Obama Praises Mamdani Amid Early Voting Surge

Sunday, Nov. 2 is the last day of in-person early voting in New York City and New Jersey, with New York City reporting more than 584,000 early ballots cast so far and polls open Nov. 2 (NYC 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; NJ 10 a.m.–6 p.m.). Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Uganda-born state assembly member, has emerged as the Democratic frontrunner in the mayoral contest, leading recent polls and drawing attention as a youthful democratic socialist. His platform — including proposals to raise taxes on the city’s wealthiest and corporations, freeze stabilized rents and expand publicly subsidized housing — and his criticism of Israel have alarmed parts of the finance community and prompted debate within the national Democratic Party. Former President Barack Obama placed a private 30-minute call to Mamdani praising his campaign and offering to serve as a “sounding board,” but did not issue a formal endorsement. Andrew Cuomo is running as an independent and has criticized Mamdani while Republican Curtis Sliwa remains in the race; all three pushed final get-out-the-vote efforts amid high early turnout and the New York City Marathon weekend. Analysts say turnout could be historic — with some projecting Mamdani might reach about 1 million votes if current trends hold — and Obama was also campaigning in closely watched New Jersey races for Democrats Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger.