Avowed socialist Zohran Mamdani’s win in the Democratic primary for New York mayor delivered a massive victory for the Democratic Party’s insurgent wing and knocked the party establishment back on its heels.
Old-school Democrats had lined up behind disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded.
The commanding performance by Mr. Mamdani, who is running on promises of free public transit and child care, reflects the changing demographics of New York City.
Hank Sheinkopf, a New York-based Democratic strategist, said it also showcased how the “most pampered generation in history” wants to redefine a leaderless Democratic Party.
“If you’re an older Democrat, it’s very bad news. It tells you your time is coming to a conclusion,” he said. “Clintonism is finally dead. It is now the party of the AOCs with the Godfather as Bernie Sanders.”
Mr. Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim state assemblyman, anchored his campaign on making New York City more affordable. He promoted a socialist-inspired wish list of free child care, free bus service, rent freezes and public-owned grocery stores.
He advocated for raising the city’s minimum wage to $30 per hour and increasing taxes on businesses and the wealthiest New Yorkers to help pay for it.
Republicans were left licking their chops, not because they believe GOP candidate Curtis Silwa now has a strong shot at winning the November election for mayor, but because they will be able to make Mr. Mamdani the national poster boy for the Democratic Party.
Republicans are confident Mr. Mamdani’s politics — ranging from his characterization of Israel’s military operations in Gaza as “genocide” to stated desire to “ban all guns” and plan to invest tens of millions of dollars on sex changes for “both transgender youth and adults” — are too far afield for most voters.
“I call on [Gov.] Kathy Hochul and all New York Democrats to immediately state if they endorse Zohran Mamdani for NYC Mayor, and all the radical socialist policies he has endorsed on his campaign,” said Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, who is running to unseat Ms. Hochul.
The National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm, said “every single Democrat now owns Mamdani’s radical socialist agenda to defund police, abolish prisons & stop ICE from deporting criminals.”
Mr. Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Mr. Mamdani. Former President Bill Clinton backed Mr. Cuomo.
The general election will be a very different contest with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams running as an independent and Mr. Cuomo possibly back on the ballot as an independent, too.
The Democratic primary is not officially over. Under the ranked-choice system, votes that went to a losing candidate will be redistributed to the voter’s second choice until one candidate breaks the 50% threshold to be declared the winner.
Mr. Mamdani is already taking fire from his top general election rival, Mr. Adams, who political analysts say has an opportunity to seize the political middle and cobble together a winning coalition of independents and moderate-minded voters.
“He is a snake oil salesman,” Mr. Adams said on Wednesday on Fox News. “He will say and do anything to get elected.”
Mr. Adams is also running with political baggage.
He was indicted last fall on federal corruption charges of scheming to solicit donations from foreign nationals.
But a federal judge tossed out the charges after President Trump’s Justice Department decided to stop prosecuting him.
That’s why he left the Democratic Party to run as an independent.
Mr. Cuomo’s political future, meanwhile, looks dim.
He told the New York Times he is assessing whether to run in the general election as an independent.
Mr. Sliwa, the red-beret-wearing founder of the Guardian Angels, a crime prevention group, and lawyer Jim Walden, who is running as an independent, are also expected to be on the ballot.
Mr. Mamdani’s brand of Democratic socialism, combined with his charisma and grassroots focus of his campaign, resonated with young voters and in the well-heeled liberal enclaves of the city.
He drew fans such as David Hogg, a left-wing activist who was ousted from the Democratic National Committee after threatening to finance primary challengers against establishment incumbents.
Mr. Hogg said Mr. Mamdani’s win was “a symbol of Democratic voters’ deep desire to turn the page on a failed status quo and the leaders who created it.”
Still, Mr. Cuomo got the better of Mr. Mamdani among the city’s lower-income and Black voters.
Mr. Mandami’s struggles with those voters are not lost on Democrats still reeling from an election cycle in which Mr. Trump hardened his grasp on the working-class, including in minority communities.
“The people that make the country work don’t have any use for [Mr. Mamdani],” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “The same way that people who use their hands to make things and make the country work don’t have any use for Democrats in most places.”
“This is the November election in continuation,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.