Mamdani meets with union bigwig – as he searches for lefty 2028 candidates

Detailed summary

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is meeting UAW President Shawn Fain today as part of talks to field a progressive 2028 presidential candidate.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is meeting with the head honcho of the powerful United Auto Workers union later today as part of his latest sit-down meetings with labor leaders over fielding a lefty 2028 presidential candidate.

Hizzoner’s 5 p.m. Gracie Mansion meeting with Shawn Fain, the head of the over 100,000-member-strong union repping workers in everything from higher education to aerospace, is just the mayor’s latest meeting with labor honchos while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez mulls over whether she will run for the White House.

Mamdani has held closed-door meetings in recent weeks discussing potential candidates while privately expressing doubt over whether socialist darling AOC will ultimately run for president in 2028.

Hizzoner “wants the progressive ecosystem to mobilize quickly, strategically and efficiently if a moderate candidate is clearly on the rise,” one source who spoke directly with Mamdani told Axios, which first reported the conversations.

Lefty politicos, including many former staffers from Mamdani’s winning mayoral campaign, launched a “Ready for AOC” hybrid PAC aimed at getting the socialist darling to throw her hat in the ring, The Post previously reported.

Fain made waves in left-wing circles after leading aggressive strikes against automakers in 2023 and has been floated as a potential presidential candidate. Fain told Detroit News last month he has “no plans” on running for the White House.

The UAW was one of the first unions to endorse Mamdani’s 2025 mayoral campaign and where DSA congresswoman and close ally Claire Valdez worked as an organizer before running for office.

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