Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist and New York State Assemblyman from Queens, has now reportedly surged into a statistical tie in the New York City mayoral race, according to a new HarrisX poll.
But as his campaign gains traction, resurfaced video clips from prior years are drawing renewed scrutiny over his far-left views — including calls for the abolition of private property and support for Marxist economic principles.
Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary last month in a surprise upset, has proposed a sweeping progressive agenda that includes state-funded grocery stores, free bus service, universal childcare, and a rent freeze covering more than two million New Yorkers living in subsidized housing.
He also supports replacing police responses to crises with mental health professionals and has advocated for significant increases in both income and corporate taxes.
The candidate’s ideology is not a secret. “We have to continue to elect more socialists, and we have to ensure that we are unapologetic about our socialism,” Mamdani said in a 2021 address during a livestreamed conference hosted by the Young Democratic Socialists of America.
In the same appearance, he referenced the Marxist concept of “seizing the means of production,” saying, “There are also other issues that we firmly believe in… whether it’s the end goal of seizing the means of production where we do not have the same level of support at this very moment.”
A clip from a 2020 podcast interview has also resurfaced, in which Mamdani, then a nominee for the State Assembly, argued that “every single person should have housing.” Speaking about homelessness, he said, “If there was any system that could guarantee each person housing, whether you call it the abolition of private property or you call it a statewide housing guarantee, it is preferable to what is going on right now.”
Critics have pointed to statements like these as out of step with mainstream voters. On social media in 2020, Mamdani posted, “If we want everyone to be full participants in the economy, we need worker ownership of the means of production.”
Mamdani has also tied his campaign to broader progressive causes, including transgender rights. “The ramifications of victory here is the difference between life and death for so many of our brothers, sisters, and family beyond the binary and across this borough of Queens,” he said during the same 2021 conference.
Zohran Mamdani says he'd be in favor of the "abolition of private property" pic.twitter.com/WRs6JEG5tv
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 17, 2025
Despite his deeply progressive platform, Mamdani is running competitively in a crowded field.
The HarrisX poll places him at 26%, narrowly ahead of former Governor Andrew Cuomo at 23% and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa at 22%, all within the poll’s margin of error.
Current Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat but now running as an independent, trails at 13%, with 15% of voters still undecided.
As the race intensifies, Mamdani’s unapologetically socialist message continues to galvanize some segments of the electorate — while raising alarms among others concerned about the direction of the city’s politics.
[READ MORE: Trump Calls On AG To Release More Epstein Info]
