Mayor Zohran Mamdani crisscrossed the campaign trail this weekend on behalf of his slate of progressive congressional candidates after low early voting turnout raised alarm within the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Mamdani drew throngs of supporters Saturday in Bushwick, Greenpoint and Williamsburg, where volunteers canvassed for Assemblymember Claire Valdez, who is locked in a competitive primary for the 7th Congressional District against Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso. Supporters snapped selfies with Valdez and the mayor himself.
Mamdani’s seemingly relentless campaigning began Thursday night with a rally at Kings Theater with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. On Saturday night, he and Valdez did a bar crawl, hitting nightclubs in Bushwick like Bossa Nova Civic Club and Purgatory. Senior members of the Democratic Socialists of America acknowledged that Mamdani’s presence was in part due to low turnout.
Democrats cast 172,684 over the nine-day early-voting period, down 55% from last year, with just 5% of eligible voters casting ballots. The overall drop in turnout includes far fewer younger voters compared to last year’s record-setting levels.
“The mayor himself took these numbers very seriously as well, and has been campaigning with us pretty aggressively,” said Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of NYC-DSA, referring to low turnout in the Valdez-Reynoso race.
“The fact that he has been able to give his megaphone to our candidates has been a really big game changer this cycle for us.”
Experts say the lower turnout rate is not surprising given there is no competitive city or statewide contest on the ballot. That puts pressure on individual down ballot candidates to drive turnout in their respective races. Mamdani has made high-profile endorsements in three Congressional primaries, framing the contests as a referendum on the future of the Democratic primary. By putting himself at the center of the contests he’s also made the primaries a measure of his political strength.
“In 2026, neither Zohran Mamdani nor Andrew Cuomo are on the ballot. And so it should not be a surprise to us that turnout is lower when the most beloved and arguably the most reviled figures in New York politics are not being voted on,” said Amit Singh Bagga, a Democratic political strategist and Mamdani ally.
Bagga said current turnout numbers suggest more traditional turnout patterns are holding in this race, which tend to see higher rates of voting among whiter, wealthier, better-educated, and older voters.
“There is no question that both the mayor and down-ballot candidates are under increased pressure as a result,” Bagga added.
Early-voter turnout accelerated the most in the 7th Congressoinal District, with numbers more than tripling in the second half of early voting. But the turnout rate in the district remained low with about 6% of registered Democrats participating.
Mayor Mamdani held a get out the vote event Thursday at Kings Theater.
Still, turnout there remains low compared to Manhattan’s 12th Congressional District, where about 12% of registered Democrats casting ballots early.
The 10th Congressional District, where Rep. Dan Goldman is facing a challenge from former Comptroller Brad Lander, was the only assembly district that saw higher turnout during early voting compared to 2025. The election districts in Assembly District 48 that are within the 10th Congressional District had 1,511 early voters this year, more than three times the turnout from last year.
That portion of AD 48 that saw the spike in voter turnout was in Borough Park, which includes a large bloc of Hasidic voters whose leaders endorsed Rep. Dan Goldman last month.
Turnout among Gen Z and millennial voters still remains low at about 4%, about a third of what it was during early voting in the 2025 primaries.
Gordillo said he’s optimistic about Tuesday’s races even with turnout numbers below 2025 levels.
“Victory is within reach,” he said, “but we still have work to do.”
