Nearly every time he name-checked his political ideology – democratic socialism – at a business-centered forum Thursday, Zohran Mamdani paused for a laugh. And nearly every time, the audience complied.

Mamdani, the front-runner in New York City’s mayoral race, knew those in the audience of business and civic leaders gathered inside a Columbus Circle venue for a forum hosted by the Association for a Better New York weren’t among the crowd effusively cheering his upset win in June’s Democratic primary. The crowd isn’t exactly intertwined with Mamdani’s leftist base.

Mamdani nonetheless found an attentive audience, who have had nearly four months to get used to the possibility of a New York City mayor even further left than Bill de Blasio. Following his Democratic primary win, Mamdani and h

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