Before he ran for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani began his political career as a state assembly member in Astoria, Queens. In 2020, Mamdani joined a slate of five socialists running for state office with the backing of New York City Democratic Socialists of America (NYC-DSA). All five won their races and helped cement the chapter’s role in New York politics.

After its victory in the New York City mayoral race, NYC-DSA is assembling its next slate of socialist electeds to take on New York’s political machine and fight for a more affordable New York. On December 8, the chapter endorsed Diana Moreno to run for Mamdani’s assembly seat in Queens.

Moreno’s team will now sprint toward a special election, which will likely be on February 3 (New York governor Kathy Hochul will determine the exact date for the special election in January). According to her campaign, Moreno has raised more than $51,000 from more than 800 donors since declaring her candidacy and knocked on more than 2,400 doors in December.