WASHINGTON — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren campaigned alongside New York City Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani Monday, becoming one of the most prominent political figures to show their support for him as some national Democrats have kept their distance.
Other high-profile congressional Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York, have so far been hesitant to embrace Mamdani. While Mamdani has been a popular and viral figure on the left, centrist Democrats have been cautious over Mamdani’s embrace of the democratic socialist title and his pro-Palestinian advocacy.
But leftist political figures with national profiles like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have thrown their full force behind the 33 year-old New York State Assemblymember, who won the city’s Democratic primary June 24.
Warren, who first endorsed Mamdani at the end of June after he won the primary, on Monday called the democratic socialist the “one person who has centered affordability” in the New York City mayor’s race.
“For me, New York City is the place to start the conversation for Democrats on how affordability is the central issue, the central reason to be a Democrat, and that delivering on it in meaningful tangible ways that will touch working families is why we’re here,” Warren said in a press conference after the event.
One of Mamdani’s big-ticket mayoral platforms has centered around making child care more affordable in New York City, an issue Warren has also championed. He has pledged to make child care free for all children in the city up to five years old and increase wages for childcare workers.
Speaking to those plans, Mamdani said, “We know that it is our responsibility to move beyond the broken politics of the past, of our city and our state, and start to offer an alternative across this country to what it could look like to be a people that fight for the families that raise us.”
Warren’s trip to New York City coincides with multiple media appearances Monday in which she laid out her reasons for supporting Mamdani, who has drawn the ire of President Trump and other Republicans for his progressive politics.
Warren’s top political issues are similar to Mamdani’s, with an emphasis on taxing ultra-wealthy Americans to pay for policies that benefit the working and middle class. She also was willing to attack his opponents, current Mayor Eric Adams, who was charged with political corruption before Trump’s Department of Justice dropped the charges, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after an investigation into sexual harassment accusations.
“Mamdani has specific ideas for making New York more affordable, and he’s willing to stand up to ultra-powerful special interests to turn these plans into reality,” Warren wrote in a Rolling Stone essay which published Monday, citing Mamdani’s plan to build more affordable housing, make child care more accessible, and improve consumer protections.
“That may not make him popular with the richest New Yorkers, but he’s willing to let Adams and Cuomo suck up to those guys," Warren continued. “Mamdani is fighting to make New York work for working people.”
Julian E.J. Sorapuru can be reached at julian.sorapuru@globe.com. Follow him on X @JulianSorapuru.