Zohran Mamdani working to woo black voters away from Adams and Cuomo

NEW YORK (AP):

New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani seemed at ease as he made his way from a high-rise apartment building to a street festival in the historic black neighbourhood of Harlem on a recent Sunday.

His reason for being there was clear: While he won the Democratic primary in June and secured the party’s nomination for the November general election, Mamdani underperformed in predominantly black neighbourhoods. Now he’s trying to better connect with their skeptical older generation.

Black New Yorkers make up about 22 per cent of the city’s 8.8 million people and stand as one of its most influential voting groups.

Mamdani and his supporters hope to harness the energy that connects him with young progressives to grow his trust among older black New Yorkers. A major hurdle for the 33-year-old Queens assembly member is the fact that his two leading opponents – former Gov Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams – have spent long political careers making allies in black neighbourhoods and churches, as well as cultivating mentors in the community.

Mamdani is banking on his No. 1 issue – making the city more affordable – to connect across demographics. And it may work. According to AP VoteCast, about six in 10 black voters in New York in the 2024 election said they were “very concerned” about their personal housing costs.

“What I’ve heard from black voters across the five boroughs is that the affordability crisis is one that is pushing them out of this city,” Mamdani told The Associated Press. “I’ve spoken to the older generation of black voters about how affordability is something that has to be applied across the board. It’s not just a struggle for tenants, it’s also a struggle of homeowners.”

Young black voters say Mamdani’s affordability message is a winner

Jerrell Gray, a 26-year-old born to parents who immigrated from the Caribbean, has a master’s degree from New York University and works as an assistant director of a public health non-profit. But he still lives with his mother in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighbourhood because rents are too high for him to afford his own place.

SLIGHT ADVANTAGE

“A lot of my friends who are so talented, the people that I grew up with, end up leaving New York City because they can’t afford it, or they feel like the city doesn’t have anything for them,” said Gray, a Mamdani supporter. Even as Mamdani has attracted younger black progressives, his opponents have a slight advantage with their parents and grandparents.

“I was asking a pastor – who had endorsed Andrew Cuomo in the primary many months ago – ‘why?’” Mamdani recalled. “And he told me, ‘I endorsed Mario’s son. It was because Mario was good to me,’” Mamdani said, referencing Cuomo’s father, Mario Cuomo, who himself served three terms in the state’s top office.

Older black New Yorkers favoured Cuomo in the primary

An AP analysis shows exactly how short Mamdani came up with black voters in the primary. He won only eight out of the city’s 33 majority-black neighbourhoods in June, while Cuomo came out on top in 25 of them. By comparison, Adams won all 33 majority-black neighbourhoods four years ago.

Some older black voters say their support for Cuomo stems from his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he projected a sense of control amid widespread uncertainty and economic turmoil. They also recall the decades Andrew Cuomo spent speaking in black churches and appearing at community events, dating back to when his dad was governor.

“Cuomo, I feel like, was somebody that was in office before and he got us during the pandemic, and that made me comfortable and safe,” said Brooklyn native Nerissa Robinson, 58, who is leaning toward voting for Cuomo despite the sexual harassment scandal that led him to resign the governor’s office in 2021.

“Voters understand what Andrew Cuomo’s done for them,” said Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. “And they understand that Andrew Cuomo’s going to fight for them.”

Adams, New York’s second black mayor, dropped out of the Democratic primary after he was indicted on bribery charges. He then outraged liberal voters by cultivating a warm relationship with President Donald Trump as his lawyers successfully lobbied the Justice Department to drop the bribery case. Now, like Cuomo, he’s running as an independent in November.

Adams’ spokesperson, Todd Shapiro, noted that the Democratic primary results don’t tell the full story. Any candidate could sway the mayoral race, he said.

In fact, polls do not capture all of New York’s unaffiliated registered voters, who make up 23.9 per cent of the electorate.

“The people of this city know who fights for them every single day — and that’s why Eric Adams will rise in the polls and win,” Shapiro said.

Endorsements for Mamdani have climbed since the primary.