In November, Zohran Mamdani may become the new mayor of New York. Many obstacles lay ahead for the 33 year old, who won the Democratic primary for the upcoming mayoral election on June 24. Yet his achievement has sent a jolt through the Democratic Party, which has been searching for its identity since Kamala Harris lost the presidential election in November 2024. Should the party move further left or toward the center? How can it win back working-class voters, young people and Latinos who have been defecting en masse to Donald Trump's camp? New York is not just New York: The city symbolizes the educated, liberal coastal electorate that is no longer sufficient for Democrats to win elections. But it also symbolized America in all its diversity.

Once a local assembly member, Mamdani has become a national figure. "He's not very smart," "his voice is grating," but above all, he is "a 100% Communist Lunatic," Donald Trump commented on his social network, Truth Social, in his characteristically caustic tone. "A lot of people are saying he’s here illegally. We’re going to look at everything," the billionaire even threatened on July 1, making references to Mamdani's birth in Uganda and his Indian-American mother.

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