When Mamdani Wins the Left Will Celebrate -- So Will Republicans

Is he the new, fresh face of the Democratic Party? Republicans hope so.

Unless a meteor crashes into Manhattan and shuts down next month’s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani is going to win — and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party will throw a victory party big enough to drown out common sense. But before they break out the champagne, they might want to consider that their celebration could be just a little premature.

Eric Adams is out. The current mayor — who once tried to straddle the line between pragmatism and progressive posturing — has called it quits. Why? Well, there are plenty of reasons he fell out of favor, but let’s start with the obvious: He rolled out the red carpet for tens of thousands of illegal immigrants while the city was already drowning in its own homeless crisis. Brilliant, right?

So now we’re left with a wide-open path for Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, to walk right into City Hall. Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa are technically still in the game, but calling them “long shots” would be generous. Mamdani is lapping the field.

Jason Riley at The Wall Street Journal nailed it: Mamdani talks a good game about affordability. Who wouldn’t want a more livable city for working-class folks? Sounds great — until you look at the blueprint. Free public transit, government-run grocery stores, jacked-up minimum wages, higher taxes. In other words, the same old socialist fantasy that’s never worked anywhere it’s been tried.