What's the big deal about Zohran Mamdani?

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Zohran Mamdani has beaten old-school Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the preliminary vote to become the party’s nominee in November’s mayoral election, with some suggesting his socialist views present a return to the left-wing politics the party was once known for.
• The News Agents say Mamdani has inspired voters in ways that “old white men” have failed to do for Democrat voters in recent years, but can his appeal reach beyond New York city limits?
• Having offered huge socialist ambitions for the city, The News Agents say his suggestions may be as unrealistic as those Donald Trump was offering before he returned to power.

What’s the story?

"He looks terrible, his voice is grating, he's not very smart".

Another day, another perfectly rational comment from Donald Trump on social media. His target this time? Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic candidate for this year's race for New York mayor.

Republicans and right-wing news outlets are outraged at the support behind 33-year-old Mamdani, a progressive Muslim who wants to abolish bus fares in New York, offer public childcare, freeze rents, and build more affordable housing.

He's got the hosts at Fox News absolutely fuming.

Mamdani is also an ardent supporter of LGBTQ+ rights, and has previously said he would arrest Benjamin Netanyahu, in accordance with the warrant issued in November 2024 by the International Court of Justice.

He's got MAGA Republicans so rattled, that some have even suggested a win in the mayoral vote could result in the Statue of Liberty being covered in a burqa – but that’s just racism.

Of course, Mamdani's not the New York mayor yet – despite the level of excitement and celebration online.

His win this week was in the primary election to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Mayoral vote, scheduled for November 2025.

He won 43.5% of the vote, ahead of former New York governor Andrew Cuomo who gained 36.4%. Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 after allegations of sexual harassment.

Cuomo's loss was celebrated by third-place candidate Brad Lander, who – as he conceded defeat – said: "Andrew Cuomo is in the past. He is not the present or future or New York City.

"Good f***ing riddance."

Celebrating his own victory, Mamdani celebrated the diversity of New York citizens who campaigned for, and supported, his campaign.

"It is the victory of the Bangladeshi auntie, who knocked on door after door until her feet throbbed and her muscles ached," he said.

"It is the victory of the 18-year-old who voted in their first ever election.

"And it is the victory of the Gambian uncle who finally saw himself in a campaign for the city he calls home."

Is Mamdani the future of the Democratic Party?

The News Agents describe Mamdani as having “slain” Andrew Cuomo in the New York primary, but Jon Sopel says the very fact Cuomo was able to stand as a candidate for the Democrats highlights the party’s “hopelessness” and “sense of entitlement”, in thinking he was viable to run for mayor of New York.

“Cuomo represents something that feels a bit old, a bit stale, and a bit murky because he hasn't really come away from those allegations of inappropriate behaviour,” says Emily Maitlis.

“And yet, here he was thinking he could make a comeback in the same city with the same voters – and New York said, ‘no’.

“This right now plays into the whole Biden paradigm, which is to stop giving us old men. Stop giving us fragile old men. We need young blood.”

Jon adds that the Democrats are “suffused” with old white men with no ideas, and whose time is long gone – but that’s not to say Mamdani can single-handedly revive the party.

His presumptive win in New York, a safe Democratic state, has made waves across social media, but it doesn’t represent the sorts of gains the party will need to make if it is to return a candidate to The White House after the next US election.

“The Democrats need to win in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and all those other states that we talked about during the election,” says Jon.

“This sort of agenda is what might enthuse college students on campuses, but will they ever go out to vote?

“Will it get Middle America out there to shift the dial in favour of the Democrats? I think this underscores the extent to which the Democratic Party is utterly lost right now.”

Does Mamdani’s politics offer voters an opposite to MAGA?

The young, passionate politician has been praised for his use of social media, and effective communication during his campaign so far

He’s connected with voters through speaking about his upbringing in Kampala, Uganda, how he wanted to be a rapper and tried to sell mixtapes on buses, and has sold his story of an outsider who’s arrived in New York, risen to success and is now focusing on the cost of living issues affecting other people in his city.

“His whole platform has been about rent freezes, driving down the cost of living, giving New Yorkers more accommodation, sorting out the housing problems,” Emily says.

“In a way, he's telling the Democrat Party exactly what half of them already know, which is, if they don't start talking about the cost of living, they will lose forever more, and that's the best way to attack Trump and his party.”

But is what Mamdani is promising as unrealistic as Trump’s MAGA promises before starting his second term as president – and does it even matter, so long as voters have something to believe in?

“There are some Dems who may be thinking the lesson here is not just about young versus old, or left versus right, but actually about somebody who is promising something that might be impossible to deliver,” Emily adds.

“And is that the trick that they have learned from MAGA and Trump?

“Is he energising voters to come out and vote in the same way as Trump when he promised to make America great again and richer and cut immigration and stop wars – people buy into it because they just want to buy into that message.”

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.