What Zohran Mamdani’s win in NYC means for us in Philly
Mamdani’s stunning mayoral primary win points to the future of left-wing politics — which is starting to take hold here in Philadelphia, too, write Philly Democratic Socialists of America cochairs.
Zohran Mamdani has shocked New York City — and the nation.
A relatively unknown 33-year-old state legislator from Queens and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani entered the Democratic mayoral primary with an unabashedly socialist agenda grounded in addressing the city’s affordability crisis by freezing rent for two million tenants, making buses fast and free, and funding universal childcare for all New Yorkers.
Buoyed by the broad popularity of these ideas, his social media acumen, and his natural charisma, Mamdani’s campaign caught fire. He raised money faster and from more individuals than any other candidate. He was the first to hit the city’s fundraising cap for campaigns using public campaign finance. He mobilized more than 50,000 volunteers.
Ultimately, he defeated a who’s who of Democratic Party insiders, including, most notably, the deep-pocketed former governor, Andrew Cuomo. (Just one super PAC supporting Cuomo alone raised more than $24 million.)
Cuomo may still run in the general election, and he may still win in November. Whether he does or not, Mamdani’s stunning primary win — and the high voter turnout behind it — shows that his brand of socialist politics is the future of left-wing American politics.
That brand has been gaining momentum here in Philadelphia for years. We know that because we’re two of the thousands of Philadelphians who’ve been dedicated to making it happen.
Today, there are five democratic socialists in Philadelphia who hold elected office.
As cochairs of the Philly DSA — the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, with more than 1,600 dues-paying members and many more supporters — we share Mamdani’s vision for cities where working-class people can afford to live by taxing the superrich and guaranteeing affordable housing, no-cost childcare, and free transportation.
Today, there are five democratic socialists in Philadelphia who hold elected office. But as in New York, we’ve seen the Democratic establishment and their billionaire allies fight our efforts at every turn.
When we endorsed Seth Anderson-Oberman and Andrés Celin for City Council in 2023 — both candidates who, like Mamdani, centered the needs of working people — we saw the same kind of establishment opposition. Billionaire Jeffrey Yass spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to support their opponents.
Yass intervened again in 2024 when we endorsed Cass Green’s campaign to unseat State Rep. Amen Brown, making the race to represent the 10th House District one of the most expensive elections in Pennsylvania state House history.
When we backed Working Families Party candidates Nicolas O’Rourke and Kendra Brooks for City Council, Bob Brady, the chair of Philadelphia’s Democratic Party, and several ward leaders expelled Democratic committeepeople who supported them.
Over the years, we’ve seen both wins and losses. But we know working-class Philadelphians, like millions of working-class Americans, are hungry for change. And Mamdani’s win in New York proves that the change they seek is a true working-class champion who fights like hell to improve their lives.
It also demonstrates the lie from Democratic Party leaders who insist the party must copy the right-wing to compete. These days, in Philadelphia and around the country, Democratic talking heads are blaming Donald Trump’s victory — and the broader rise of the far-right — on progressives and leftists. Simultaneously, top Democratic figures like California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman are consciously pivoting to the right.
In 2023, Brown ran a Republican-friendly campaign in Philadelphia, saying that “it was nice [when] the progressives came to our city and tried to do their experiments, but those days are over.”
Recently, Ro Khanna, a Democratic California U.S. representative, even suggested the party should court Elon Musk’s favor now that he’s fallen out with Trump.
Today, we can say they’re all wrong. There’s a new type of politics emerging in this country, and it doesn’t involve sucking up to billionaires or emulating the politics of the right. Instead, it’s a politics that names capitalism as the root of the affordability crisis in our cities, and offers a hopeful alternative for those of us struggling to survive under it.
Mamdani may be the first politician in recent memory to show us that this kind of politics can win big, but he won’t be the last.
Deborah Rose Hinchey and G. Paul Blundell are cochairs of Philly DSA, the Philadelphia chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America.