Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani stunned New York Democrats on Tuesday after he became the presumptive Democratic challenger for the New York City mayoral race.
Despite endorsements from notable Democrats, such as Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-SC, former Governor Andrew Cuomo failed to secure a victory, as his history of sexual harassment allegations followed him into the race.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old progressive and former rapper, seems to have resonated with younger Democrats that are ready for changes within the party, particularly “the establishment.” However, Centrist Democrats are not ready to concede that this may be a sign of the party shifting further to the left than in times past.
Young voters—a bloc Democrats struggled to mobilize last election cycle—were central to Mamdani’s success. His social media campaign connected with younger Democrats. He also drew support from high-profile young Democratic surrogates and endorsers, including David Hogg, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, model and actress Emily Ratajkowski, and Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Meanwhile, Republicans responded to the Mamdani win with social posts that suggests he may be the new target to which they can link all Democrats. especially vulnerable ones, in the run up to the midterms.
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described Mamdani as a “an anarchist-socialist,” and the House Republicans’ campaign arm called the New York legislator the “new face of the Democrat.”
“If you engineered the modern Democrat Party in a lab, you’d get Zohran Mamdani: Antisemitic, anti-police, and anti-American. Every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him,” Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the campaign arm, said in a statement.
The polls closed on Tuesday, and New York’s ranked-choice method should return the final nominee by July 1.
