Faced with Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s dark horse victory in the primary, New York City’s business community is actively raising funds to try to prevent the socialist believer from taking over City Hall; however, the industry is still unclear about who is the best replacement.
This mayoral election is seen as one of the most competitive in recent years, as incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is seeking re-election as an independent and former Governor Andrew Cuomo has not yet withdrawn from the election. At the same time, the business community was surprised by Mamdani’s victory in the primary and hopes to seek counterattack, but it is still unclear whether to support Cuomo, who lost to Mamdani in the primary, or the current Mayor Adams, whose reputation has been damaged by the federal corruption investigation.
A political action committee called New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25 was established this week. Although it has not yet made clear who it supports, its goal is clearly to oppose Mandani. On the other hand, the political action committee “Fix the City” that supports Cuomo continues to raise funds, saying that it is seeking to support “free market” candidates.
Adams has also been actively raising funds recently. According to his campaign team, he has raised more than 1 million yuan in the past few weeks and raised nearly 1 million yuan at an event held by real estate developers.
In this election, Mandani won the favor of young voters with his radical and progressive line, advocating free bus and childcare services, freezing rents for rent-controlled tenants, and raising taxes on the rich and companies as a source of funds. His policy proposals have dissatisfied the business community, but have won the support of many grassroots groups.
The Cuomo camp raised 24 million yuan during the primary election, but his major donors are now divided. Some continue to support Cuomo, while others, such as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, have turned to support Adams. Adams and Cuomo have similar voter bases, mostly older and moderate people. Both parties have criticized Mandani’s stance on the Israel-Hazal issue, accusing him of anti-Semitic remarks.
Analysts generally believe that if Cuomo and Adams insist on running until November, it may dilute the votes against Mandani. Mandani also tried to show goodwill to the business community, saying that his vision is “to allow all businesses and real estate developers to stay, thrive, and welcome more people to join this city.”
