To best 10 candidates in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani had to overcome an endorsement from a former president, attack ads from longtime billionaire donors and the name-recognition of a political dynasty.
Now appearing as the likely Democratic nominee after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded, Mamdani faces a dual challenge: lukewarm support from the Democratic establishment and Cuomo’s apparent comeback attempt, reported by CNN, as an independent candidate.
Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-proclaimed Democratic socialist from Queens, ran an outsider campaign that challenged the Democratic establishment by energizing young voters in a populist campaign promising affordability. Cuomo, who won five statewide elections before resigning his governorship in disgrace in 2021, was the clear favorite until 12 days before the election, when Mamdani passed him in the polls.
Mamdani’s win was a surprise upset that shocked many Democrats — and rebuked party elders who opposed him.
Though Mamdani had the support of progressive leaders such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), as well as the Working Families Party political group, prominent Democrats like Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Minority Leader. Chuck Schumer and US Rep. Hakeem Jeffries declined to endorse Mamdani during or after the primary.
Others endorsed Cuomo, including former President Bill Clinton, prominent Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and over two dozen state legislators.
Jeffries, the House minority leader, congratulated Mamdani on his campaign after the results but stopped short of endorsing him.
“Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City,” Jeffries wrote in a short statement June 25.
Hochul also praised Mamdani’s campaign and said she looked forward to speaking with him — notably different from her subsequent post saying the qualities state Sen. Sean Ryan will bring “to Buffalo City Hall” after his primary win there.
Many top Democratic donors are also considering supporting Mayor Eric Adams in his long-shot independent reelection campaign, according to reporting from The New York Times.
While it looked like Democratic leaders might have slowly fallen in line behind Mamdani throughout November — especially after the Adams- and Cuomo-aligned Brooklyn Democratic boss threw her support behind Mamdani — Cuomo’s independent bid will likely throw that into flux, Democratic strategist Yvette Buckner told amNewYork.
But both polling and political wisdom suggest Cuomo’s run would only help Mamdani’s chances at winning in the November general election, as centrist Democrats would be split between Adams and Cuomo — though a June 26 poll showed Mamdani and Cuomo as statistically tied.
Mamdani instead faces an uncertain relationship with the Democratic Party as leadership weighs the benefits and costs of throwing their support behind the young progressive.
Nationwide political concerns
In many ways, Mamdani perfectly epitomized the growing divide between the progressive and pragmatic branches of the Democratic Party: he is young, unapologetically Democratic socialist and a multicultural Muslim immigrant, running against a party veteran.
His left-wing stances seem to have struck fear into many establishment Democrats, concerned about backlash from Republicans who have long used urban progressives as fodder for national fights.
Lawrence Summers, Clinton’s former Treasury Secretary, said he was “profoundly alarmed” about Democrats’ future, citing accusations against Mamdani of antisemitism.
Matt Bennett, co-founder of centrist Democratic organization Third Way, posted a list of 10 reasons on social media why moderates are better choices than progressives like Mamdani.
Mamdani’s success in New York City comes as Democratic leaders in Washington, D.C. struggle to balance seniority with growing demands from younger members. While Democrats recently chose a young congressman over a party elder for a top oversight post, political leaders are wary of the impact Mamdani’s politics could have on Democrats’ chances nationwide.
Their concerns are not unfounded: the National Republican Committee called Mamdani an “radical extremist” that is the “new face of the Democratic Party” in an email release. President Donald Trump also blasted Mamdani on social media, calling him a “Communist Lunatic.”
Brad Bannon, a veteran Democratic political consultant, told amNewYork that to win over a national audience, Mamdani has to prove he can deliver on his promises.
“If he can pull it off, when he’s actually there, he will convince a lot of Democrats who have mixed feelings on him,” Bannon said. “The ball is in his court.”
A generational divide
Mamdani dwarfed Cuomo’s support among young voters, with his campaign explicitly calling for a new generation of Democratic leaders.
Bannon said Mamdani’s win was the latest example of a “generational divide” among Democrats that will shape the party’s future.
“His victory was as much a statement about youth as it was about ideology,” Bannon said. I think there’s a movement going on in the Democratic Party that a lot of Democrats, especially in Washington, are too old, and it’s time to go out with the old and in with the new.”
Buckner said Cuomo’s independent bid will force Democrats into a generational split.
“Democrats who have been in office longer will be on one side, as the institutional support,” Bucker said. “And the younger, more left-leaning candidates and ‘Democratic socialists’ will be on the other.”
Many party leaders who stayed neutral in the primary will also likely stay neutral in the general election, Buckner added — a stark contrast to when Democrats coalesced around Adams after the 2021 primary.
Bannon said a new generation of leaders is not something to be feared and Democrats should embrace Mamdani.
“I’m a baby boomer, and I remember when Democratic baby boomers took power away from the older generation, and now the same natural thing has happened. Younger Democrats are taking power away from an aging baby boomer generation,” Bannon said. “I think it’s refreshing for the party.”
“What happened in New York in the primary could presage what’s going to happen in Democratic primaries next year for the midterms,” Bannon added. “And I think it also suggests that you could see a Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 who emerges as a younger candidate.”
‘Party unity’
Buckner said Cuomo’s run and the failure of Democrats to rally behind Mamdani will divide the party, which she said is the largest problem facing Democrats.
“When Democrats are not united as a whole, it can do a lot of damage to the party,” Buckner said. “There is a fight from Washington that we need to face as Democrats and with the party split, I think we’re going to come out even more split, more divided, and not able to fight on fellow ground as one.”
Trip Yang, another Democratic strategist, told amNewYork that the combination of Cuomo and Adams’ independent bids makes the general election different from the past decade, which is why Democratic leaders are unsure of what to do.
“The difference is Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams,” Yang said. “This is kind of a novelty. That’s why you see Democratic leaders following two paths: explicitly endorsing Zohran and praising him.”
Buckner said that as long as Democrats remain divided, it will give Republicans more avenues of attack, potentially harming Democrats’ chances in the 2026 race for governor of New York.
“Republicans have been trying to usurp the idea that they are the party of working families now, and I think that this will give them even more ability to say, ‘Look, we are the ones who really care about working class people. We are the ones who are united,’” Bucker said.
Yang said that if Mamdani’s campaign reaches out to the Democratic establishment — which he expects it will do — the hesitation will likely go away in the leadup to November.
“As long as he and his campaign do the work, do the outreach, listen to people’s potential disagreements with him, he’ll probably come up with the majority of the Democratic leaders,” Yang said.
