The election may be run in a Democratic stronghold known for its multi-ethnic diversity, but it has grabbed headlines nationwide as the charismatic outsider Mamdani represents more than just a generational divide. As a Democratic Socialist running for office in the financial capital of the world, he threatens to upend the Wall Street-based system. 

Pitted against him is a financial class that has found, in Adams and Cuomo, a pair of establishment names they hope to be capable of thwarting a Mamdani victory. After meeting with both for an hour on Tuesday, Ackman said the choice was clear.

“Mayor Adams is ready to go to battle, guns blazing with enormous energy and clarity on why Mamdani and his socialist/communist (‘We must seize the means of production’) and anti-NYPD policies would be catastrophic for NYC,” the Pershing Square hedge fund manager posted on Wednesday. “Adams is a great campaigner who can lead the grassroots effort needed to defeat Mamdani, and as mayor, he has a great platform to tell his story.”

Ackman had previously backed Cuomo, but the latter lost decisively in the primary. While Mamdani campaigned across the five boroughs on a program of tackling economic inequality, Cuomo relied heavily on his name recognition and deep-pocketed donors to out-fundraise his opponent.

“It was abundantly clear in his body language, his subdued energy, and his proposals to beat Mamdani that he is not up for the fight,” Ackman concluded after meeting with the former governor, who resigned four years ago amid sexual harassment allegations. Ackman also tacitly ruled out endorsing Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels.

Billionaire backpedals amid outcry over attempt to buy the election

Ackman sees in Mamdani’s socialist-inspired economic agenda and opposition to billionaires like him a clear threat to New York’s Wall Street financial system. Last week the activist investor vowed to help bankroll any candidate that could defeat the Democratic nominee. 

“There are hundreds of millions of dollars of capital available to back a competitor to Mamdani that can be put together overnight (believe me, I am in the text strings and the WhatsApp groups),” he wrote.

Following on the heels of the $290 million Elon Musk spent to help Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the promise to flood the campaign with money was seen by some as another example of the ultra-wealthy trying to buy elected officials.

Tearing into Ackman, Senator Bernie Sanders later told his left-leaning supporters more was at stake than just local politics.

“It’s whether ordinary citizens have ANY power in our ‘democracy’, or whether billionaires control it all,” he wrote in a post, citing a Fortune article. “We can’t let them win.”

Faced with public pushback, Ackman sought to temper his comments.

“I simply meant to suggest that fundraising was not going to be a barrier to entering the race,” he backpedaled. “I don’t believe that money can buy elections.” 

First sitting mayor to be indicted on criminal charges later dropped by Trump

It is unclear whether Ackman’s endorsement will help Adams. The 64-year-old became the first sitting mayor in the city’s modern history to face criminal allegations when he was indicted last September on federal corruption charges. His police commissioner, chief counsel and two deputy mayors all resigned amid the scandal.

The charges were later dropped when Adams agreed to cooperate with the new Trump administration crackdown on illegal immigrants. The order out of Washington triggered a round of resignations from top Justice Department prosecutors who refused to carry out Trump’s wishes.

Yet Mamdani also has vulnerabilities. For one, he faces skepticism as to whether a previously unknown state assemblyman has the experience to run a $1.2 trillion economy. And as a Muslim in the city with the second largest jewish population after Tel Aviv, there are doubts as to whether he can win support in a key constituency.

The left-wing Mamdani’s victory comes amid widespread discontent over an economy perceived to no longer be working for the middle class. After a wave globalization offshored blue-collar manufacturing jobs, generative AI now threatens to eliminate more white collar jobs. 

“Within the next five years,” tech investor Vinod Khosla recently predicted, “any economically valuable job humans can do, AI will be able to do 80% of it.”