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Politico
4 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Mamdani's social media savvy comes at a cost
A Democratic consultant who was granted anonymity to frankly discuss campaign strategy said running against a candidate affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America typically entails two strategies: Paint them as too extreme in an effort to limit their support to only the most loyal leftists, or attack their credibility by exposing personal wealth or some other form of privilege. The pro-Cuomo super PAC chose the former. It did not succeed. 'Fix the City's negative paid ads against Mamdani could have been more successful if there had been a viable third or fourth candidate in the race to steer anti-Cuomo votes to. But particularly in the final weeks, it was very clearly Mamdani vs. Cuomo,' the consultant said. 'This made the PAC's attacks on Mamdani less impactful, because whatever concerns voters had about him — and a lot of Mamdani voters had concerns — he still wasn't Andrew Cuomo.' Epstein, Mamdani's creative director, said the campaign was able to reach vast numbers of voters at a fraction of the cost of broadcast spots, with video shoots typically costing in the low four-figures. In the month before the primary, Mamdani's Instagram content was viewed 236 million times, with 62 percent of those viewers not previously following him. More recently, right-leaning news outfits and influencers have been picking up where Fix the City left off. A 2020 interview with The Far Left Show has spawned multiple reports in the New York Post and other outlets. In the spot, Mamdani told the hosts 'the abolition of private property' would be preferable to the current housing crisis and, when asked whether prisons are obsolete, he responded 'what purpose do they serve?' The Washington Free Beacon cited a separate 2020 interview where Mamdani says police officers shouldn't be the ones to respond to incidents where someone 'is going through domestic violence.' And Fox News reported on an old tweet that showed Mamdani directing his middle finger toward a statue of Christopher Columbus. The efficacy of the latest barrage of negative stories, however, appears limited: They are coming out during the doldrums of summer, just as Mamdani is riding high after his decisive primary win and gaining powerful institutional allies. The articles are appearing in outlets, with the exception of the New York Post, that have little sway in New York City elections. And while Mamdani's past positions have in some cases been expressed more crassly than he would want to convey them as mayor, they are not too far afield of his core ideology to alienate voters.
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The billionaires who bet big on the NYC mayoral primary — and lost
High-profile billionaires poured millions of dollars into the New York City mayoral election. On Tuesday, they lost their first battle. New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is projected to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo had enjoyed the support of big names in business and finance as he sought to fend off Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has proposed a rent freeze and higher taxes on the city's wealthiest residents. Most of them donated to Fix the City, an outside nonprofit group that spent money on pro-Cuomo and anti-Mamdani ads. The group has reported receiving nearly $25 million in contributions. $8.3 million of that sum came from Michael Bloomberg, himself a former NYC mayor and the billionaire owner of Bloomberg LP. "I also know his strengths as a leader and manager," Bloomberg said in a statement endorsing Cuomo. "Of all the candidates, Andrew has the skills our city needs to lead us forward." Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and William Lauder, the executive chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, each gave $500,000 to the group. In the days leading up to the primary, Ackman wrote or reshared multiple posts on X that were critical of Mamdani. Media mogul Barry Diller, Netflix chairman Reed Hastings, and billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb each donated $250,000. Alice Walton, a billionaire philanthropist from the family that founded Walmart, contributed $100,000. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin gave $50,000 to Sensible City, a separate anti-Mamdani group. Several of those same billionaires — including Ackman, Loeb, and Griffin — supported President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, a fact that Mamdani frequently emphasized on the campaign trail. As of Wednesday, Mamdani leads with 43.5% of the vote, compared to Cuomo's 36.4%, with 93% of votes in. Because New York City uses a ranked-choice voting system, final results may take a week to determine, but Mamdani is expected to prevail. Cuomo conceded the primary Tuesday night. Cuomo could still run as a third-party candidate in the general election in November, but it is unclear if he will. On Tuesday, he told supporters that he was still considering his next move. Current mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent, while Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee. Jim Walden, an attorney, is also running as an independent. If Cuomo decides not to run in the general election, the billionaires who previously backed his campaign could theoretically support another one of these candidates. Adams's reelection prospects are in question after Trump's Justice Department moved to drop corruption charges against the mayor earlier this year.
Sydney Morning Herald
24-06-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
New York is flirting with an economic catastrophe
Sure, voters like his pro-immigration stance, and in a city that has always been built on welcoming newcomers from all over the world, that will always be a popular position. But for anyone who owns or runs a business, the rest of his platform is, to put it mildly, frightening. He wants to impose an extra 2 per cent income tax on New Yorkers who earn more than $US1 million a year; double down on rent controls that are already very tight; raise the minimum wage; push up the city's top rate of corporation tax, on top of federal taxes, from 7.25 per cent to 11.5 per cent; launch government-run grocery stores; and introduce free childcare across the city. It is a big-state, high-tax agenda. With that manifesto, it is probably no surprise that 'Fix the City', the political action committee backing Cuomo to take on Mamdani, has attracted big money donations from people such as Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor, as well as financiers Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square, and Dan Loeb, the founder of Third Point. If Mandami wins, there will be a 'flight of businesses from New York', argued Mr Ackman in a recent interview. Many of his Wall Street friends no doubt agree with that assessment. Even more than San Francisco or London, New York has always been the beating heart of global capitalism. It is the hub around which it revolves, the place where money is raised, capital deployed and ideas tried out. We already have a very good idea of what happens to even the greatest US cities once they fall under the control of the far-Left. San Francisco is not just a major banking centre, but it is also right next to Silicon Valley – the hub of America's all-conquering tech industry. And yet, under the radical London Breed, who served as the city's mayor from 2018 until earlier this year, San Francisco defunded its police force, allowed crime and homelessness to run rampant, drove out retailers and destroyed the city's reputation as a place to do business. Portland, in Oregon, witnessed a very similar trend, with Ted Wheeler, its radical mayor, diverting money from law enforcement into social activism. Indeed, we have witnessed the same dismal phenomenon on this side of the Atlantic, with Sir Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, presiding over a rise in petty crime, fare dodging and homelessness that has eroded business confidence in the UK capital. If Mamdami takes power in New York, we can expect to see the same fate befall the city. In time, of course, the policies of the far-Left will prove to be so disastrous that the politicians imposing them are kicked out of power. In San Francisco, under Daniel Lurie, the new mayor, the streets are starting to become safe once again and the city is beginning to heal. The same has happened in Portland. We are, unfortunately, a long way from that point in London, but when Sir Sadiq is finally replaced, a new mayor may well be able to start the work of restoring the city to its former greatness. The trouble is, a huge amount of damage is done in the meantime. Higher income taxes in New York will lead to an exodus of millionaires out of the city to low or zero-tax cities and states, such as booming Miami, in Florida, or Dallas and Austin, in Texas. We can expect the banks and hedge funds to drift away from Wall Street to other financial centres. We can expect apartment prices to soar as rent controls force landlords to get out of the market, as they have done in every other major town or country where they have been attempted, while law enforcement will decline, and low-skilled immigrants will flood into the city. Loading In reality, New York is flirting with an economic catastrophe, and the reverberations of that will be felt right around the world. After all, this is not just any urban centre. Even more than San Francisco or London, New York has always been the beating heart of global capitalism. It is the hub around which it revolves, the place where money is raised, capital deployed and ideas tried out.
The Age
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Age
New York is flirting with an economic catastrophe
Sure, voters like his pro-immigration stance, and in a city that has always been built on welcoming newcomers from all over the world, that will always be a popular position. But for anyone who owns or runs a business, the rest of his platform is, to put it mildly, frightening. He wants to impose an extra 2 per cent income tax on New Yorkers who earn more than $US1 million a year; double down on rent controls that are already very tight; raise the minimum wage; push up the city's top rate of corporation tax, on top of federal taxes, from 7.25 per cent to 11.5 per cent; launch government-run grocery stores; and introduce free childcare across the city. It is a big-state, high-tax agenda. With that manifesto, it is probably no surprise that 'Fix the City', the political action committee backing Cuomo to take on Mamdani, has attracted big money donations from people such as Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor, as well as financiers Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square, and Dan Loeb, the founder of Third Point. If Mandami wins, there will be a 'flight of businesses from New York', argued Mr Ackman in a recent interview. Many of his Wall Street friends no doubt agree with that assessment. Even more than San Francisco or London, New York has always been the beating heart of global capitalism. It is the hub around which it revolves, the place where money is raised, capital deployed and ideas tried out. We already have a very good idea of what happens to even the greatest US cities once they fall under the control of the far-Left. San Francisco is not just a major banking centre, but it is also right next to Silicon Valley – the hub of America's all-conquering tech industry. And yet, under the radical London Breed, who served as the city's mayor from 2018 until earlier this year, San Francisco defunded its police force, allowed crime and homelessness to run rampant, drove out retailers and destroyed the city's reputation as a place to do business. Portland, in Oregon, witnessed a very similar trend, with Ted Wheeler, its radical mayor, diverting money from law enforcement into social activism. Indeed, we have witnessed the same dismal phenomenon on this side of the Atlantic, with Sir Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, presiding over a rise in petty crime, fare dodging and homelessness that has eroded business confidence in the UK capital. If Mamdami takes power in New York, we can expect to see the same fate befall the city. In time, of course, the policies of the far-Left will prove to be so disastrous that the politicians imposing them are kicked out of power. In San Francisco, under Daniel Lurie, the new mayor, the streets are starting to become safe once again and the city is beginning to heal. The same has happened in Portland. We are, unfortunately, a long way from that point in London, but when Sir Sadiq is finally replaced, a new mayor may well be able to start the work of restoring the city to its former greatness. The trouble is, a huge amount of damage is done in the meantime. Higher income taxes in New York will lead to an exodus of millionaires out of the city to low or zero-tax cities and states, such as booming Miami, in Florida, or Dallas and Austin, in Texas. We can expect the banks and hedge funds to drift away from Wall Street to other financial centres. We can expect apartment prices to soar as rent controls force landlords to get out of the market, as they have done in every other major town or country where they have been attempted, while law enforcement will decline, and low-skilled immigrants will flood into the city. Loading In reality, New York is flirting with an economic catastrophe, and the reverberations of that will be felt right around the world. After all, this is not just any urban centre. Even more than San Francisco or London, New York has always been the beating heart of global capitalism. It is the hub around which it revolves, the place where money is raised, capital deployed and ideas tried out.
Boston Globe
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
R.I. political heavyweights back moderate and progressive frontrunners in New York mayoral primary
To win, a candidate must earn more than 50 percent of the vote in a Cuomo has led most polls until recently, but an and several other candidates (Cuomo and Mamdani are also eligible to participate in the general election if they don't emerge as the clear winner today.) Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up So what are the Rhode Island connections to the race? Advertisement To start, former Providence mayor has put his money where his mouth is, donating $25,000 to Fix the City, a super PAC that is backing Cuomo and Advertisement a former top executive at IGT and a longtime Democratic Party influencer, also gave $1,000 to Cuomo's campaign. If Cuomo represents the traditional, more moderate arm of the Democratic Party, Mamdani has emerged as the favorite among progressives – and some of Rhode Island's top organizers are all-in on his campaign. State Senators The a prominent progressive voice in Rhode Island. Mamdani has reported at least 38 small-dollar donations from Rhode Island residents, including $25 from state Representative Teresa Tanzi on March 12. It's all a good reminder that the ideological fault lines dividing Democrats in New York are alive and well in Rhode Island, too. To learn a whole lot more about today's New York City primary, This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you'd like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, . Dan McGowan can be reached at
