\n\tExtremely rich New Yorkers are having what The New York Times is calling a \u201cfreakout\u201d over the New York City mayoral race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThe Hamptons is basically in group therapy about the mayoral race,\u201d Robert Zimmerman, a political fundraiser, told the Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the root of this panic is Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, a democratic socialist who won the Democratic primary mayoral primary<\/a> in June. He is running to freeze rents, crack down on bad landlords, raise the minimum wage, and tax the rich.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI don\u2019t think we should have billionaires,\u201d he said in June. (New York City has more billionaires<\/a> than any other city.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhat they\u2019re discussing is not just Mamdani and his policies, but [former Gov. Andrew] Cuomo and [Mayor Eric] Adams and whether anyone can beat him,\u201d Zimmerman said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cEveryone\u2019s talking about it all the time,\u201d writer Molly Jong-Fast, who has a house in the Hamptons and votes in New York City \u2014 which is not uncommon among New York\u2019s elite \u2014 told the Times.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tMamdani beat Cuomo 56 percent to 44 percent in the primary in June, despite being hugely outspent. It sent a signal<\/a> to the establishment that they may not have the ultimate power.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tElites have threatened to leave New York City and its taxes if Mamdani is elected, but history and data shows they will stay<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n