New York's financial elite launches offensive to stop Mamdani's candidacy

The victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York is generating panic in the markets and has already provoked a response from the city's financial class.

According to The Wall Street Journal, one of New York's wealthiest financial groups built an independent group that plans to raise millions of dollars to stop Mamdani's candidacy.

Identified as a "democratic socialist," Mamdani surprised the entire country after soundly defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, emerging as the front-runner in November's general election, which generated strong backlash from Wall Street and large real estate investors.

Against that backdrop, a group of big businessmen and investors initiated efforts to thwart Mamdani and prevent him from becoming mayor. This week, according to the WSJ, it officially registered the independent expenditure committee New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25, which will seek to raise at least $20 million to fund campaigns against him and prop up alternative candidates such as the current mayor Eric Adams, who went from trailing in the race to gaining substantial support in recent weeks brings Mamdani's win.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon took a public stance, calling Mamdani "more Marxist than socialist" and disparaging his message as "empty ideology that doesn't work in the real world."

For his part, President Donald Trump sharply questioned the socialist candidate, calling him "100% communist," and warned New Yorkers, "If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places where we have to."

Mamdani, a 33-year-old assemblyman from Queens, has proposed a markedly progressive agenda that includes a rent freeze on regulated housing, higher taxes on millionaires, the creation of public supermarkets, and a significant overhaul of the role of private capital in essential services. For much of the New York economic establishment, his ideas represent a direct threat to the U.S. economy.

Despite efforts to build an anti-Mamdani front, the "opposition" to the Democratic leader remains utterly fragmented. Neither Adams nor Cuomo declined their candidacies, which complicates the possibilities of presenting a unified alternative from the most independent sector. They are joined by Republican Curtis Sliwa, further dividing the conservative vote.

Meanwhile, Mamdani continues to gain strength in the polls, reinforced by the support of the progressive sectors of the Democratic Party, and appears more conciliatory. Soon, he will participate in a meeting with CEOs organized by the Partnership for New York City, which demonstrates his apparent intention to open channels of dialogue with the New York business world.