How much will AOC's endorsement help Zohran Mamdani?

The most highly anticipated endorsement in New York City Democratic politics dropped on Thursday morning when Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez officially backed surging socialist Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani in the mayoral primary.

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has grown her national role in politics, appearing side-by-side with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders at “Fighting Oligarchy” rallies across the U.S. In May, two polls showed that Democratic voters would prefer Ocasio-Cortez to U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer by around 20% in a hypothetical 2028 primary.

In New York City, political observers have been more focused on her endorsement in the Democratic mayoral primary. She finally delivered on Thursday – just nine days before early voting was due to start – throwing her support to Mamdani and encouraging her supporters to rank City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as No. 2, city Comptroller Brad Lander as No. 3, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer as No. 4 and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie as No. 5. She also said unequivocally that New Yorkers should not rank former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is the front-runner in the race.

Will it matter? Political endorsements don’t always move the needle. “Most political scientists who study endorsements don't think they make that much difference,” said John Mollenkopf, a political scientist at the City University of New York. Mollenkopf, the director of the Center for Urban Research, thinks voters have more pressing concerns, principally that “we want somebody who knows how to run the place.” Recent polls show that housing affordability, crime and economic issues are the top concerns among voters in New York.




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