Sen. Bernard Sanders, the Godfather of the modern liberal movement, is headed to New York this weekend to join forces with Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner to become the city’s next mayor.
Mr. Sanders, the 83-year-old Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, on Saturday plans to return to the place he was born, Brooklyn, to hold a town hall-style event with Mr. Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic Socialist.
The stop is part of Mr. Sanders’ “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that has focused on getting more liberals to run for public office.
The 34 rallies across 20 states have helped give grassroots activists, who are up in arms over President Trump’s second-term moves, a renewed sense of hope that change is possible.
“At a time of massive and growing income and wealth inequality, we are building a strong grassroots movement to take on the billionaire class and corporate greed,” Mr. Sanders said in a statement. “The oligarchs are prepared to undermine democracy and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy elections. But candidates who stand boldly with the working class can — and will — beat them.”
New York City has become the epicenter for liberal forces in the Democratic Party, helping give rise to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
She and Mr. Sanders helped cement Mr. Mamdani’s image as a liberal heartthrob after they endorsed him before the Democratic primary.
Campaigning on free buses, free child care, rent freezes, city-run grocery stores, and more taxes on the wealthy and corporations, Mr. Mamdani defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary by nearly 13 points.
Now they head to November’s election.
The primary result shocked the Democratic Party’s old guard, leaving moderate-minded voters and the party’s well-heeled donors looking for a general election alternative.
However, Mr. Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams and Republican Eric Sliwa have yet to catch fire and are poised to divide the anti-Mamdani vote.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mamdani has sought to ease the concerns of some voters by backing off on some of his previous stances, including calls to defund the police.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.