Fired-up Democratic Socialists of America progressives are bragging about their “special sauce” propelling Zohran Mamdani to the cusp of becoming New York City’s next mayor — as the contender increasingly refuses to say whether he’ll push their radical agenda.
The socialist group’s Big Apple chapter mobilized its already formidable field operations during the Democratic primary, recruiting 50,000 volunteers to help turn Mamdani from dark horse candidate to the party’s landslide nominee, a recent The Nation report details.
The massive volunteer effort — which included more than 1.6 million door knocks and 2.3 million calls — relied on stirring up grassroots enthusiasm and organizing, which one local DSA official called the group’s “special sauce.”
The army of unpaid true believers contrasted with former Gov. Andrew’s top-down-style primary campaign, where even some of his paid canvassers reportedly openly supported Mamdani.
“We don’t gate-keep the skills you need to run a campaign,” NYC-DSA co-chair Grace Mausser told The Nation.
The DSA’s effort specifically targeted three groups — left-wing activists, tenants in the city’s 1 million rent-stabilized apartments and Muslims — who’d be excited over Mamdani’s working-class-focused policies, the report states.
While Mamdani’s viral social media videos often get credit for his meteoric rise, The Nation report indicates his victory was substantially helped by the NYC-DSA’s ground game.
The Queens state assemblyman’s historic win in June was fueled not only by voters in crunchy liberal Brooklyn neighborhoods, but also surprising gains among New Yorkers who don’t traditionally back democratic socialists.
But Mamdani, as he tries to maintain his frontrunner status before November’s four-way general election, has increasingly been shy about sharing whether he rejects many radical NYC-DSA policies.
The front-runner and his campaign have refused to respond to whether he supports the local DSA’s calls to end school safety officers in schools, release people jailed for drug crimes and sex work and allow immigrants to vote and hold local office.
Mamdani’s campaign didn’t immediately return a request for comment Friday.