Mamdani’s mayoral bid signals a new era in American politics

 Barring any surprises, Zohran Mamdani is expected to be elected mayor of New York next week. His election would send a political shock wave far beyond the Big Apple.

At 33, Mamdani, a local elected official, has no significant political experience. He emerged out of nowhere during the Democratic primary for New York’s mayoral race last June.

Charismatic and skillful, Mamdani first managed to ride the wave of unpopularity surrounding his rivals. He also succeeded in mobilizing supporers around the issue of the high cost of living, a particularly sensitive topic in New York.

However demagogic they may be, some of his proposals, such as free bus service or the creation of “collective” supermarkets to fight high prices, have found broad appeal.

This focus on purchasing power has national significance. The Democratic Party wants to win back working-class voters, who have been both drawn to Donald Trump’s populism and disappointed by Democrats’ focus on cultural rather than social issues, a focus cleverly exploited and exaggerated by Republicans.

That said, Democrats are not neglecting the culture-war issues, especially when it comes to appealing to younger voters. In the last presidential election, Harris’s margin of victory over Trump among 18–49-year-olds was only 7 points, compared to 17 points in 2020.

While Mamdani has mobilized young voters with his charisma and his cost-of-living measures, he has also appealed to social and identity issues, with statements critical of the police, for which he later apologized, and promises to tax richer and “whiter” neighborhoods more.

Yet it is above all his pro-Palestinian stance that has played a decisive role, as 70% of young Democrats aged 18–49 (and 50% of Republicans of the same age) now hold a negative view of Israel nationwide, and fewer than 10% of Americans aged 18–29 supported Israel in the war as of last July.

As 77% of Democratic voters believe that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, a candidate’s position on Israel has become a key factor in winning a Democratic primary, extending beyond just the youth vote.

Mamdani’s unapologetic anti-Zionism

Mamdani’s unapologetic anti-Zionism, once disqualifying, has become an asset in 2025. It does not even prevent him from attracting some Jewish voters, especially among the younger generation, though with major differences among the pollsters: 38% according to Fox News, 16% according to Quinnipiac.

Finally, Mamdani’s popularity reveals something deeper about the state of American politics – beyond the issues dividing Democrats and Republicans. Trump’s rise weakened the notion of competence and experience, replacing it with the ability to deliver a strong, unfiltered message. Trump successfully turned his lack of experience into an advantage, presenting himself as an outsider. Mamdani is applying the same formula.

In many ways, Mamdani is Trump’s progressive mirror image, combining anti-establishment rhetoric, populism verging on demagoguery, and cultural warfare. Unsurprisingly, Trump has already expressed delight at his likely election. For him, Mamdani as mayor of the most emblematic US city would perfectly embody what he describes as the new Democratic Party: extremist, antisemitic, woke, incompetent, anti-police, etc.

However caricatured this portrayal may be, Trump will certainly use it, turning Mamdani into the face of the Democratic Party and his principal opponent, forcing the Democrats to position themselves clearly on sensitive issues, which they have been reluctant to do in the New York race in the face of Mamdani’s rising popularity.

In short, the future of American politics may well be taking shape in this mayoral election.

Born and raised in France, the writer is the correspondent for French Jewish radio, Radio J, in the US, where he has been living for 15 years. He also holds US and Israeli citizenship. His opinions are his only.