Zohran Mamdani Wins NYC Mayoral Primary, Shaking Up the Political Landscape
The Queens Assemblymember’s surprise victory signals a shift in voter preferences and raises questions about the future direction of city politics.
Zohran Mamdani shocked New York politics last Tuesday by winning the Democratic primary for mayor.
The 33-year-old Queens Assemblymember, a self-described democratic socialist, defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo by seven percentage points in the first round of ranked-choice voting.
“I will be the mayor for every New Yorker — whether you voted for me, for Governor Cuomo, or felt too disillusioned by a long-broken political system to vote at all,” Mamdani said in his victory speech.
“I will work to be a mayor you will be proud to call your own.”
Platform
Mamdani’s socialist policies have drawn criticism from establishment Democrats, including proposals to freeze rent for tenants in rent-stabilized apartments and build more than 200,000 new rent-stabilized units within 10 years.
“As mayor, Zohran will put our public dollars to work and triple the city’s production of permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized homes,” his campaign stated.
“Any 100% affordable development gets fast-tracked — no more pointless delays.”
Mamdani’s platform also includes opening city-owned grocery stores to help lower the cost of living — an idea that sparked backlash from Gristedes supermarket owner John Catsimatidis, who argued the plan “wouldn’t work.”
“Why won’t it work?” Catsimatidis said in a report by NBC New York.
“Because city-owned businesses don’t work.”
However, in the same report, Nevin Cohen, director of the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Urban Food Policy Institute, said Mamdani’s proposal could be viable. He pointed to existing examples of public involvement in food access across the city.
“Supermarkets that lease land from city agencies, subsidies given to people to shop at private supermarkets, food pantries that are funded by the city,” Cohen said.
“There’s a whole range of ways in which the city is involved in providing food to people.”
Mamdani’s platform also calls for higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, including a 2% surtax on individuals earning more than $1 million annually.
“Ultimately, the reason I want to increase these taxes on the top 1%, the most profitable corporations, is to increase quality of life for everyone — including those who are going to be taxed,” Mamdani said in an NBC interview.
“We’re seeing that our vision to tax the top 1% of New Yorkers — these are New Yorkers who make a million dollars a year or more — and our proposal is to just tax them by 2% additional, is something that has broad support, and we’ll continue to increase that support over the next few months.”
In the same interview, Mamdani said billionaires “shouldn’t exist” during periods of economic inequality.
“I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality,” he said.
“Ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city, across our state, and across our country.”
Following criticism of his comments, Mamdani later clarified his stance in an interview with NPR.
“I think the better question is whether working people have the right to exist, because what we've seen in this city is that more and more working people are being pushed out,” he said.
Some economists argue that revenue from taxing billionaires is not typically directed toward assistance programs.
“Increasing taxes may slow economic growth, which harms those in poverty over the long term,” said Jessica Flanigan and Chris Freiman in a Business Insider report, adding that most new revenue tends to benefit middle-class retirees.
Research from Forbes found that New York City has more billionaires than any other city in the world, with 123 individuals holding a combined net worth of $759 billion.
Reactions: Acclaim, Alarm & Division
Mamdani saw high voter turnout among young voters, with New York Times data showing more than 40,000 new voter registrations — a sharp increase from fewer than 10,000 in 2021. More than 100,000 voters between the ages of 18 and 34 participated in the primary.
Taylor Sommer, a resident of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, said she appreciated Mamdani’s focus on affordable housing.
“It’s unreal how much money it costs to live in this city,” Sommer told the Times. In many parts of Greenpoint, nearly 80% of voters supported Mamdani.
In the same report, Malik Zindani, a resident of Morris Park in the Bronx who voted for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, said he voted for Mamdani in the primary because he “understands” New Yorkers.
“The policies, the way he presented himself — that’s what convinced me,” said Zindani.
“He showed how much he cares about New Yorkers.”
Mamdani has faced criticism from both Democrats and Republicans over his policies, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who declined to endorse him.
“We don’t really know each other well,” Jeffries told ABC News, while still acknowledging Mamdani’s primary win.
“I congratulated him on the campaign that he ran — a campaign that clearly was relentlessly focused on the high cost of living in New York City and the economy. He outworked, he out-communicated, and he out-organized the opposition, and that’s clearly why he was successful.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul also hesitated to express support for Mamdani, stating that she was not focused on the election at the moment.
“Obviously, there’s areas of difference in our positions, but I also think we need to have those conversations,” Hochul said.
“But in the meantime, I truly am not focused on the politics.”
“We’re six months away from Inauguration Day, and that’ll determine who I’m working with for the next four years. And that’s important. What I’m doing is focusing on affordability, making New York City safe, and making the state safe. That’s my primary objective right now,” she added.
Rep. Tom Suozzi expressed reservations on X, stating he had “serious concerns” about Mamdani.
“I had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before yesterday, and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent,” Suozzi wrote.
“Those concerns remain.”
Mamdani also faced accusations of antisemitism after declining to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which is associated with movements supporting Palestinian liberation.
“That’s not language that I use,” Mamdani said on NBC’s Meet the Press.
“The language that I use — and the language I will continue to use to lead this city — is that which speaks clearly to my intent, which is grounded in a belief in universal human rights.”
He later acknowledged Jewish concerns and said he had spoken directly with constituents about the issue.
“I’ve heard from many Jewish New Yorkers who have shared their concerns with me, especially in light of the horrific attacks that we saw in Washington, D.C., and in Boulder, Colorado — about this moment of antisemitism in our country and in our city,” he said.
“And I’ve heard those fears, and I’ve had those conversations.”
Commentator Donny Deutsch criticized Mamdani on MSNBC for not outright condemning the phrase.
“I’m outraged that we have a candidate for mayor of New York, Mr. Mamdani, that cannot walk back or condemn the words ‘globalize the intifada’ and his nuance of, ‘Well, it means different things for different people.’ Well, let me tell you what it means to a Jew — it means violence,” said Deutsch, referencing the events of Oct. 7, 2023, and the Boulder fire attack.
“That’s the connotation, that’s the essence of it, and that’s what it means to Jewish people. And if any other group came forward and said, ‘These words are offensive to us, they mean violence, they frighten us,’ I think there would be a response. But for some reason, if Jewish people find it offensive, it’s not offensive.”
In an interview with Fox News, President Trump called Mamdani a “radical left lunatic.”
“He’s a communist. I think it is very bad for New York. I don’t know that he’s going to get in. It is inconceivable that he is,” Trump said.
He also criticized Mamdani’s support for New York’s sanctuary city policies, reiterating ongoing anti-immigrant sentiment.
“If he does get in, I’m going to be president and he’s going to have to do the right thing or they’re not getting any money. He’s got to do the right thing,” Trump said, claiming Mamdani would be “very unsuccessful” if elected.
Rep. Andy Ogles made xenophobic and Islamophobic remarks on X, calling for Mamdani — a naturalized citizen since 2018 — to be deported.
“Zohran ‘little muhammad’ Mamdani is an antisemitic, socialist, communist who will destroy the great City of New York. He needs to be DEPORTED,” Ogles wrote, stating he had informed Attorney General Pam Bondi of his demand.
“Which is why I am calling for him to be subject to denaturalization proceedings.”
Political commentator Charlie Kirk also targeted Mamdani on X, posting:
“Twenty-four years ago, a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim socialist is on pace to run New York City.”
Rep. Shri Thanedar defended Mamdani from Ogles’ remarks.
“This type of racism has no place in America,” Thanedar wrote on X.
“Immigrants make our country great, and I strongly condemn this blatant, anti-immigrant bigotry from Andy Ogles.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders defended Mamdani’s victory, writing that “the establishment is in panic.”
“Billionaires are raising money against him; Trump is ranting; Islamophobes are on the loose. They know what we know: Candidates who stand boldly with the working class can win — not only in NYC, but anywhere. Let’s stand with Zohran,” Sanders posted.
In an interview with Politico, Sanders expanded on his support, praising Mamdani’s working-class platform.
“He ran a strong grassroots campaign around the progressive agenda. They go together. You cannot run a grassroots campaign unless you excite people. You cannot excite people unless you have something to say. And he had a lot to say,” Sanders said.
“He said that he wants to make New York City livable, affordable for ordinary people — that the wealthiest people in New York City are going to start to have to pay their fair share in taxes so that you can stabilize the outrageously high costs of housing in New York, which, by the way, is a crisis all over this country.”
“That you could deal with transportation in a sensible way, deal with child care, deal with health care, deal with the needs of ordinary working-class people. So you come up with an agenda that makes sense to people. They get motivated in the campaign. They are prepared to knock on doors. That’s how you win elections,” he added.
Next Steps: General Election
After being officially confirmed as the winner on Tuesday, Mamdani now faces incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo — who is now running as an independent — in the general election this November.
“I am humbled by the support of more than 545,000 New Yorkers in last week’s primary,” Mamdani wrote on X.
“This is just the beginning of our expanding coalition to make New York City affordable. And we will do it together.”
In a statement obtained by ABC New York, Cuomo thanked his supporters.
“We’ll be continuing conversations with people from all across the city while determining next steps,” the statement read.
The general election will be held on Nov. 4.