Key facts
- Mayor Zohran Mamdani attended a private fundraiser for Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed in New York City on Monday.
- The event required attendees to donate at least $3,500 to El-Sayed's campaign.
- Donations of up to $57,800 were encouraged at the private fundraiser.
- Mamdani's attendance marked his first known in-person campaign support for a congressional candidate outside New York.
- El-Sayed is running for the Senate seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.
- Co-hosts of the event included Alexis Bittar, Michael Stipe, Brad Lander, Jamaal Bowman, and Chi Osse.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani made his first known appearance to support a congressional candidate outside of New York when he attended a high-dollar fundraiser for Michigan Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed earlier this week. The private event, held on Manhattan's Upper West Side on Monday, required attendees to donate at least $3,500, with an encouraged contribution up to the legal maximum of $57,800.
Later that day, El-Sayed's campaign held a larger, publicly announced fundraiser in downtown Manhattan, where the minimum donation was $250. The gathering of donors came as both Mamdani and El-Sayed face pressure to build trust beyond their existing political bases, including among Jewish voters.
Co-hosts for the event included jeweler Alexis Bittar, former R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, presumptive House Democratic Rep. Brad Lander, former Congressman Jamaal Bowman, and Brooklyn Councilman Chi Osse. Political strategists Andrew Bard Epstein and Zara Rahim, who have ties to Mamdani's campaign, also co-hosted. El-Sayed, a Democrat, is running against Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters.