When Zohran Mamdani ran in New York City’s mayoral race in November 2025, his toughest opponent was his own party.
Mamdani defeated independent candidate Andrew Cuomo and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa to make history as the city’s first Muslim and South Asian mayor.
The road to becoming mayor was not easy, as the Democratic establishment, backed by billionaires, spent months battling against Mamdani’s welfare-focused campaign.
New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs refused to endorse Mamdani after his Democratic primary victory against Andrew Cuomo, an unprecedented rejection of the party’s own nominee.
After Cuomo lost the primary, he re-entered the race as an independent, with huge corporate support.
Pro-Israel billionaire Bill Ackman gave $500,000 to a pro-Cuomo super PAC.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg poured roughly $8 million into stopping Mamdani.
The reason for their opposition stemmed from their fear: Mamdani’s platform challenges their economic and global interests.
Mamdani is a Democratic socialist who explicitly campaigned on transferring power and resources from the wealthy to working people.
He promised free buses, city-controlled grocery stores, expanded childcare, and rent freezes in order to lower the cost of living.
“The Democratic establishment’s response to the success of Mamdani reveals that the party is very resistant to change and will prioritize older party candidates and policy over new, more popular figures even if it goes against the will of voters,” senior Robie Polos said. “I was disappointed but not really surprised, as this is how the Democratic Party has been operating for a while.”
Beyond internal party politics, junior Sebastian Ayala sees the establishment’s resistance as part of a broader national shift.
“It is a perfect example of the shift to the right that our nation is currently facing,” he said. “In recent years, what was once considered moderate is now being considered ‘radical’ and leftist. What [Mamdani’s victory] showed us is that the Democratic Party is willing to appease more conservative viewpoints for the sake of security,” Sebastian said.
Despite the opposition, Mamdani won by more than seven points, driving the highest voter turnout in over 50 years. Three-quarters of voters under 30 chose him.
“For me, Mamdani’s win makes Democratic politics more interesting,” Robie said. “With his important position as mayor of New York, there’s an opportunity for real change and policies beyond the scope of traditional establishment Democrats.”
What made Mamdani’s victory particularly significant is that it revealed the discrepancy between Democratic voters and what party leadership assumes about them.
Establishment figures have long operated on the premise that bold policies alienate moderate voters and that electoral success requires centrist positioning.
Mamdani’s decisive victory demonstrates that progressive policies are not only electable but also increase political participation.
“Mamdani’s win proves that voters want more progressive policies and younger elected officials who understand newer generations,” Robie said. “I think Mamdani changes what’s possible by setting a precedent for future candidates to run similar campaigns to Mamdani, focusing on social media presence and a break from establishment candidates.”
The disconnect runs deeper; democratic leadership has spent years campaigning for the need for change, while simultaneously labeling it unfeasible. This pattern has alienated voters.
“This is a theme as old as time,” Sebastian said. “This idea that something can be too progressive or ‘radical’ is just not true. It only serves as a means to keep oppressed groups down and controlled.
In 1963, white Alabama clergymen told MLK it wasn’t the right time, and he showed the entire nation that it was.
Why should we continue to feed into this idea that ‘it’s not the right time’ to fight for the rights of our fellow Americans?”
The success of Mamdani’s platform did not stem purely from promising a lower cost of living; instead, his platform, at its root, is about showing up in the community, listening to New Yorkers’ needs, and devising solutions.
“I think that the Democratic Party must always remember what made so many proud to be Democrats, which is a focus on the struggles of working-class Americans across this country,” Zohran Mamdani said in an interview on ABC.
If a democratic socialist can win in America’s largest city against millions of dollars in super PAC funding, by running one of the most successful grassroots campaigns in recent history, establishment assumptions about electability may be systematically flawed. To ensure success in the midterms, the Democratic Party must prioritize representing its voters over maintaining corporate relationships.