Zohran Mamdani raises $845K in dark horse NYC mayoral bid

Son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair says, “We have the momentum, the movement and the money to win”

By Arun Kumar

Indian American Queen’s state assembly member Zohran Mamdani’s dark horse run for New York City’s mayor continues to gain momentum with a rich haul of $845,000 in donations over the last two months.

“We have the momentum, the movement and the money to win,” Mamdani, 33, son of Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and Indian-born Ugandan academic Mahmood Mamdani, stated. The majority of Mamdani’s haul came from New Yorkers in all five boroughs, the New York Post reported citing his campaign.

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More than $500,000 of the cash raised since January is eligible for the city’s eight-to-one matching funds program, the campaign said — meaning the lefty candidate is set to get $4 million in taxpayer cash next month.

Mamdani’s haul was second only to former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who led the field of candidates for the June Democratic primary, bringing in a whopping $1.5 million since announcing his candidacy on March 1. He is expected to qualify for over $4 million in matching funds next month.

Mamdani — whose socialist platform centers on free public buses, childcare, rent freezing for millions of city dwellers and opening city-run food stores — emphasized the strife of New Yorkers in an interview with The Post.

“We have a North Star, that is all driven by the belief that working-class New Yorkers cannot afford to worry about anything beyond cost, because it’s cost that is pushing them out of the city that they love,” Mamdani was quoted as saying.

Mamdani is the first South Asian man to serve in the New York State Assembly as well as the first Ugandan and only the third Muslim to ever be a member of the body.

His campaign boasted that it got donations from more than 16,000 people, 73% of them Big Apple residents during the latest fundraising period — which took place between Jan. 11 and March 13.

Mamdani drastically outperformed City Comptroller Brad Lander and ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer in this reporting period — with Lander bringing in $227,867 and Stringer raising $186,986.

That fundraising success has also translated into promising poll numbers for the relatively unknown anti-Israel lawmaker, according to the Post. Just last month, one survey had Mamdani going seven rounds with the early frontrunner, Cuomo, and Lander.

“I’ve been humbled by the depth and breadth of the outpouring of support we’ve received upon entering this race,” Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid multiple sexual assault allegations that he denies, stated.

Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams has been denied matching public funds due to his ongoing controversies and federal indictments but still has millions on hand to cash in. However, it was not immediately known how he made out with his latest haul.