The 33-year-old self-described democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani leads a five-candidate New York City mayoral race by double digits and amasses more than 50 percent of the vote regardless of his opponent, according to a new poll.
Why It Matters
The New York state assemblyman sent political shock waves across New York City when he defeated political stalwart and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, further advancing a contentious election cycle that has Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams vying for the mayoral seat as independent candidates, alongside former federal prosecutor Jim Walden.
On the Republican side of the race, 71-year-old conservative activist and talk show host Curtis Sliwa is aiming for a major upset.
This is the moderate candidate. The actual “radical” choice would be someone who favors actual Socialism and abolish private property. Mamdani only seeks Social Democracy (even tho he calls it “Democratic Socialism”), which is very moderate in my view.
He was also in favor of defunding the police in 2020, but he had to backtrack from it because it’s unpopular. So I think his current platform is the compromise.
I don’t think the older generations will ever realize this
The Red Scare ruined an entire generation’s perception of a fair society.
He’s still advocating that, just stealthily without saying those specific words. “We need social workers to deal with mental health crises and non-violent 911 calls” is basically defunding the police without the stigma.
Democratic socialism is by definition reformist and non-revolutionary.
Whether you agree with the methods or not purity testing a popular progressive candidate over something so minor is just outrageously self defeating.