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How Zohran Mamdani's 'joyous' ground game helped him topple Andrew Cuomo in NYC's primary
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Supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cheer while he speaks at his primary election party, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in New York. - photo by AP Photo/Heather Khalifa
NEW YORK (AP) — On Tuesday night, shortly before polls closed in New York's Democratic mayoral primary, and less than an hour until the first signs of his seismic upset over Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani was in a Brooklyn park, searching for a ride. “He said he’d met some kids in the park who still hadn’t voted, so he sent his personal driver to get them to a poll site before it closed,” recalled Charlie Dulik, a campaign volunteer and tenant organizer, who said he approached Mamdani in the park to say hello. Instead, Mamdani climbed into Dulik’s 2007 Toyota Highlander, drawing cheers from passing pedestrians and cyclists as he made his last-minute pitch to voters while hanging from the car’s sunroof, according to the volunteer.