It is still technically possible that self-declared democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani will not become the next mayor of the nation’s largest city and financial capital of the world. But those chances might best be described as a wing and a prayer.
One would have thought that New Yorkers who voted for Mamdani in the Democratic primary months ago without knowing much about him would reconsider their support once they learned the details of his plan to turn the city into a socialist utopia. Yet, the smooth-as-silk 34-year-old native of Uganda continues to hold a lead similar to his margin of victory in the primary.
His chief opponent is the man he easily outdistanced in the primary, Democrat-turned-independent Andrew Cuomo, who carries much of his own heavy baggage and appears to be well past his political prime. The current mayor, Eric Adams, dropped out of the race with minimal impact, and Republican Curtis Sliwa, despite widespread calls for him to pull out and free up the roughly 15% planning to vote for him, has refused to do so — even though it is clear he has perhaps a one-in-a-million shot at winning.
### Socialism on Parade
While Mamdani has tried to posture as more mainstream than during the primary, little has changed with his agenda. He is promising ramped-up rent control, free public buses, a $30 hourly minimum wage, and city-run grocery stores—all policies that have proven disastrous when tried elsewhere.
Wall Street will panic, landlords will be squeezed to the breaking point, public transit will be overrun, and unemployment will spike as businesses forced to pay double the current minimum wage increasingly employ AI to replace workers they can no longer afford.
Public safety will undoubtedly be weakened in an already dangerous city, considering Mamdani showed unrestrained contempt for law enforcement in 2020 when he supported defunding the police, whom he described as “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety.” While he has since apologized, just like Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones did regarding his death wish for the whole family of a political enemy, many remain skeptical about what both men truly believe in their hearts.
### Concerns Over Religious and Political Stance
Perhaps the most chilling aspect is the specter of a Muslim fundamentalist mayor in the city with the largest Jewish population in the country. Though Mamdani has recently tried to backtrack or explain away his history of antisemitism, he long refused to distance himself from the movement to “globalize the Intifada,” which aims at violence against Jews worldwide.
He has even promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in New York, citing arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC)—an institution widely considered palpably anti-American and anti-Israeli and which has no jurisdiction in the U.S.
Incredibly, while select conservative Jewish congregations have raised red flags, there has not been any organized resistance to Mamdani in the city’s Jewish community at large.
### Zohran Mamdani: In Way Over His Head
This man, who once spoke in pure socialist terms by calling for the government to “seize the means of production,” has never held a real job other than as a back-bench assemblyman and has zero executive experience. And yet, he will be in charge of the nation’s largest police force, largest public school system, and a public workforce of 306,000 people.
Even many Democrats are skeptical, to say the least, as the party remains agonizingly divided about the prospect of a full-on socialist running the great city. Progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) have enthusiastically endorsed Mamdani, as has New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
But the state’s Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs has publicly refused to endorse him, while leading Democrats in Congress—most prominently Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House counterpart Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both from New York—have dodged the issue, knowing they are damned if they endorse Mamdani and damned if they don’t.
“This is someone who is just a facade,” Bob Holden, a Democratic city council member, told Politico. “He’s fooling people. It’s not surprising because the Democratic Party has been going to the left for some time. It could be the tip of the iceberg and it’s going to get worse.”
Democratic state Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, who represents an Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, admitted to Mamdani’s charm and effectiveness at retail politics but fears his appointments:
“One-on-one, he’s easy to personally speak with, even for someone like me — he and I agree on nearly nothing. My concern won’t be him, but that his administration will be filled with the most rabid people who are on the A) political left and B) antisemites.”
### What Could Go Wrong?
So, in summary, what could go wrong if Mamdani becomes the next mayor of New York City? The answer: almost everything.
Once Mamdani receives a mandate from the voters, a significant number of business owners and people of means who foot the bulk of the city’s tax bill almost certainly won’t wait to see if the climate in the city turns out to be as toxic as they expect. They will get out of Dodge while the getting is good.
The goose that laid the golden egg will be slain.
Meanwhile, the millions of middle-class New Yorkers who can’t afford to move will be stuck with the bill and the fallout. The city that never sleeps will never be the same.
https://www.libertynation.com/bracing-for-impact-new-york-prepares-for-mamdani/