Zohran Mamdani wears many titles: the first South Asian to serve in the New York State Assembly, the third Muslim member in its history, and the youngest candidate in the upcoming mayoral primary. He is known for the bold promises of freezing rent and making MTA buses free, yet he remains relatively unknown to many New Yorkers. That's precisely why large-scale canvassing efforts are crucial to his campaign.

Energetic Turnouts

Amidst the chilling weather, nearly 400 volunteers converged on Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn last Saturday for Assemblymember Zohran Mamdami’s mayoral primary campaign canvassing kickoff. The plaza, already bustling with a major public event in the Brooklyn Library, became even more animated as Mamdani supporters of diverse ages and backgrounds, some with children at hand, gathered, drawing curious onlookers from the surrounding crowd.

The canvassing kicked off with Mamdami’s speech to his supporters. “We are here because we know that the city that the working class people deserve is the city within reach, we just have to fight for it,” he declared. “Because it’s days like today where we win this race, it is not the days where the weather is nice, it is the days when no one would expect us to be out there.”

After the speech and a quick photo shoot, the volunteers gathered into small cohorts, where they have been provided a brief canvassing training and a buddy assignment for first-time volunteers. Campaign organizers, who had originally anticipated between 100 to 200 participants, quickly adapted their training modules to accommodate the overwhelming turnout. David, one of the organizers, could barely contain his excitement. “We’ve seen so many more people than we anticipated – it’s truly incredible to witness this level of engagement.”

As teams dispersed across Brooklyn neighborhoods, participants ranging from seasoned political activists to first-time volunteers went door-to-door spreading Zohran's initiatives. By the day’s end, it has been reported by Zohran’s team that the volunteers knocked on 11,717 doors throughout the area.

What’s Next for Zohran?

The enthusiasm carried into the late afternoon as the volunteers returned to the local pub to share their experiences. Among them was Alex, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, reflecting on the significance of the day. “Almost nine out of ten people that I encountered were, I'd say, fairly optimistic about him. Most responses were questions, rather than skepticisms.”

When asked what steps Zohran should take next, Alex states “expand the campaign's voter base” without hesitation. “His story resonates with so many New Yorkers who’ve never seen themselves represented in city leadership. He is the one with the most funding raised by any candidate in a single filing period for this election–he just needs to get his name out there.”

“To me, and many others I know, integrity is where Zohran stands out,” Alex continued. “I’ve seen it from him joining the taxi drivers’ hunger strike–and so many more stories out there showing that he takes direct action to support the livelihoods of the people.”

Concerns have been raised by The City and others about whether Mamdani's viral online presence–featuring short videos of him interacting with New Yorkers on the streets, from halal vendors to taxi drivers–will translate into voter turnout. Additionally, his stance as a pro-Palestinian democratic socialist has drawn criticism from various parties.

Zohran's extensive canvassing campaign has just begun, and it plans to take place from Astoria to Washington Heights, until February 2nd. This ground game could prove crucial for a candidate who, despite his role in state politics and viral social media presence, still needs to build broader recognition among New York City voters.