Democrats Should Emulate Zohran Mamdani

Be for something—not just against Trumpism.

Credit: Zohran Mamdani's Instagram Page

Establishment Democrats have failed New York City. A study by Columbia University and the organization Robin Hood found that 25% of New Yorkers live in poverty, compared to a national rate of 13%. 15% of New Yorkers cannot “see a medical professional due to cost,” 12% often run “out of money between paychecks,” and 4% have “to stay in a shelter or other place not meant for regular housing.” 

The Democratic establishment faces a crisis of confidence. At the time of writing, the RealClearPolitics Poll Average shows that only 34.1% of Americans approve of the Democratic Party, compared to the 59.6% who disapprove. Left-leaning people have become disaffected with the Party, in part because of its apparent ineptitude in the wake of Trump’s extremism. Establishment Democrats vaguely lament Trump’s attacks on democracy while refusing to lay out an economic agenda that would make the lives of working people easier. 

This widespread economic hardship and political disaffection enabled Zohran Mamdani’s rise. Mamdani, who is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is running on a platform that is laser-focused on economic issues. He promises to fight to freeze rent, provide universal childcare, make public buses free, increase the minimum wage to $30 by 2030, and much more—all of which would make life significantly more affordable for working-class New Yorkers. Let’s look at the two largest expenses working class New Yorkers face—rent and childcare—and see how Mamdani would combat them. 

First, a rent freeze would deliver real relief to the working class. The Adams Administration has increased the rent of New York’s nearly one million rent-stabilized tenants by 12.6%. Freezing the rent is expected to save New Yorkers between $2.44 billion and $6.84 billion over the next four years. If Mamdani became mayor, he would likely freeze the rent by appointing progressives to The New York City Rent Guidelines Board. 

Second, Mamdani wants to provide free childcare “for every New Yorker aged 6 weeks to 5 years, ensuring high quality programming for all families.” NYC Childcare is currently far too expensive, typically costing over $20,000 annually per child. The office of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander reports, “Using the conventional federal affordability benchmark of seven percent of family income for child care, a family would need to earn $334,000 to afford the cost of care for a two year old in New York City.” Making childcare free in NYC would increase the ability of parents to participate in the workplace and would increase disposable incomes. To pay for this and other programs, Mamdani advocates raising New York’s corporate tax rate to 11.5% and increasing the income tax on the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers. Raising taxes would require support from the New York State Legislature and the New York Governor, but could be made possible if a movement developed to pressure—and primary—establishment candidates. 

Unlike the Democratic establishment, Mamdani has created a coherent message centered on delivering gains to working people. It’s a message that gives people something to vote for—rather than merely suggesting they vote against Trumpism—and it delivered Mamdani a crushing 12 point win over establishment candidate Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary. 

Mamdani has a proud history of fighting for the working class. After graduating from Bowdoin College, he helped people avoid eviction as a foreclosure prevention counselor. This experience showed him that the housing system values corporate profits over the public good, and it inspired him to run for New York Assemblymember. Since winning his Assembly seat, Mamdani has worked both inside and outside the electoral process to effect change. Inside the legislature, he has supported a range of progressive proposals and helped secure funding for a free bus route pilot program. Outside the system, he participated in a 15-day hunger strike with taxi drivers, which ultimately won the drivers debt relief. Mamdani has proven his commitment to creating a more equitable society. 

Nevertheless, establishment candidates are hoping to topple Mamdani in the general election, and they are each uniquely odious. Despite being soundly rejected by Democratic Primary votes, Cuomo is running as an Independent in the general election. Among his list of offenses, Cuomo joined the defense team of war criminal Benjamin Netenyahu in his International Criminal Court case, is accused of sexually assaulting 13 women, and obscured how many New Yorkers died of COVID-19 in nursing homes. Moreover, Cuomo is Trump’s preferred candidate and is supported by Trump donors. Trump has discussed the race privately with Cuomo and has attempted to get other establishment candidates to drop out of the race. 

 Then there’s Republican Curtis Sliwa, founder of the vigilante group The Guardian Angels. He’s known for pulling elaborate stunts like faking his own kidnapping. Live on Sean Hannity’s show, Sliwa watched as his Guardian Angels roughed up a man for supposedly being a migrant. It was later revealed that the man was not a migrant and that Sliwa only believed he was because he was speaking Spanish. 

Cuomo and Sliwa offer nothing exciting to voters and have instead spent much of their energies insinuating that Mamdani is antisemetic. In doing so, both establishment candidates demonstrate that they are out of touch with their voters. Data for Progress conducted a poll of 2025 Democratic primary voters in New York City. They found that 78% of primary voters believe that “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people living in Gaza.” Mamdani shares the opinion of voters and experts and supports a durable ceasefire to achieve an “end to the genocide [and] unimpeded access to humanitarian aid.” While Mamdani’s plans to lower costs and stand up to corporations were the primary reasons people voted for him, 62% of his primary voters told Data for Progress that “his support for Palestinian rights” “was important to me, and swayed how I voted.” 

Mamdani provides a blueprint for the Democratic Party. He fights for the working class and believes in the inherent dignity of all people. I’m ecstatic that he will be the next mayor of New York City. However, it’s important to not engage in hero worship. Mamdani is a figurehead of the movement, but the force behind it is the advocates dedicated to justice. It’s up to us to elect more progressives and work outside of the electoral process by creating institutions like labor and tenants unions. As Mamdani himself will tell you, “It is our responsibility to build power everywhere…Because there are so many incredible things that a mayor can do, and there are even more things that the people of this city can do.”