Copyright New York Daily News
A couple of anti-Zohran Mamdani super PACs are deploying increasingly red-baiting ads about him in the final days of the New York City mayoral race as part of a broader effort to convince conservative voters to line up behind independent candidate Andrew Cuomo in next week’s election. On Monday, Defend NYC, a super PAC that’s advocating for Cuomo and against Mamdani, dropped $250,000 on an anti-Mamdani text message blast to local voters that quoted President Trump, new disclosures show. “President Trump weighed in! He said what we already know: This race is between Andrew Cuomo or Zohran Mamdani and Cuomo is the ONLY choice for mayor. Cuomo is flawed but we have to do our civic duty and vote for him to stop communism from coming to NYC,” reads the text blast, which also included a video clip of Trump deriding Mamdani as “a communist.” The text spree appears to be the first ad from a major pro-Cuomo super PAC broadcasting Trump’s incorrect claim about Mamdani being a communist. Mamdani, who has polled as the clear favorite to win next Tuesday’s mayoral election, is a democratic socialist. Among Defend NYC’s top donors are Joe Gebbia, the co-founder of Airbnb who’s also a major financial supporter of pro-Trump causes, as well as hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, another pro-Trump billionaire. The PAC is being run by Jason Meister, a political adviser to the president who told the NY Post in an interview that the deadly pro-Trump Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol should be declared a public holiday. Meister didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday. A spokesman for Cuomo, who by law can’t coordinate with any super PACs supporting his mayoral run, declined to comment. The Defend NYC spend comes as Cuomo, who’s trailing Mamdani by double digits in most polls, has been publicly trying to court Republican voters who might otherwise back GOP mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa. With Mamdani maintaining a firm grip on Democratic constituencies in the city, Cuomo likely needs at least some Republican support in order to have a path to victory. Another new pro-Cuomo super PAC, Stop the Socialists, has also deployed ads recently that are similar in portraying Mamdani as a left-wing extremist who can only be stopped by the former governor. This past Friday, Stop the Socialists plunked down $500,000 on airing a radio ad that alleges Mamdani’s “socialist agenda is driving up costs, crime and chaos and Curtis Sliwa can’t stop him,” according to disclosures filed by the super PAC. “Every vote for Sliwa helps the socialists win, Republicans don’t waste your vote, only Andrew Cuomo can beat Mamdani and protect our city’s future,” a voiceover says in the ad as dramatic music plays in the background. The same PAC spent another $500,000 last week on airing a digital ad that offers a similar pitch for Cuomo. The ad, featuring dramatic footage of disorder in New York, has a voiceover saying Mamdani’s “chaos and radical politics” would make things “worse” before acknowledging: “I know he’s not everyone’s first choice, but there’s only candidate strong enough to beat him: Andrew Cuomo. Republicans, don’t waste your vote.” An Assembly member representing northwestern Queens, Mamdani has centered his campaign on promises to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund expanded social safety nets. Those promises have prompted anxiety among conservatives and local business communities, who fear Mamdani could cause an exodus of major companies from New York, among other issues. His position on the conflict in Gaza and on Israel has also sparked criticism that his positions foster antisemitism.
