The socialist Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic Party primaries for the mayorship of New York City, clearly defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo, his main rival in the polls.
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Mamdani obtained 43.5% of the preferences against 36.4% for Cuomo, a member of a long-standing Democratic family.
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Why did Mamdani’s victory cause a crisis within the Democrats?
Mamdani, supported by left-wing congressmen Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, celebrated his victory by stating that the city had “renewed” its commitment to democracy and pledged to “rebuild” the city “in the image of all New Yorkers who have only known difficulties,” as reported by The New York Times.
The new Democratic candidate, self-described as a democratic socialist and who proposed, among other measures, to lower public transportation costs and freeze rents for the working class, emphasized that he will be the “mayor of all New Yorkers,” even those who voted for Cuomo or didn’t vote.
“I cannot promise that you will always agree with me, but I will never hide anything from you,” he assured. “Let’s make this city affordable for each and every New Yorker,” he concluded, surrounded by his parents and wife.
Mamdani’s triumph has generated strong repercussions and could further fracture the Democratic Party, as it reopens the debate on which position the party should take to oppose Donald Trump and the growth of the far-right in the United States: more liberal or centrist.
For example, Laura Gillen, a Democratic representative from one of the districts in New York, wrote that “the socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead the city of New York. His entire campaign has been based on unattainable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs.”.
Similarly, far-right Republicans linked to President Trump’s MAGA movement quickly rushed to label Mamdani as “the new face of the Democrats” and made xenophobic comments because he is Muslim.
“There is no doubt that Trump and the Republicans will try to use it as a kind of example of what the Democratic Party represents”, said Dave Axelrod, chief advisor to the presidency during Barack Obama’s first term, to The New York Times.
“New York City has fallen,” wrote Donald Trump Jr., and Congresswoman Nancy Mase from South Carolina commented on social media: “After 9/11 we said ‘Never Forget.’ I believe sadly we have forgotten.”
Who is Zohran Mamdani?
Born in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani arrived in New York at the age of seven as part of a migrant family of Indian origins. He received his pre-university education in the public school system, and later went on to study at Bowdoin College in Maine, from where he graduated in 2014 with a degree in African Studies.
In 2018, he obtained American nationality.
From his position in the New York State Assembly, where he arrived in 2020, he pushed for initiatives to improve the quality of life for New Yorkers and defend tenants’ rights.
Mamdani is the first legislator of Ugandan and Southeast Asian descent in the New York State Assembly, and the third Muslim to hold this position.
He is a Shia Muslim and identifies with the Twelver branch. His mother is the Indian filmmaker Mira Nair and he married the Syrian-American artist Rama Duwaji in early 2025.
The mayoral elections for the city of New York will take place on November 4th, and Mamdani’s main rival will be the current mayor Eric Adams, elected as a Democrat in 2021 but running as an independent after being accused of corruption.