A Diverse New York City Strikes Back
A charismatic insurgent is winning in NYC, but his rise exposes a Democratic Party dilemma. Does it embrace the revolution nationally, or work to rebuild trust with a nervous, drifting middle class?
Zohran Mamdani, who is seeking to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor, beat Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary by stitching together a novel Democratic coalition across the city, largely consisting of white, Asian, and Latino voters in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
Divorce New York has spoken, and I can’t wait to hear Donald Trump’s reaction. How about you? I’m already imagining how he’ll mispronounce Mamdani’s first name, mischaracterize his politics, and note how he isn’t “really” an American. You think he’ll order ICE to grab him off the street and fly him back to Uganda, where Mamdani was born.
I wouldn’t put anything past Trump at this point.
The New York Post splashed “S.O.S.” across its front page, wailing, “Who can save New York now?” The answer’s certainly not Trump, who long ago abandoned the city for his Mar-a-Lago echo chamber. But then, you know where the Post’s panic comes from: Murdoch’s fear-fueled media empire. MAGA Republicans nationally are already branding Mamdani as the new face of the Democratic Party. And they’re not saying it as a compliment.
Mamdani ran up commanding margins in the affluent, brownstone-lined streets of Park Slope, Cobble Hill, and Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, as well as progressive strongholds like the East Village and parts of Midtown Manhattan. He was also the top vote-getter in predominantly Asian and Latino neighborhoods in Queens.
Notably, he struggled more in middle-class, predominantly Black areas in the Bronx and Southeast Queens, where Cuomo retained support. Cuomo also won pockets of support in affluent Democratic bastions like the Upper West and East Sides of Manhattan, and in Orthodox Jewish enclaves in Brooklyn, not surprising given Mamdani’s criticism of Israel’s attacks on Gaza.
The election isn’t over, of course. The city uses a ranked-choice voting system, and with no candidate receiving more than 50% of first-choice votes — Mamdani scored 41% and Cuomo 36% — we likely won’t know the final result until early July. Election officials must now reallocate the votes of lower-finishing candidates, round by round, until one contender crosses the 50% threshold.
With thousands of absentee ballots still to be counted and each round requiring verification, the full ranked-choice tabulation takes time. But within New York’s dominant Democratic party, the odds of Mamdani walking away with the win are pretty substantial.
Mamdani’s background is unique, but also uniquely American in some ways. He was born in Uganda to Mahmood Mamdani, a prominent professor of postcolonial studies, and Mira Nair, a filmmaker. He arrived in the U.S. at age 7 and became a citizen in 2001, so Trump Jr. or, perhaps, the cringe-producing JD Vance won’t have to face him in the 2028 presidential election.
Before entering politics, Mamdani, now 33, worked as a foreclosure-prevention counselor and a hip-hop DJ. To gain his seat in the State Assembly from Queens, he defeated a four-term incumbent backed by the borough’s powerful Democratic machine. Now, he’s beating the machine once again.
In his push to become New York’s mayor, Mamdani gained the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the long-time standard-bearer of the Democratic left, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the party’s most prominent next-gen progressive. More than anything else, his primary win may represent a much-needed generational revolt against a battered but battle-tested symbol of a party establishment that seems to be fading fast.
At the same time, it deepens a growing rift in the party, opening a debate over whether Democrats should lean further left in response to Trump’s far-right enablers — including the architects of the authoritarian playbook known as Project 2025 — or steer back toward a more pragmatic, centrist path aimed at winning back the disaffected middle-class voters who once formed the backbone of the party’s national strength.
In New York, an increasingly diverse America can flex its political muscle. But what about in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, where margins are thinner, backlash hits harder, and cultural friction can still decide an election? Obama won, despite all this. But he came across as a centrist with a plan that largely held to the tenets of a market-based, mainstream liberalism.
Carrying the Flag
Can a real leftist carry the national party flag? Could AOC?
New York City doesn’t offer a clear answer. And Mamdani, for all his charisma, is a tailor-made target for MAGA Republicans who insist they’re the last defenders of common sense when, in fact, they’re dismantling the institutional safeguards that protect middle-class Americans, and any notion of a shared national reality.
Still, there are hints here — generational, ideological, and stylistic hints — that folks in the Democratic Party are aching for a fresh face and a bolder vision, a champion who can not only push back against the far-right excesses of Trump and his Project 2025 enablers, but also define what comes next. And not just involving what we’re against, but what we’re for.
I’m not a long-time Democrat. I’ve been a registered independent for most of my adult life. I tend to lean conservative on economic issues, but more progressive on anything involving … well, people … and, particularly, people who really need the help. I joined the Democrats because of Trump. And I’ll be watching closely how this all plays out over the next year.
Is there a fresh face out there ready to lead the party, or just another politician set to weigh in? That’s a question now being answered in New York City. I guess we’ll see what happens on the national level. What do you think?
There is so much room for progressive thoughts and actions.
Democrats in particular need to renew their dedication to those ideals with a pragmatic understanding underlayer.
I think AOC has calmed down and is a great example of this.
I think Mamdani is an opportunity for New York to be New York, and to show us what is possible
This guy is authentic and charismatic and he listens to people and finds what they need.
If he is the face of the new Democratic party , we could do much worse.
Flexibility while standing up for our people will be key