Politico reports:

Zohran Mamdani’s allies have a message for top Empire State Democrats as President Donald Trump works to block the democratic socialist’s path to City Hall: Get off the sidelines. Now.

Pressure is mounting on Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to publicly endorse the 33-year-old candidate’s mayoral run after Trump’s team dangled jobs in front of the deeply unpopular incumbent Eric Adams to get him to drop out — in an effort to ease the path to victory for ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“We have a Democratic nominee,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. “Are we a party that rallies behind our nominee, or not?”

A quiet effort to remove Adams from the race and consolidate the field burst into public view this week after the scandal-scarred sitting mayor, mounting an independent bid, met with the president’s team in Florida. Soft landings in the Trump administration are being discussed for Adams, including a post at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, two people familiar with the conversations said. [Continue reading…]

The New York Times reports:

Zohran Mamdani has opened a commanding lead in the race for mayor of New York City, buoyed by support for his affordability platform and by the splintered opposition, according to a new survey by The New York Times and Siena University.

The poll found that 46 percent of likely voters currently planned to choose Mr. Mamdani, the Democratic nominee, in a four-way race. His support spans racial and ethnic groups but is especially strong among young and highly educated voters.

By comparison, 24 percent of likely voters in New York City said they would support former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing June’s Democratic primary; 15 percent would back the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa; and 9 percent favored Mayor Eric Adams, the scandal-scarred incumbent who is also running on an independent line. [Continue reading…]