Even if Mr. Mamdani is as awful as his opponents insist, campaigning against an opponent’s flaws works only if you don’t seem even worse.

Opponents of the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City have derogatively called him both a socialist and a democratic socialist to make a dent in his lead in the polls.

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“The Hamptons is basically in group therapy about the mayoral race.”

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Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic front-runner in the New York City mayor’s race, is fending off attacks that seek to link him to some of the D.S.A.’s more controversial stances.

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Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City, has nearly four times more campaign funds than Andrew M. Cuomo, thought to be his closest rival.

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A report by the nonpartisan Citizens Budget Commission comes at a time when income inequality and affordability have been the most prominent themes in the race for New York City mayor.

© Ashley Gilbertson for The New York Times