Zohran Mamdani: What a Democratic Socialist Mayor could mean for NYC

By James Kang, New York Politics
Photo: Getty Images

The 2025 Democratic mayoral primary stunned New York City when former Governor Andrew Cuomo conceded to Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo was a political veteran strongly favored by Democratic leaders, despite having a sexual harassment scandal in 2021. The odds had been stacked against the 33-year-old Assemblyman, a newcomer to citywide politics.  Yet Mamdani made history. “In the words of Nelson Mandela, ‘It always seems impossible until it is done,’” Mamdani remarked. “My friends, we have done it. I will be your Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City.” While the unexpected outcome defied expectations, questions are now raised about the future political landscape of New York—and America as a whole.  

Background

Born in Kampala, Uganda, Zohran Kwame Mamdani moved to New York City with his family at the age of 7. He attended the Bronx High School of Science and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Africana Studies from Bowdoin College. His academic years served as a foundation for his political activism, where he engaged in organizing efforts. In high school, Mamdani co-founded a cricket team and utilized this experience to co-found the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter in college. Despite briefly transitioning to a film and rap career, Mamdani consistently demonstrated organizational efforts, believing it can contribute to successful political action (NYAssembly 2025).

Mamdani is also part of the local New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the United States. (New York Times 2025). Briefly, socialism is a social and economic concept seeking public ownership of property and natural resources rather than private ownership (Britannica 2025).

Mamdani’s Policies

Mamdani’s mayoral campaign emphasizes lowering the costs of living for working-class New Yorkers. Let’s take a closer look at some of his policies:

One of the policies in Mamdani’s platform is freezing the rent. Mamdani recognizes that a majority of New Yorkers are tenants, with more than two million people living in rent-stabilized apartments (New York Times 2025). Mamdani also claims that current New York City mayor, Eric Adams, and his hand-picked appointees to the Rent Guidelines Board have been increasing the rents on stabilized apartments by 9%, which is the most since a Republican has run City Hall (New York Times 2025).

Another policy in Mamdani’s platform is promoting fast, fare-free buses. Mamdani’s campaign identifies that public transit should be “reliable, safe, and universally accessible” (Mamdani 2025). However, according to the Community Service Society’s 2024 report, “almost one in five New Yorkers are dealing with transit affordability hardship. The rates of hardship were predictably higher among low-income New Yorkers, with 30 percent reporting that they often struggled to pay subway or bus fares” (CSS 2024). Additionally, the New York City Independent Budget Office released a report claiming that bus services were some of the slowest in the country (Spectrum News 1 2025).

As a result, Mamdani proposes permanently eliminating the bus fare, while expanding the priority lane system, bus queue jump signals, and loading zones (Mamdani 2025). He believes that “fast and free buses will not only make buses reliable and accessible but will improve safety for riders and operators” (Mamdani 2025).

Another issue Mamdani’s campaign aims to tackle is childcare. The cost of childcare has been recognized as a major contributor to New York City’s affordability crisis, as numerous families are left without subsidized care (Comptroller 2025). This issue impacts families with children under six the most, as these families tend to leave the city at double the rate compared to other families. With this in mind, Mamdani plans to “implement free childcare for every New Yorker aged 6 weeks to 5 years, ensuring high-quality programming for all families” (Mamdani 2025). In addition, Mamdani wants to equalize wages for childcare workers to a standard similar to public school teachers. His campaign believes that this can benefit childhood development and save parents money. 

Reactions

Mamdani’s win showcased a divide in the Democratic Party, with Democratic leaders and donors scrambling to find ways to prevent Mamdani from becoming the next mayor of New York City. Some Democratic leaders, such as Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries, declined to endorse Mamdani, but they have applauded his victory. However, other representatives have denounced Mamdani, including Representatives from Nassau County. Representative Laura Gillen publicly criticized Mamdani on X, criticizing his intent to “defund the police” and his “deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments” (X 2025). She concludes her statement with “He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.” Representative Tom Suozzi shared a similar sentiment on X, stating that he “had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani” and how “those concerns remain” (X 2025).

Regardless of how some Democratic leaders distanced themselves from Mamdani, there were those who sided with the Democratic socialist. Mamdani received endorsements from former Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez during the summer (Time 2025). Recently, Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Mamdani through a New York Times Op-Ed on September 14. Hochul acknowledged that there were disagreements in their conversations, but she realized that Mamdani was “a leader who is focused on making New York City affordable—a goal [she] enthusiastically supports.” (New York Times 2025).

In contrast, Mamdani’s win fueled unity within the Republican Party. Representative Mike Lawler introduced a bill called the MAMDANI Act to examine the effects of Mamdani’s proposal for five government-run grocery stores. The bill, which stands for Measuring Adverse Market Disruption And National Impact, categorizes Mamdani’s proposal “straight out of the Marxist playbook,” while arguing that “New Yorkers deserve solutions, not socialist fantasies that have failed spectacularly every time they’ve been tried” (Lawler 2025). Elise Stefanik, another New York Representative, not only directed an attack towards Mamdani, but to Governor Hochul as well. She warned that Mamdani was a “radical communist defund-the-police antisemite [who] may be elected mayor of New York City” and that Hochul was the “worst governor in America” (New York Times 2025).

The success of Mamdani sparked reactions from President Donald Trump as well. “Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,” Trump remarked on Truth Social. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart” (Truth Social 2025). Trump also attacked Democratic leaders over Mamdani’s victory, notably Governor Hochul. “This is a rather shocking development, and a very bad one for New York City,” Trump reacted on Truth Social. “How can such a thing happen? Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad! President DJT” (Truth Social 2025).

What It Could Mean for NYC

While there are many takeaways for the future of New York Politics, one thing is for certain: the people of New York have voted for generational change. The Democratic Primary illustrated the underdog story of a passionate candidate overcoming politics driven by big money. Mamdani directed a grassroots campaign with a progressive agenda, especially by prioritizing voter connection. 

As aforementioned, Mamdani faced criticism in numerous ways, including his policies and lack of experience in politics. However, New Yorkers rejected the status quo. Voters craved inspiration and hope in the government and perceived Mamdani as a key for this change. Despite the lack of experience, New Yorkers were willing to invest in a young, charismatic candidate, who can tackle current issues with new perspectives. 

References:

Community Service Society, 2024. “CSS Report: New Yorkers Struggle to Afford Mass Transit; Expanding Fair Fares Can Help.” Community Service Society of New York. https://www.cssny.org/news/entry/css-report-new-yorkers-struggle-to-afford-mass-transit-expanding-fair-fares (October 9, 2025). 

Dagger, Richard. 2025. “Socialism.” Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/money/socialism (October 9, 2025). 

Fitzsimmons, Emma G. 2025. “New York Republicans Unite in Attacking Mamdani – The New York Times.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/23/nyregion/mamdani-republicans-attack.html (October 10, 2025). 

Gillen, Laura. 2025. “X.” X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/lauraagillen/status/1937900429263982742?s=46 (October 9, 2025). 

Greene, Connor. 2025. “Who Has Endorsed Zohran Mamdani, and Who’s Holding Out?” Time. https://time.com/7319858/zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-election-endorsements/ (October 9, 2025). 

Haag, Matthew. 2025. “Free Buses and Billions in New Taxes. Can Mamdani Achieve His Plans?” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/nyregion/mamdani-policies-economy-housing-buses-childcare.html (October 9, 2025). 

Hochul, Kathy. 2025. “Opinion | Kathy Hochul: Why I Am Endorsing Zohran Mamdani – The New York Times.” Kathy Hochul: Why I Am Endorsing Zohran Mamdani. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/14/opinion/hochul-endorsement-mamdani.html (October 10, 2025). 

Khawaja, Noorulain. 2025. “New Report Gives More than Half of All City Bus Lines D or F Grades.” New report gives 56% of all city bus lines D or F grades. https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/transit/2025/09/05/new-report–56–of-all-city-bus-lines-receive-d-or-f-grade (October 9, 2025). 

Lander, Brad. 2025. “Child Care Affordability and the Benefits of Universal Provision.” Office of the New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/child-care-affordability-and-the-benefits-of-universal-provision/ (October 9, 2025). 

Lawler, Mike. 2025. “Rep. Lawler Introduces Mamdani Act to Examine Risks of Government-Run Grocery Stores.” Congressman Mike Lawler. https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4531 (October 9, 2025). 

Mamdani, Zohran K. 2025. “Assemblymember.” Zohran K. Mamdani – Assembly District 36 |Assembly Member Directory | New York State Assembly. https://nyassembly.gov/mem/Zohran-K-Mamdani (October 9, 2025). 

Mamdani, Zohran. 2025. Zohran for NYC. https://www.zohranfornyc.com/platform (October 9, 2025). 

Mays, Jeffrey C. 2025. “What to Know about Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Socialism – the New York Times.” New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/30/nyregion/zohran-mamdani-nyc-mayor-democratic-socialism.html (October 10, 2025). 

Suozzi, Tom. 2025. “Tom Suozzi.” X (formerly Twitter). https://x.com/Tom_Suozzi/status/1937922834845585741 (October 9, 2025). 

Trump, Donald. 2025. “Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump).” Truth Social. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump (October 10, 2025).