Queens, New York – In a political season already full of surprises, the city’s Democratic mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, is at the center of a storm that reveals just how much the winds of New York politics have shifted. On August 15, 2025, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards made headlines by officially endorsing Mamdani at the final stop of the candidate’s “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour, held at the offices of the powerful services union 32BJ SEIU in Richmond Hill. The move was met with both effusive praise and sharp criticism, laying bare the deep divisions and changing dynamics within the city’s Democratic establishment.
According to reporting from multiple outlets, Richards’ endorsement was lauded by several elected officials across Queens, who see Mamdani as a new face for progressive leadership in the city. But not everyone was pleased. Council Member Robert Holden, a prominent voice in Queens politics, strongly criticized Richards for what he sees as an embrace of a radical shift in the party’s direction. This rift is emblematic of the broader debate now raging within Democratic circles: just how far left is too far left for New York City?
Mamdani’s ascent from a young, relatively unknown socialist assemblyman from Queens to the Democratic nominee for mayor is, in itself, a story that would have seemed improbable just a few years ago. Yet, as noted by The New York Times and other outlets, his victory is not just about one man’s rise—it’s about the growing power of the Working Families Party (WFP), which has rapidly become the modern-day kingmaker in New York politics.
Founded in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions and progressive activists, the WFP has always sought to punch above its weight. Enabled by New York’s unique system of fusion voting—which allows one party to cross-endorse candidates from another party—the WFP has leveraged its ballot line to exert influence far beyond what most minor parties could dream of. For decades, fusion voting gave smaller parties like the Conservative Party and the now-defunct Liberal Party a way to sway elections, but the WFP has taken this game to a whole new level.
As detailed in recent coverage, a pivotal 2006 state court decision struck down a law that had previously barred parties from spending money in other parties’ primaries. This opened the door for the WFP to do more than just endorse candidates—it began funding, organizing, and running its own slates in Democratic primaries across New York. By 2025, this strategy had matured into a well-oiled machine, one that would play a decisive role in Mamdani’s victory.
The 2025 Democratic mayoral primary was a case study in the WFP’s power. The party’s campaign was laser-focused—not only on boosting Mamdani but also on blocking his chief rival, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, a longtime nemesis of the WFP. The party urged its supporters to use ranked-choice voting strategically: rank anyone but Cuomo. The result? Mamdani was ranked on nearly 60 percent of ballots, while Cuomo managed just 45 percent. Ranked-choice voting, originally pitched as a way to help centrists, was instead weaponized by the WFP to deliver a win for the most left-wing candidate in the field.
But the WFP’s influence isn’t just about electioneering. Thanks to its status as a recognized political party under New York law, it can coordinate directly with its candidates and accept contributions up to $138,600 per donor—sums that dwarf what most individual candidates can raise. These resources are poured into low-turnout primaries, where a few thousand votes can swing the outcome. And the party’s reach extends well beyond campaign season: since Mamdani’s win, he’s appointed a longtime WFP operative as his campaign manager, and WFP alumni now hold key positions in city council offices, legislative staffs, major unions, and influential nonprofits.
The WFP’s power is also enforced through internal discipline. In 2018, the party backed challengers against the State Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference, a group of moderates it viewed as disloyal. Most of those senators lost their seats. The party continues to police its ranks, recently targeting State Senator Jessica Ramos for backing Cuomo after her own mayoral campaign faltered. Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas is reportedly being lined up as a challenger for Ramos in 2026.
Legislative developments have only strengthened the WFP’s hand. The state legislature recently passed a bill granting the WFP’s state committee the authority to expel (or "disenroll") party members deemed out of step with its principles—a power previously reserved for county party leaders. As The New York Times notes, few doubt that the bill was pushed by the WFP, and few expect Governor Kathy Hochul to veto it, given her own need for the party’s support in her reelection bid. If signed into law, the WFP will have a powerful new tool for enforcing ideological purity.
Amid these seismic shifts, Mamdani’s campaign has not been without its challenges. On August 14, 2025, at an anti-Trump event in the Bronx, Mamdani confirmed to reporters that former President Barack Obama had called him soon after his primary victory in June. "It was a call that I was honored to receive," Mamdani said. The two discussed the importance of hope in politics and the ways in which leaders must govern to deliver on that hope. "We spoke about the importance in a moment such as this, where politics is often characterized by a language of darkness, the necessity of hope in how we speak and how we orient ourselves to the world," Mamdani explained.
Obama’s call, first reported by The New York Times, was more than a congratulatory gesture—it was a signal of the national attention Mamdani’s campaign has attracted. Obama’s former aides, including Jon Favreau and Dan Pfieffer of "Pod Save America" fame, have reportedly been in touch with Mamdani’s strategist, Morris Katz, further underscoring the campaign’s growing profile. For Mamdani, Obama’s example is instructive. Facing criticism and even hostility on the trail—he was told to "go back to where you came from" and called a "commie" at a Staten Island event—Mamdani said he is "lucky" to have Obama’s example of how to rise above negativity.
As Mamdani closed out his “Five Boroughs Against Trump” tour in Queens, he looked ahead to the possibility of becoming mayor. He reflected on the responsibility to deliver justice and to ensure that new voters—more than 30,000 registered in the last ten days of his campaign—continue to see themselves represented. "The first 100 days, the first year, the first term of what it means to be the mayor of the city, such that the New Yorkers who got to vote for the very first time... continue to vote because they continue to see themselves in their democracy," he said.
The story of Zohran Mamdani’s rise is, in many ways, the story of a party—and a city—in flux. With the Working Families Party now the dominant force in Democratic politics, the old rules no longer apply. Whether this new machine will deliver on its promises of hope and justice remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: New York’s political landscape may never be the same.
