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Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy on Monday said he’s considering running for office, potentially against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D).
Portnoy initially told Fox News’s Jesse Watters that he thought he “would never get involved in politics” and that more can be done in the private sector, but added that “what is going on has actually made me pause that thought.”
“We need leaders to step up,” he said. “Depending on what day you catch on me in Nantucket, when I roll out of bed, I have a nice ocean view, and it’s like, ‘Why do I want to ruin my life and get involved in this mess,’ because I know what comes with it? But sometimes, I do feel like it’s my duty. I can’t turn away. I feel like I could make a change.”
He added that he spends “a lot of my day losing my mind on what’s happening right now, especially in New York.” Watters pressed on whether Portnoy would run against Mamdani, to which the sports commentator replied, “If I was going to run, it would be here,” referring to the Big Apple.
“Can I win here? I have no idea,” he continued. “I don’t know the demographics, whether they’re getting enough votes. There’s a lot of people who like me in New York City. I know that. I’ve done a lot of good in New York City when I wasn’t thinking about politics, whether it’s the Barstool fund, pizza places, so it wasn’t for show.”
The pizza reviewer did not say if he would run as a Democrat, a Republican or on a third-party ticket.
Portnoy has been outspoken in his criticism of New York City’s mayor, knocking Mamdani-endorsed democratic socialist candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier’s (D) victory against Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) in the state’s Democratic primary last week.
“He is turning New York into a socialist/communist anti American city by getting ‘politicians’ like Darializa Avila Chevalier elected,” he wrote on the social platform X before listing purported remarks Avila Chevalier has said.
Earlier this month, he called Mamdani a “professional actor.”
“People slobbering all over Mandami,” he wrote on X. “I get that politicians always try to make sports about them and use it to their advantage so I guess you can’t blame Mandami for hogging the spotlight.”
The Hill has reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.
Commentators and celebrities have thrown their hats in the political ring in recent years, with President Trump being the most high-profile example after a career as a businessman, developer and reality TV star.
Former “The Hills” star Spencer Pratt made an unsuccessful bid for Los Angeles mayor against incumbent Karen Bass after his home was destroyed during the massive Palisades fire last year.
He criticized the mayor’s response and handling of that fire and the concurrent Eaton fire by casting her as a villain, with advertisements that used artificial intelligence to depict her as the “Batman” villain the Joker. These same ads depicted the city as being overrun with crime and poverty akin to Gotham City.
Pratt came in third behind Los Angeles City Council member Nithya Raman, a democratic socialist, who will face off against Bass in November.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Adriano Espaillat Dave Portnoy Donald Trump Jesse Watters Karen Bass Zohran MamdaniCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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