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Former US President Barack Obama spoke with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Saturday, praising his campaign and offering to serve as a "sounding board" should he win next week's election, according to two people familiar with the conversation. The 30-minute private phone call, which had not been previously reported, was described by individuals who either participated in or were briefed on the discussion. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the exchange. Obama reportedly told Mamdani that he was "invested in [his] success beyond the election", and discussed the challenges of building a new administration and delivering on campaign promises related to affordability in New York City. The outreach, just days before Tuesday's election, is notable given the divisions within the Democratic establishment over Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist and Queens assemblyman. Obama has not formally endorsed Mamdani, consistent with his usual practice of avoiding involvement in municipal races. However, the call – their second conversation since the Democratic primary – is being viewed as a significant signal of support from one of the party's most influential figures. Also Read: NYC Mayoral Race Heats Up - Who's Leading and What to Know Before Election Day "Your campaign has been impressive to watch," Obama told Mamdani, according to people familiar with the call. The two also discussed plans to meet in Washington at a later date, though no schedule has been set. Who All Have Endorsed Mamdani? Other senior Democrats have been more cautious. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not said whether he will vote for Mamdani, telling reporters this week: "We're continuing to talk." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries offered his endorsement only at the start of early voting, after months of hesitation. Meanwhile, Republicans have sought to nationalise the race, with the House GOP campaign arm calling Mr Mamdani "synonymous with the Democratic Party nationwide" and framing his candidacy as evidence of Democrats "bending the knee to socialism and the far left." Mamdani shocked New York's political establishment in June when he defeated former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. Cuomo is now running as an independent, alongside Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. Obama first reached out to Mamdani shortly after that victory. According to Patrick Gaspard, a senior adviser to the Mamdani campaign and a former Obama White House aide, the call was "unsolicited, unprompted" and served as "an important signal" to the political and business establishment. "It's something President Obama didn't need to do," Gaspard said. "That call helped credential Zohran Mamdani." He added that the conversation was also personally meaningful for Mamdani, helping him to "begin to think about the kind of infrastructure he would need around him to prepare for governance." Obama's renewed contact with Mamdani came as he spent the weekend campaigning for Democratic gubernatorial candidates in Virginia and New Jersey. Since leaving office, Obama has endorsed only one mayoral candidate — Karen Bass in Los Angeles in 2022 — in a race he joined only days before the vote. Polls suggest that Mamdani's contest with Cuomo and Sliwa is less competitive than that Los Angeles race. Cuomo, seeking to erode Mamdani's support, has pointed to a decade-old social media post in which Mamdani allegedly described Obama as "evil." Mamdani has dismissed the remark as "the stupid tweet of a college student." Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.
