal would invest in citywide mental health programs and crisis response, expand gun violence prevention programs and increase funding to prevent hate violence.
Mamdani's campaign is looking to tackle rising costs, including food prices by creating a network of city-owned grocery stores.
Mamdani is also proposing making public transportation more reliable, safe and accessible.
Among other proposals, Mamdani also wants to expand education, including for early childhood.
