Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont is ready to work with Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayoral race, if he wins next week’s election.
On CNN Thursday morning, he said Mamdani has run a great campaign.
If he wins?
“Now it's time to transition,” Lamont said. “Is he a mayor who can govern? Part of that's going to be reaching out to the business community and Wall Street and saying, ‘I'm here to fight for all the people.’”
Lamont specifically credits Mamdani with focusing on affordability on the campaign trail, a top issue for Americans nationwide.
However, he echoed popular sentiments that have followed Mamdani on the trail; that he’s a 34-year-old New York State assemblymember with only a few years of experience in elected office.
“I think Mamdani, better than any of the other Democrats, is really making affordability front and center. That's why he's a very strong frontrunner in this race,” Lamont said. “I am reminded, though, of what George Washington once told Alexander Hamilton: 'Revolutions are easy, governing is hard.' So we got to think about the next step.”
Mamdani, a self-described democratic-socialist, has turned heads with his proposals. He wants city-run grocery stores, a rent freeze for stabilized tenants, free city buses, and higher taxes on the city’s wealthiest 1%.
He is 10 points ahead of former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the polls. Lamont had endorsed Cuomo before the primary.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 4. More than 370,000 New Yorkers have already voted.
