Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) faces a test of her political influence after endorsing a progressive candidate in the New York City mayoral race.
Ocasio-Cortez backed New York state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, pitching him as the best chance to upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner since before he entered the race.
Her endorsement is sure to raise progressive hopes and give Mamdani a much-needed boost ahead of the June 24 primary. But it will also draw attention to the strength of her political clout as she positions herself as the next standard-bearer for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing and possibly the party as a whole.
“She represents a younger, newer generation of Democratic voters,” said New York Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, adding that the movement she’s led has been “more forward looking with respect to the party, not just locally but nationally.”
Observers of the Democratic primary for the mayor’s race have been eagerly awaiting news of Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement for weeks. Reports indicated that the Bronx-area congresswoman has methodically reviewed polling and pitches from various candidates on how they plan to defeat Cuomo, who has dominated in name ID and polling.
Among the more progressive candidates in the race, her support was coveted as one of the top leaders of the progressive wing since her own major upset win in 2018, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress.
She was also credited with significantly improving Maya Wiley’s chances of winning the Democratic nomination for mayor in 2021 as she gave an endorsement shortly before the primary then too. While Wiley ultimately lost to now-Mayor Eric Adams (D), her polling numbers jumped from single digits to make her a top contender after Ocasio-Cortez backed her.
Ocasio-Cortez ultimately announced her endorsement of Mamdani in an interview with The New York Times the morning after the candidates faced off in the first debate of the race. She said Mamdani has made the best case that he can best Cuomo, showing a “real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack.”
Democrats said Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated her influence in past races in New York and could put it on display again.
George Albro, a co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network, noted her support for current mayoral candidate Brad Lander during his city comptroller race in 2021 as he was trailing in the primary at the time. She and other top progressives appeared in ads backing him.
“He was trailing his opponent, and then they did a number of commercials for him, and he won the comptroller’s race because of it, a city-wide race where he wasn’t that well-known,” Albro said.
“It will be very impactful,” he added about Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement.
But her endorsement in the race also comes at a time when she is taking on a rising profile within the Democratic Party as a whole in the aftermath of former Vice President Harris’s loss in the November presidential election.
Discontent has been growing among the party’s base with the current leadership, as polling has found voters widely split or unsure who their standard-bearer is.
Ocasio-Cortez received widespread attention for the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that she and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) embarked on earlier this year, fueling speculation of a role beyond representing New York’s 14th Congressional District in Congress.
Her name has been floated as a possible choice for Senate in 2028, with many Democrats expressing frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), or even president, with the Democratic field in three years currently appearing wide open.
New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said Ocasio-Cortez is emblematic of the generational change that many in the party are searching for. He added that what happens in New York won’t stay there.
“The generational shift is something that matters in New York politics and will ultimately matter around the country,” he said. “Why? Because what happens in New York reflects national trends, unquestionably so, both culturally, from a media perspective, from a financial perspective, and certainly from a political perspective.”
Sheinkopf argued that Sanders is the candidate many young people ideally wanted in 2024 rather than Harris, but Sanders has “deputized” Ocasio-Cortez, who resonates even more among the voters whom a candidate like Mamdani appeals to.
“It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses,” he argued. “The fact is that she’s lined up with the younger generation of voters.”
Democrats also said they don’t believe Ocasio-Cortez is taking on much political risk even if the candidate she’s backing, who is a significant underdog, falls short.
New York Democratic strategist Trip Yang noted Cuomo still had significant inherent advantages in the race, including name recognition, calling him an imperfect but “strong” candidate.
“Even if [Mamdani] doesn’t win, he improves his political standing tremendously and the new progressive movement as a whole,” Yang said.
“At the end of the day, whatever happens, progressives will come out of 2025 looking better than they did in 2021,” he said.
Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez isn’t likely to alienate any potential followers by weighing in, as her base does not have too much overlap with Cuomo’s core supporters.
“I don’t think there’s a downside [for her] at all,” he said.
Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez has also effectively been what polling has shown New Yorkers and Democrats broadly want from their leaders — someone who will stand up to President Trump and fight for their constituents.
He argued that New Yorkers don’t have a specific ideology of moderate or progressive but just want someone who will “fight” for them. He said Ocasio-Cortez is one of the few major leaders in the party who has been “speaking forward,” talking about what the future of Democratic politics and the coalition needs to look like and what ideas should be put forward.
“It’s not just playing defense in the moment,” Smikle said. “It’s thinking about what that offense is going to be, what that offense needs to look like. There are not a lot of people speaking about that.”
