As time winds down in the Democratic primary for New York City’s mayoral race, the two frontrunners illustrate what could be the future of the Democrat Party in 2028.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani represent competing visions for the party’s future, one rooted in institutional pragmatism and the other in grassroots radicalism and systemic change.
According to the New York Times, polling indicates that the race will be a toss-up.
Cuomo has long been a strong force within the Democratic establishment. He represents more of the Left’s “old guard,” especially considering the political power of the Cuomo family going back to the 1980s.
He has received backing from traditional Democratic figures such as Michael Bloomberg and former President Bill Clinton.
Cuomo was ousted as governor over alleged sexual misconduct and underreporting of COVID nursing home deaths, but his return to the ballot represents more than a political comeback — it signals the lingering strength of a traditional Democratic Party.
Zohran Mamdani, by contrast, is an alternative vision of the Democratic Party — one shaped by the expanding reach of left-wing progressive and socialist ideologies. The 33-year-old Democratic Socialist and state assemblyman from Queens is the son of an Indian-born Marxist scholar. Mamdani represents a progressive insurgency rather than an institutional force.
He has been endorsed by prominent Democratic Socialists such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders. He also won the endorsement of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Mamdani embodies the ethos of the ascending socialist Left: He largely dismisses corporate PAC money, mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteers to push policies like rent freezes and fare-free transit.
His opinions on the Middle East have raised his popularity among the younger, social justice-oriented activists within the Democrat Party, leading to accusations of antisemitism. He represents the rise of a new Left, and his potential victory in the Big Apple should cause Democrats to take notes for 2028.
The Democrats may learn from their mistakes and continue to back Clinton, Cuomo, or Biden-style candidates, choosing the traditional forces on the left over radical new voices. However, it is possible that to defeat any remaining MAGA candidates in 2028, the Left will invest its future in the younger, more radical progressive wing.
This challenge that the Democrats face is more consequential than the conflicts that Republican candidates will engage in as a post-Trump era approaches. The Right has already made its shift toward Trump’s style of politics over the traditional GOP. This means the task for Republican voters in 2028 will simply be to choose who embodies that vision best.
Democrats, on the other hand, face the task of choosing their party’s fate, either as a new, radical, and socialist-influenced party or one of the traditional and more moderate Left. The mayoral race in New York City serves as an early illustration of this forthcoming battle, and Democrats nationwide ought to take notes.
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