Mayor Zohran Mamdani met with top union leaders recently to find a left-wing presidential hopeful for 2028. He spoke about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but started working on a backup plan. The mayor met Jimmy Williams Jr. and Sara Nelson, and he will sit down with Shawn Fain on Wednesday at Gracie.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke glowingly about Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but is working on an early Plan B in case she decides against running for president.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has held several closed-door meetings with top union leaders in recent weeks, using his influence to try to build early consensus for a left-wing presidential candidate.
The mayor recently met with the head of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Jimmy Williams Jr. The two holed up for a 45-minute discussion at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's Upper East Side residence.
Mr. Mamdani also met with Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents flight attendants at 20 airlines. On Wednesday, he will sit down at Gracie with Shawn Fain, the head of the autoworkers union.
The mayor's goal, his political aides said, is to try to identify the best progressive presidential candidate and to coalesce the left behind whoever that is, in order to counter any momentum from a more moderate Democrat as the 2028 presidential race draws near.
The behind-the-scenes effort may seem like an overreach for a politician who was scarcely known just two years ago. But since his ascension to mayor, Mr. Mamdani has spearheaded a handful of like-minded progressive candidates, including some who were elected to Congress last week.
Mr. Mamdani was particularly helpful in boosting Representatives-elect Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in their primary wins over more established foes, establishing kingmaker qualities that he seems intent on building out to the White House.
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