Elon Musk calls Zohran Mamdani the ‘future of Democratic party’ as New York mayoral early voting begins

Zohran Mamdani, the New York mayoral hopeful, has found himself another elite supporter — tech billionaire Elon Musk — as early voting in the city of 8.5 million began on Saturday.

Musk has called Mamdani the “future of the Democratic Party” as the Democratic socialist and Donald Trump foe closes in on the Big Apple's top job.

The Election Day for New York City is scheduled for November 4, and the new mayor is expected to take office in the New Year.

The latest citywide poll by Victory Insights showed Mamdani at 47 per cent support, followed by former governor Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary but is running as an independent, at 29 per cent.

Here's what Elon Musk said:

At a get-out-the-vote rally on Sunday, Zohran Mamdani was boosted by prominent US leftists, including Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Elon Musk shared a video from the event, where Governor Kathy Hochul can be heard saying, “With your help, we will elect Zohran and we take back America.”

Alongside the video, the tech billionaire said, “Zohran is the future of the Democratic Party”

At the Sunday rally, a crowd of thousands pounded their feet on bleachers, creating a thunderous sound. As the light dimmed and the night grew chillier, the smiling crowds held up their cell phone lights, giving the gathering a festival-like atmosphere.

Comedians, poets, and activists spoke ahead of 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, framed by banners reading “universal childcare,” “freeze the rent,” and “making buses fast and free”.

The crowd noisily booed when Trump, who has called Mamdani “a little communist,” was mentioned.

New York City comptroller and Mamdani ally Brad Lander said, “It's not Donald Trump versus Zohran Mamdani, it's Donald Trump versus New Yorkers.”

‘Vote Zohran – for a city we can afford’

The race has been dominated by the issue of cost of living, as well as by how each candidate would handle Trump, who has threatened to withhold federal funds if Zohran Mamdani is elected.

A giant yellow banner on a busy expressway linking New York's Brooklyn and Queens boroughs proclaimed: “Vote Zohran -- for a city we can afford.”

Astronomical rents and housing scarcity are pervasive problems in America's most populous city, with 8.5 million people, where one in four individuals cannot afford life's essentials.

In June, the median New York rent exceeded $4,000 for the first time, according to the StreetEasy property site – more than double the US average.

Unregulated rents increased by 5.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter in 2024.

Mamdani has said he wants to freeze rents for the two million rent-stabilised tenants whose housing increases are governed by the city, and build 200,000 additional homes in the next decade.

Mamdani painted Andrew Cuomo, the former New York state governor, as a friend of landlords and big business, attacking him in a debate for policies that neglect the cost of living.

"That's why he lost the primary. That's why he'll lose the general election," Mamdani said in a TV debate.

In the race's latest twist, scandal-tainted current mayor Eric Adams gave public backing to 67-year-old Cuomo – after previously calling him a “snake and a liar”.

(With agency inputs)