Photo: InformedImages / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
NEW YORK, N.Y. – New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been meeting privately with labor union leaders to push for a progressive, labor-aligned candidate to run for president in 2028, according to people familiar with the discussions. The meetings have not been confirmed by the mayor’s office or the union leaders involved, and the account rests on those unnamed sources.
The photograph is a June 2025 image of Mamdani campaigning in Flushing, Queens. It is an archival photo, not a picture of any of the meetings described here.
Mamdani, who is ineligible to run for president because he was born in Uganda, is said to want progressives to build on their momentum from the Nov. 3 midterm elections and to be ready to unite behind one candidate if a moderate Democrat looks set to win the nomination, according to one source who has spoken with him. That source compared the plan to how former President Barack Obama appeared to help Joe Biden consolidate support against Sen. Bernie Sanders in 2020.
According to the sources, Mamdani hosted Jimmy Williams Jr., president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, at Gracie Mansion last month, asked which potential candidates he liked and how his union’s endorsement process works, and asked whether Williams had considered running himself. Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, also met recently with Mamdani to discuss 2028, and he is said to plan a meeting soon with United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain.
The sources also said Mamdani has privately voiced uncertainty about whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, his close ally, will run for president. Ocasio-Cortez has said she is weighing both a presidential and a Senate run, according to the same reporting. That private remark is unconfirmed.
Mamdani is quoted as saying: “Progressive ideas only win when working-class voters see themselves in the fight. There’s no better way to do that than to run an actual worker for president, not a professional politician.”
The wider backdrop. Progressives had a strong run in this month’s elections, which is the context for the push. Verified from public election reports:
- New York City: Mamdani won the 2025 mayoral race, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and took office on Jan. 1.
- Los Angeles: City Councilmember Nithya Raman, who was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s Los Angeles chapter, defeated Mayor Karen Bass in the Nov. 3 runoff. Bass conceded on Nov. 5 after the count showed Raman ahead.
- Michigan: Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was elected to the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3, according to reported results, as Democrats also kept the governor’s office.
Whether those results amount to a broader progressive takeover, or whether they point to a left-wing White House bid in 2028, has not been established. Democrats of all stripes won races in the midterms, and no 2028 candidate has been named or endorsed in the reporting reviewed here.
Why it matters: the Democratic presidential field for 2028 is still wide open, and unions are among the largest sources of money and organizing in primaries. Still unknown: whether any union plans to back a candidate, whether Ocasio-Cortez will run, and whether the mayor’s office will comment on the meetings. This report will be updated if the mayor or the unions respond.
JBizNews Desk | New York, N.Y.
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