Bernie Sanders Will Endorse Zohran Mamdani for N.Y.C. Mayor

Zohran Mamdani, the left-wing Democrats’ fast-rising hope to win the party’s mayoral primary in New York City, will be endorsed on Tuesday by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mr. Sanders’s support follows the endorsement by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, giving Mr. Mamdani the aid of the country’s two leading progressive leaders.

Mr. Sanders, an independent who grew up in Brooklyn, and Ms. Ocasio-Cortez have been traveling across the country on an a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour that has drawn huge crowds to oppose President Trump’s agenda. Now they are joining to back Mr. Mamdani and oppose his strongest challenger, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

Mr. Sanders said in a statement that Mr. Mamdani was running an “inspirational” campaign and was a “visionary” leader and praised his plan to tax the wealthy.

“Our nation faces a fundamental choice: Will we continue with a corporate-dominated politics driven by billionaires or will we build a grass-roots movement fueled by everyday people, committed to fighting oligarchy, authoritarianism and kleptocracy?” Mr. Sanders said.

He added, “The New York City Democratic primary presents a clear choice as to the path forward.”

It was not immediately clear if Mr. Sanders intended to campaign with Mr. Mamdani, as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez did on Saturday at an enthusiastic rally at Terminal 5, a concert venue in Manhattan. He did not make an endorsement in the 2021 mayoral contest, and waited until a week before Election Day to officially back Bill de Blasio’s re-election in 2017.