Earlier in November, New York City elected a Marxist as mayor. While his Islamist sympathies and ties have rightly received significant attention, it is crucial to emphasize the extent of Chinese support behind Zohran Mamdani.
This isn’t to say that former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo is free from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) influence. Consider his and Governor Kathy Hochul’s former aide Linda Sun, an alleged Chinese spy, or Cuomo’s mayoral campaign aide Lining “Larry” He, who resigned after his past ties to CCP-linked companies came to light.
Chinese influence is rampant in New York politics, even among some Republican officials.
There is no doubt, though, that Mamdani was the CCP’s preferred candidate. He was by far the more polarizing choice, supported by a network of far-left, Beijing-linked activist groups and figures. For the Chinese, the goal is to sow as much political discord as possible within an adversary — unrestricted warfare that integrates psychological and cultural tactics to advance the CCP’s strategic objectives.
Mamdani was backed by the Singham Network, a web of far-left organizations funded by CCP-linked and Shanghai-based billionaire Neville “Roy” Singham, currently under federal investigation for funding riots across the country. These groups include the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), the ANSWER Coalition, Code Pink, and The People’s Forum. The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), of which Mamdani is a member, is aligned with these groups.
READ MORE: Socialists Reportedly Pushing Mamdani to Make NYC a BDS Battleground
Architect of NYPD's 'Social Worker Swap' Now Named Top Mamdani Aide
These organizations overlap in terms of membership and leadership and serve as vehicles for the CCP to push anti-American, anti-capitalist, and pro-Beijing propaganda.
For example, the ANSWER Coalition and The People’s Forum are conveners of the “Shut It Down for Palestine” (SID4P) protest movement, which promotes anti-American, anti-Jewish, Marxist messages, and seeks to cause social unrest in public places. This fits squarely with the CCP’s goal to weaken adversaries internally, without having to fire a single bullet. While the PSL is not officially a member of SID4P, they are a close ally, sharing financial resources and personnel.
Many of these groups proudly declared their support for Mamdani, including The People’s Forum’s co-founder and 2024 PSL nominee, Claudia De la Cruz.
Zohran Mamdani’s victory signals the mood of the people. The people want to have their needs and aspirations at the heart of politics. More importantly, people are seeking solutions to real problems. The mood of the people has been confirmed. Last night, NYers voted against the…
— Claudia De la Cruz (@Claud9_) June 25, 2025
Last night, NYers voted against the chokehold that has been the rule of billionaires. This is a very significant political moment.
Some people are big mad today because NYers voted with consciousness against genocide and apartheid, for affordability and a new vision for NY, they voted against the fear mongering and anti socialist agenda- and won!
— Claudia De la Cruz (@Claud9_) November 5, 2025
Let’s make them real big mad and build a socialist movement…
Let’s make them real big mad and build a socialist movement independent of the two party system and the billionaire class! The consciousness is there - now we organize.
What should socialists do after Mamdani’s win?
— Party for Socialism and Liberation (@pslnational) November 5, 2025
Mamdani’s victory is a testament to a deepening of working class consciousness and a widespread desire for change. But now is not the time to sit back and assume our work is done.
In fact, as 2024 socialist presidential candidate… pic.twitter.com/Z75TH7GzyO
In fact, as 2024 socialist presidential candidate Claudia De la Cruz states, what we do next is as critical as ever. Now, we must engage our people in the work to forge a deep transformation of society.
Code Pink — a leftist group co-founded by former Democrat operative Jodie Evans, Singham’s wife — also promoted Mamdani and as expected, labeled all opposition to Mamdani as “Islamophobic” and "racist":
Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor didn’t just shake the political establishment, it unleashed a flood of racist, Islamophobic hate. pic.twitter.com/kLUTyGfIS5
— CODEPINK (@codepink) June 29, 2025
Rep. Andy Ogles wants to deport Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim elected official for being a democratic socialist. Yes, really.
— CODEPINK (@codepink) July 2, 2025
His Islamophobic, red-scare rhetoric is not only ignorant, it’s dangerous. While Gaza burns and Mamdani receives death threats, Ogles is fanning the… pic.twitter.com/A2V1OM2D1a
...Ogles is fanning the flames.
We went to his office to get some answers. His staff left us with more questions.
Far-left CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities and DRUM Beats — whose sibling organization is DRUM – Desis Rising Up and Moving — both endorsed Mamdani, and played a critical role in get out the vote efforts in Asian American communities. CAAAV and DRUM Beats worked closely with the DSA to mobilize volunteers and donors.
CAAAV has a history of working with the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) — another far-left organization that has received nearly half a million dollars in donations from CCP-linked sources since 2018, including from Chinese state-run enterprises — while DRUM Beats and its sibling organization maintain a close relationship with The People’s Forum. The CPC expressed enthusiasm about Mamdani’s “historic win,” referring to it as a “victory for the AAPI [Asian American and Pacific Islander] community.”
But the Mamdani campaign’s connection to Singham doesn’t stop there. Singham’s niece, Alicia Singham Goodwin, a DSA leader, and his sister, Shanti Singham — a lecturer at East China Normal University — along with her husband, Daniel Goodwin, donated thousands to a Mamdani PAC.
Singham Goodwin helped launch the “Jews for Zohran” campaign that sought to whitewash Mamdani’s anti-Jewish record, and convince Jewish community members and politicians to back his run. This group worked closely with Soros-funded Jewish Voice for Peace Action and Bend the Arc: Jewish Action PAC (no leftist story would be complete without a good dose of Soros financing).
Two of Mamdani’s top donors, who collectively contributed more than half a million dollars to his super PAC, held high-level positions at AppLovin, a California-based tech company with alleged ties to Beijing.
SEE ALSO: Toldjah So: Mamdani's Statement on Pro-Hamas Agitators Harassing NYC Synagogue Was Something Else
Manhattan Moment: Mob Descends on 135-Year-Old NYC Synagogue Screaming, 'Globalize the Intifada!'
New York state Senator John Liu (D-Queens-16) endorsed Mamdani in June. Liu is known for his close relationship with the CCP. He attends events organized by the Chinese consulate in New York City. He even defended Linda Sun, describing her as “diligent, professional, and conscientious.”
Since 2013, he has raked in $27,000 in donations from various New York-based Chinese cultural and business associations with ties to the Chinese government. In years prior, Liu received tens of thousands in contributions from such organizations, some of which are connected to triads.
Liu’s connection to the United Front Work Department (UFWD) — the arm of the CCP tasked with carrying out influence operations at home and abroad — is alarming. On a trip to China in 2007, Liu met with Xu Yousheng, deputy director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office — an external name of the UFWD. Liu is on the record for sitting down with anti-Falun Gong provocateurs and supporting groups that distribute anti-Falun Gong literature in the U.S., refusing to engage with practitioners themselves.
On the social media front, CCP-controlled TikTok was allegedly boosting pro-Mamdani content while suppressing pro-Cuomo videos in an effort to shape public opinion. TikTok is central to the CCP’s cognitive warfare apparatus, which is part of the Beijing’s unrestricted warfare strategy. Voters under age 30 overwhelmingly cast their ballots for Mamdani. Fifty-six percent of American adults between the ages of 18 and 34 claim to use TikTok, with 43 percent of adults under 30 saying that they get their news from the platform.
Pro-CCP influencers were also directly involved in the campaign or spent time promoting Mamdani. Left-wing YouTuber Eric Hovagim served as a volunteer video editor for the campaign. He has put out videos in support of the CCP, denying the Uyghur genocide. Hovagim now resides in China.
Eric Hovagim was a video editor on the Zohran campaign.
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) November 16, 2025
He recently moved to China as an open supporter of the Chinese Communist Party.
He posts pro-Chinese military edits and filmed a Uyghur restaurant in China in order to try claim there is no Uyghur oppression.
He claims… pic.twitter.com/OdLI4H3Pfz
He claims that China liberated Tibetans from slavery by invading and annexing their country. Tankies are scum.
Rather than presenting concrete evidence, this report uses drawings(!), screenshots of Google Maps, and a handful of random images of Chinese police officers
— Eric Hovagim (@EricHovagim) November 16, 2025
Alternatively here is my friend, Gerald, who was actually thrown in prison 30 years ago without a fair trial in Louisiana https://t.co/Q5dWX8oO1Q pic.twitter.com/3AIyn191QI
During the race, he uploaded a series of videos in an effort to boost Mamdani (like the ones below). Hovagim claims he did not receive compensation from the campaign to do so.
Hasan Piker — a prominent leftist influencer and nephew of Cenk Uygur, co-creator of The Young Turks — threw his support behind Mamdani as well. Piker, who is closely associated with the DSA and PSL, similarly released videos in support of the campaign, among them an interview with Mamdani.
At Mamdani’s election watch party, Piker characterized the U.S.’s victory over the USSR as a tragedy. Soon after, he traveled to China and sat down with a prominent Chinese state media propagandist to dispel “rumors,” “misunderstandings,” and “outright lies” about communist China.
Hasan Piker at Zohran Mamdani's victory party:
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 5, 2025
"This is the country that defeated the USSR. Unfortunately."pic.twitter.com/BYkgD81GJE
Real reason why mega #US influencer Hasan Piker is in #China pic.twitter.com/7uDql3kT6t
— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) November 13, 2025
While there, he also said the following:
Hasan Piker while in China: "I don't have any patriotism in my heart for America" pic.twitter.com/PhcfrMEKlN
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 11, 2025
None of this is a coincidence. Mamdani’s election should serve as a warning to everyone about how the CCP wields its financial resources, vast network of organizations, and platforms to interfere in American elections at all levels. Beijing seeks to elevate political voices that exacerbate domestic divisions and weaken the institutions and values that are foundational to the American republic.
The CCP runs a global influence campaign that is more elaborate, wide-reaching, and deeply penetrating than that of the Soviet Union or, for that matter, any other regime.
It is an issue that will require a comprehensive response from our elected officials. It may be time to resurrect the House Un-American Activities Committee or to create a special Department of Justice task force to tackle the wave of anti-American ideologies and treasonous activity, backed by China and other malign actors, that is sweeping this country.
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