New York City’s political scene has rarely lacked for drama, but the summer of 2025 has delivered an unusually raucous mayoral race, pitting legacy politicians against insurgent socialists and drawing national attention. At the heart of the commotion is Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblyman and Democratic socialist, whose surprise victory in June’s Democratic primary upended expectations and set off a firestorm across the city’s political spectrum.
Mamdani’s win, with 43.8 percent of the vote, edged out former governor Andrew Cuomo, who trailed at 36.1 percent. The result sent shockwaves through New York’s political establishment. According to MEAWW, Cuomo responded by reentering the race as an independent, joining incumbent Eric Adams—also running without party affiliation—in a crowded, unpredictable field.
It was Cuomo’s response, however, that quickly became the talk of social media. On August 8, he posted on X (formerly Twitter), “In case you forgot, I’m Andrew Cuomo, son of Mario, grandson of Andrea. Welcome to the heavyweight bout, @ZohranKMamdani. This is a two man race. You look tired already. It’s just the second round.” The post, intended to invoke his storied political lineage—his late father Mario Cuomo served as governor for over a decade, and his grandfather Andrea was a Sicilian immigrant who started a grocery store in Queens—was met with immediate and widespread mockery.
Journalist Mehdi Hasan summed up the online sentiment, quipping, “In case you forgot, I’m a nepo baby!” Film producer Franklin Leonard jabbed, “Technically, this is a rematch. You got knocked out in the first fight.” And journalist Keith Olbermann piled on: “You’ll need to provide a paternity test, because you sure as hell aren’t acting as smart as either of them.” Social media users were equally unrestrained, accusing Cuomo of leaning on his family’s name rather than offering a vision for the city. One user wrote, “You are just saying that somehow you’re entitled to be in office because of your family. You’ve never once said how you will benefit the people of NYC. You just feel you’re owed the job. Sick.” Another added, “If you have to invoke your father’s name to make a point about your candidacy, then you probably don’t have any record to run on. Unfortunately, leaders are made, not born. As such, leadership is not genetically transmitted.”
While Cuomo weathered the online storm, Mamdani’s own campaign was not without controversy. As reported by the New York Post, Mamdani’s allies in the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) took a victory lap at their “Socialism 2025” conference in Chicago in July, celebrating his primary win as a triumph for their leftist agenda. The panel, featuring figures like Olivia Katbi, Eman Abdelhadi, Emily Janakiram, and Katie Gibson, pushed for the abolition of the traditional family and “family policing,” with Katbi arguing, “In addition to the abolition of family policing [government-run child protective services], we argue for abolition of the family in general and say that the institution of the family acts as part of the carceral system in that it reinforces children as property.”
Abdelhadi, an assistant professor at the University of Chicago, added, “When we talk about family abolition…we’re talking about the abolition of the economic unit. It is a horizon … in which all of our material needs are taken care of by the collective.” Janakiram, a Brooklyn-based writer and activist, made the provocative claim, “The only real difference between marriage and prostitution is the price and the duration of the contract. Sex work and marriage can’t exist without each other — they’re two sides of the same coin.”
The panel’s radical rhetoric was not limited to theory. One audience member, identifying as a Baptist minister, declared, “I want to perform abortions at a church before it’s all said and done,” a statement met with nods of agreement from the panel. Such declarations, as reported by the New York Post, fueled criticism from across the political spectrum. Stu Smith of the Manhattan Institute argued that Mamdani’s luxury lifestyle—highlighted by a lavish three-day wedding celebration in Uganda, complete with security from the Uganda Special Forces—clashed with his campaign’s socialist ideals. “He’s a nepo baby from a traditional family — but then he wants to distribute the wealth while also just having a luxury wedding,” Smith said. Councilman Robert Holden, a moderate Democrat from Queens, warned, “Zohran Mamdani and his allies in the DSA are openly laying out their radical ‘Project DSA 2026’ agenda for state-run families, indoctrinating our children, and dismantling the very fabric of our society.”
As criticism mounted, Mamdani’s campaign adopted a lower profile. According to Fox News Digital, he traveled to Uganda in early August for a ten-day wedding celebration with his wife Rama Duwaii, a trip his campaign insisted was personal and unrelated to politics. Yet, many saw the timing as a strategic retreat from the campaign spotlight during a critical stretch of the general election. The previous week, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had brought Mamdani to Washington, D.C., for a breakfast with Congressional Democrats. The event’s location was hastily moved to a nearby restaurant, and Mamdani reportedly exited out a backdoor, avoiding cameras and public scrutiny. Observers, including columnist David Marcus, interpreted these moves as a deliberate effort to shield Mamdani from tough questions about his political record and associations.
Despite the DSA’s confidence and the excitement among progressive circles, Mamdani’s path to City Hall is far from guaranteed. As Fox News Digital noted, national Democratic leaders such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer—both New Yorkers—have conspicuously withheld endorsements. Political ads tying local Democrats to Mamdani’s socialist platform have already begun airing, signaling the anxieties of party moderates about his appeal in the general election.
The crowded field could work in Mamdani’s favor. With Adams, Cuomo, and other contenders splitting the anti-socialist vote, Mamdani’s energized base may provide enough support for victory, especially if his rivals fail to unite behind a single alternative. As Marcus observed, “If all three of Mamdani’s rivals remain in the race then the socialist will be able to hide his way to Gracie Mansion and control of America’s greatest city, maybe he does one debate, goes on a few lefty podcasts, that will be enough.”
Yet, for all the strategizing and spectacle, New Yorkers are left with a mayoral race defined as much by personality and legacy as by policy. Cuomo’s invocation of his family history, Mamdani’s association with radical socialist rhetoric, and the city’s restless electorate have created a contest that feels both familiar and unprecedented. The coming months will reveal whether voters are ready to embrace a bold new direction—or whether, in the end, the old rules of New York politics still apply.
