Zohran Mamdani is running for mayor of New York City at exactly the right time in American history. The confluence of a shattered Democratic Party, an electorate wild for change, and a bitterly divided opposition will make the 33-year-old socialist the next mayor of New York City.
As long as he doesn't self-destruct, that is.
We're going to see if Mamdani can keep his foot out of his mouth in the next three and a half months and avoid making his support of an "intifada" against Jews any larger of a campaign issue than it already is. Otherwise, there doesn't appear to be anything that can stop his election victory.
Current Mayor Eric Adams and former governor and still-mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo are playing "Alphonse and Gaston" by urging each other to drop out of the race so that a Mamdani opponent has a chance of defeating him in November.
“It is hard to find a collection of three New Yorkers more stubborn than Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, and [GOP candidate] Curtis Sliwa,” said Trip Yang, a former campaign staffer for Sen. Bernie Sanders. “And Eric Adams might be the most stubborn of the bunch.”
Adams is polling at 15% while Cuomo isn't doing much better at 24%. Meanwhile, Mamdani is riding high at 40%. New York's abominable ranked-choice voting system would give the socialist an early victory after counting ballots that ranked him second.
“Look, Zohran Mamdani is certainly going to be the next mayor of New York City,” Yang said. “The only opportunity there for the anti-Mamdani forces is if they all coalesce behind one candidate.”
Putting the good of the city above their personal ambitions is not in either Adams's or Cuomo's DNA. They are in it till the end, as is the Republican candidate, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. “I’m not getting out of this race unless they figure out a way to put me in a pine box and bury me six feet under,” he said.
Unfortunately for everyone else, Mamdani seems to gain more support every day, including from unions that had been a source of strength for Cuomo. On Tuesday, Mamdani won the crown jewel of the union game: the endorsement of DC 37, the largest labor union of city workers. On top of that, campaign finance records released Wednesday show that Mamdani brought in $852,000 between June 10 and July 11, or before and after his historic upset. Adams also showed strong fundraising, bringing in more than $1.5 million, most of it since Mamdani’s primary win.
“We’re seeing the five stages of grief play out,” said [Kenny Burgos, head of the New York Apartment Association], who sees Mamdani as a “direct threat” to the real-estate industry if he becomes mayor. “And I’ve just reached the last stage of acceptance much sooner than everyone else.”
The city's elites appear to have resigned themselves to a Mamdani victory. On Tuesday, about 100 of NewYork's richest capitalists gathered in Manhattan to hear Mamdani's pitch.
Why would so many enemies of socialism want to hear what Mamdani has to say? A Democratic Party consultant told The Free Press, “It’s because they know he’s going to be the mayor.” The rich are always willing to play both sides against the middle in order to gain any influence they can when the new regime takes office.
Exclusively for our VIPs: The Left Is Taking 'Progress' Out of the Name 'Progressive'
Neither Cuomo nor Adams will agree to drop out until it's far too late. They are placing their hopes on the unlikely scenario that lightning will strike at a specific place at a specific time. As long as that fantasy is indulged by both candidates, Mamdani will coast to an easy victory.
Editor's Note: New York City may be lost, but President Trump is making America great again. Stay on top of today's rapid developments. Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member