Mamdani backed by Queens Senator John Liu

Queens State Senator John Liu endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor on Monday. Zohran Mamdani/X

By Ryan Schwach

Queens State Senator John Liu endorsed fellow Queens legislator Zohran Mamdani in the race for mayor on Monday, despite the two lawmakers having some major political differences.

Liu, a veteran politician and the first Asian to be elected to citywide office, split from many of his Queens Democratic colleagues to endorse Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist of America-backed candidate for mayor who has consistently polled second to former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The nod from Liu could give Mamdani a boost with the Asian American voters Liu has represented for the better part of two decades and who has the potential to have a large effect on the results of the upcoming primary election.

“My message is simple, we need a great mayor for the city of New York, and Zohran Mamdani is that guy,” said Liu, who has represented Queens in the City Council and now State Senate, and also spent a term as comptroller. “I endorse Zohran for his integrity. He is a public official, he has no scars, no marks. People may disagree with him on issues, but he has held himself to the utmost integrity.”

“He doesn't owe anybody anything," he added. “He's not beholden to any money interests.”

Mamdani, 25 years Liu’s junior, said on Tuesday that he remembered looking up to Liu as a student at Bronx Science, which Liu also attended.

“When I walked the halls of Bronx Science, I thought this man is an inspiration to what was possible in this city, the first Asian citywide elected walked those same halls many years before,” said Mamdani. “This is a state senator who has time and again showed us the possibility of bringing together a coalition of New Yorkers, those that call themselves progressive and those that don't, all of whom united in the fight for a city they can actually afford in bringing dignity from City Hall to the outer parts of the outer boroughs.”

Political experts said Tuesday that Liu’s backing could be an important endorsement for Mamdani, who recently was polling for the first time in single-digit deficit behind Cuomo, who has been endorsed by a number of Queens electeds.

“This is very significant for Zohran for a number of reasons,” said Democratic political strategist Trip Yang.

Yang argued that Liu’s endorsement expands Mamdani’s coalition to a traditional Democratic audience – the “MSNBC watching, New York Times reading type of Democrat.”

“John Liu is not viewed as a socialist, he's progressive enough to get endorsed by the Working Families Party, but also gets endorsed by labor unions and by more moderate Democratic organizations as well,” he said.

In backing Mamdani, Liu split from other, more moderate Queens electeds, most of whom have backed Cuomo.

Mamdani’s Queens elected endorsements include socialist electeds like Assemblymember Claire Valdez, State Senators Kristen Gonzalez and Julia Salazar, and City Councilmember Tiffany Cabán.

Queens electeds like Assemblymembers Stacey Pheffer Amato, David Weprin, Sam Berger, Vivian Cook, Clyde Vanel, Larinda Hooks, State Senators James Sanders, Joe Addabbo, Toby Ann Stavisk and others, have backed Cuomo.

Liu has long been one of the more progressive electeds from the World’s Borough.

“John was the progressive candidate for State Senate the first time he ran and the first time he won, he was probably the most progressive candidate to run for comptroller when he was elected comptroller,” said political strategist Evan Stavisky, who worked for Liu during his first run for the Council. “I think it would be a false narrative to paint John as anything other than as somebody who's enjoyed support from moderate Democrats and progressive Democrats in the past.”

“Throughout his nearly 25 years in public office, he has never been afraid to take a position that he believes in,” Stavisky added.

Liu said he endorsed Mamdani despite some hardline differences in their beliefs on the Israel-Palestine conflict and other local political issues.

Mamdani has long advocated for the rights of Palestinians and has been highly critical of Israel’s government, while Liu has issued his support for the Jewish nation.

“I don't agree with a lot of [Mamdani’s opinions] when it comes to Israel and the Jewish community, but he has his opinions,” said Liu. “It's grounded, I believe, in his upbringing and his learning as well. I also have my experiences. It's easy to focus on this one area of disagreement.”

Mamdani also pushed back on the glaring disagreement, saying they are rooted “in a shared humanity.”

“Remembering the words Mayor [Ed] Koch, who said…‘If you agree with me on nine out of 12 issues, vote for me, if you agree with me on 12 out of 12, see a psychiatrist,’” Mamdani said.

The duo also disagree on a Queens specific issue – giving Mets owner Steve Cohen the right to potentially build a casino on Citi Field’s parking lot, a plot of land that is technically designated as parkland.

Liu recently carried a bill through the state legislature that clears the way for Cohen to use the parkland to build his casino-centered Metropolitan Park. Liu took on the bill after the area’s representative, mayoral candidate Jessica Ramos, declined to.

Mamdani was absent when the Assembly voted on the bill, but said Tuesday he would have voted against it had he been there.

“It's something that I'm generally in opposition to,” he said.

Yang didn’t make much of the disagreements.

“The only time a political leader would agree 100 percent of the time is with themselves,” he said.

The biggest impact of the endorsement could be in the votes Liu could add to Mamdani’s coalition.

In 2021, Liu backed another Asian American candidate in Andrew Yang, who went on to dominate the Asian American vote across the city.

That electorate has increasingly become one of the most sought after voting blocs in the city, and one that no single candidate has been able to lay claim to this cycle.

“Chinese Americans are hugely significant,” said Yang. “Forty-four percent of voting eligible API in New York are Chinese American… John Liu is a great ambassador for that electorate, and helps credibility with Zohran there.”

Yang said that although Liu’s endorsement opens doors for Mamdani, it will still be up to the campaign to capitalize.

“You have to do more and put it on social media than slap a head shot on a palm card,” he said. “You have to actively communicate.”

Should Mamdani pull in that electorate, it would be a reverse in trends. In recent years, the Asian American demographic has voted steadily more conservative.

In Flushing, President Donald Trump improved his vote total from 2020 to 2024 by 11 points, according to New York Times data.

Even back in 2020, Trump still won a third of Liu’s senate district.

In 2021, then-Republican nominee for mayor Curtis Sliwa defeated Eric Adams in Flushing and performed well in other Asian majority areas in Eastern Queens.

“It remains to be seen whether or not [Liu’s] endorsement can overtake the moderate tendencies of the district he represents,” said Stavisky.

When asked about the endorsement’s potential impact on Asian voters, Liu gave a noticeably tongue-in-cheek response, which is not out of character for the political journeyman.

“We've been Asian our whole lives,” he said, “We will talk with Asian voters.”