Zohran Mamdani, 34, has been elected the 111th mayor of New York City. The left-wing state assemblyman has pledged to reshape the global finance capital by making the city more affordable for its working-class residents and pushing back against the policies of President Donald Trump.
In the mayoral election, Democrat Mamdani stood as the candidate for both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party. He has also been a member of the Democratic Socialists of America since 2017 and describes himself as a democratic socialist.
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With his win, he has made history as the city’s first Muslim mayor, as well as the first of South Asian descent – and the first to be born in an African country (Uganda). He will also be New York City’s youngest mayor for more than a century when he takes office on January 1.
“Tonight, against all odds, we made it happen,” the mayor-elect told a crowd of jubilant supporters. “New York, you’ve delivered a mandate for change, for a new politics, and for a city we can actually afford,” he said.
Mamdani’s unexpected rise underscores arguments from left-wing Democrats who advocate for more progressive policies to win over voters who have drifted away from the party. But what vision of the US do the Democratic Socialists of America have?
Who are the Democratic Socialists of America?
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organisation in the US. It has nearly 100,000 members and seeks to democratise society by “collectively own[ing] the key economic drivers that dominate our lives”, according to its website.
Unlike a traditional political party, the DSA operates as a decentralised grassroots network. It has hundreds of country-wide “chapters” (local community action groups) which engage in political organising – from labour campaigns to mutual aid projects.
In its modern form, the DSA was founded in 1982 by the political activist Michael Harrington. It gained prominence during the 2016 presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, who electrified a generation of Americans disillusioned with persistent social inequality.
According to a report published by Oxfam on November 3, the richest 1 percent of households in the US have accumulated almost 1,000 times more wealth than the poorest 20 percent since the early 1990s.
At its core, the DSA advocates for a society where people, not profit, govern economic activity. Its members advocate for policies such as universal healthcare, affordable housing, strong unions and aggressive climate action through public investment.
The DSA does not call for the abolition of free markets, but rather for a more egalitarian society in which the public assumes greater control of resources and institutions, thereby watering down corporate power.
In many ways, the DSA are jockeying for something that already exists across the Atlantic: European-style welfare programmes. European governments – whether in Scandinavia, Germany or France – have long operated universal healthcare schemes, for example.
In Europe, populations have come to expect high-quality public healthcare, which is usually free at the point of delivery, decent housing and education. While DSA proposals may sound radical in a US context, advocating for a mixed economy is fairly routine in Europe.
When it comes to elections, the DSA gives its endorsement to progressive mainstream political candidates who align with its values – figures such as Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
This strategy reflects the DSA’s dual ambition: to contest power within existing institutions of power to try and reform them.
Who is associated with the Democratic Socialists of America?
A foundational figure: Bernie Sanders
While he is not a formal DSA member, Bernie Sanders has long identified as a democratic socialist. In 2016, he was close to securing the Democratic Party’s nomination for presidential candidate, but eventually lost out to Hillary Clinton.
Sanders received 13.2 million votes during the presidential primaries, amounting to roughly 45 percent of the ballot. Clinton, meanwhile, received 16.9 million votes, and then subsequently lost the presidential election to Donald Trump.
In spite of his loss, the 84-year-old Vermont senator has remained the poster boy for disillusionment with the political status quo.
While Sanders identifies as an independent – meaning he has no formal relationship with the Democratic Party – he continues to receive popular support for his views on free universal healthcare and free university tuition.
The DSA website references Sanders’ political revolution as part of its guiding ideology. As such, he is less a member politician and more a symbolic anchor for the DSA movement.
Trailblazers: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib
These two members of Congress, both Democrats, helped to bring DSA-style politics to the mainstream in the US. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of the Bronx and Queens in New York, burst onto the scene in 2018 when she defeated incumbent Joseph Crowley.
Rashida Tlaib, representing Michigan, is the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress and a self-identified democratic socialist. Also elected in 2018, she is a champion of universal healthcare. She is also a firm backer of the idea that unions should negotiate wage contracts.
The electoral success of both these politicians has meant socialists are no longer entirely “fringe” in the US electoral system.
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Tlaib are part of an informal group, which includes Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley, of progressive congressional leaders known as the “Squad”.
In 2019, Trump said of the group, “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came?”
Mid-career grass-roots influencer: Greg Casar
Greg Casar, a Democrat from Texas, was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2022 after serving on the Austin City Council.
He came from a local activist background, calling for workers’ rights, paid sick leave and raising the minimum wage, before shifting to a national platform.
At the same time, Casar illustrates the tensions within DSA affiliation. His local chapter withdrew formal support for him in 2022 after he supported the continuation of federal aid for Israel.
Casar is at once a socialist-aligned elected official while also attempting to navigate the practical and strategic trade-offs of being left-of-centre within the Democratic Party.
In 2019, Nanci Pelosi – the erstwhile Democratic speaker of the House and then symbol of the party – told CBS: “I do reject socialism,” adding “that [socialism] is not the view of the Democratic Party.”
Rising stars: Zohran Mamdani and contemporaries
In recent years, a new wave of left-wing politicians has secured public posts on DSA-style pledges. Zohran Mamdani, who is also affiliated with the Working Families Party and will take over as New York City mayor in January next year, is the most prominent example.
His platform, which argues in favour of rent freezes, fare-free buses and higher taxes on the wealthy, is at the more ambitious end of DSA’s playbook, and is focused on addressing New York City’s affordability crisis. Median rents in the city are $3,400 a month. According to the latest available data from the US Census Bureau, the median monthly income for New York City households is $6,640.
But Mamdani is not the only rising star in the DSA movement; Democrat Sarahana Shrestha was elected a New York State Assembly member in 2022.
A longtime climate advocate, Shrestha, who was born in Nepal, emerged from the grassroots wing of the DSA. She beat Kevin Cahill, the incumbent Hudson Valley Democrat, in a 2022 election.