Mamdani and New Yorkers; The decisive test for the post-Trump era

According to Isna, the citizens of New York will go to the polls on Tuesday (November 4) to elect the mayor of this city, but this competition has gone beyond a simple municipal election and has become a battle scene between the Democrats and the supporters of US President Donald Trump.

In a report about this election, the BBC News channel described it as one of the most important recent local elections in the United States, a race in which the Democratic representative is Zahran Mamdani, a 34-year-old representative of the New York state assembly. If he wins, he will break several historical records, including being the youngest mayor of New York in more than a century and the city’s first Muslim leader.

Mamdani was born in Uganda. He and his family immigrated to South Africa at the age of five and then to America.

The British media emphasized that Mamdani, who has a background in hip-hop music and housing consulting, has been able to connect with young and disaffected voters through popular videos, collaborations with content producers and podcasts. The BBC writes that his popularity is a reflection of the disillusionment of members of the Democratic Party with their leaders. However, the main question is whether a person without executive experience can manage the political and administrative pressures of city management with a budget of 116 billion dollars and show resistance against the possible attacks of the “Trump” administration or not.

Mamdani calls himself a “democratic socialist,” meaning a politician who aims to defend workers against big business, the report said. The BBC presents him along with politicians like “Bernie Sanders” and “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez”. Trump has threatened to cut federal aid to New York if Mamdani wins and has called him a “communist”. Mamdani, in response, said in a TV interview with humor: “I’m just a politician from Scandinavia, but with darker skin!”

Economic justice

BBC has added that Mamdani’s election campaign is based on economic justice, beyond party boundaries. He has promised to implement free education and childcare, stabilizing rents for subsidized housing, free city buses and public grocery stores, and these promises have been supported by people tired of rising costs. One of the housing lawyers told the BBC: “I support him because I want to have a city that can live in, not just survive.”

However, the BBC points out that serious doubts have been raised about the funding of his proposed plans. Mamdani has promised to raise $9 billion through taxes on corporations and the wealthy, but organizations such as the Kito Institute have dismissed these calculations as unrealistic. The BBC wrote that New York Governor Kathy Hukol has supported Mamdani but is against raising income taxes, although she has promised to work on free education for children.

In this report, BBC has also analyzed the reaction of New York economic circles. After Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary, Wall Street initially reacted with great concern, but now the tone of criticism has softened. However, some financiers have said that Mamdani does not have enough experience to run the largest city in the United States and that his tax policies may cause capital flight.

Another part of the BBC report is devoted to the evolution of Mamdani’s position towards the American police. In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, he called for cuts to the police budget and called the New York police force “racist”, but he has now apologized for that position. A Democratic strategist told the BBC that Mamdani’s success depends on his performance in providing public security. According to the BBC, Mamdani has promised to maintain the current number of police forces and senior officers and create a new department for “social security” that would deploy mental health teams to replace armed officers on non-threatening missions.

Survey status

Mamdani is still in the lead in the three-way race for the mayorship of New York with 41% of the votes in the latest poll by Atlas Intel Institute. Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, who entered the field as an independent candidate, is in second place with 34 percent, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliva is in third place with 24 percent.

The poll, conducted between Oct. 25 and 30 among 1,578 likely voters, shows the narrowest gap on record between Mamdani and Cuomo; A distance that is only 7 percentage points. However, the average of 12 valid polls (Real Clear Polling) still predicts Mamdani with a lead of 14.7%.

Mamdani has reportedly managed to hold on to the young, Latino and progressive base of Brooklyn and Queens, while Cuomo is making up ground by leaning on middle-aged and conservative voters in Manhattan and Staten Island. Analysts say the high turnout of older voters could swing the outcome in Cuomo’s favor.

The current mayor, Eric Adams, has withdrawn from the race after losing the Democratic primaries, and the race has turned into a Mamdani-Cuomo-Sliva triangle.

Attacks against Mamdani

In another part of its report, BBC discussed Mamdani’s stance on Palestine and considered it an important factor in the voters’ alignment. He is a critic of the policies of the Zionist regime and a supporter of Palestinian rights, a position that differs from the mainstream of the Democratic Party and has caused a divide between Jewish and Muslim voters in New York. Mamdani refused to condemn the phrase “globalization of the intifada” during the intra-party competition, although he later asked others not to use it due to the concern of the Jewish community.

Since Mamdani’s victory in the primaries, anti-Islamic attacks against him have increased. He is now under police protection and last month a person from Texas was arrested for making terroristic threats against him. Reacting to the racist slurs, Mamdani said in an emotional speech that he thought he could avoid the attacks by focusing on his political message, but he was wrong.

In the final part, the BBC has discussed the reaction of the Democratic Party to Mamdani’s rise. Figures like Chuck Schumer have yet to endorse him, and Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed him just hours before early voting begins. Mamdani’s victory in New York could be problematic for Democrats nationally, as Republicans would use him to brand the entire party as a “socialist” current, the BBC reported, citing some representatives.

Mamdani, whether he wins or not, has changed the political face of New York. Relying on popular support, digital organizing and a bold approach, he has brought American urban politics into a new phase. However, the real test for him will actually be running a complex city like New York; A city that now sees him as a symbol of hope, challenge and redefining politics in the post-Trump era.

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