One year after Donald Trump’s triumphant re-election to the White House, voters are turning their backs on the Republican president and sending signals of intolerance and rebellion. The most sensational signal comes from New York, where, as widely predicted by the polls, the left-wing Democrat Zohran Mamdani34 years old, Ugandan father and Indian mother, was elected mayor, defeating Andrew Cuomo (who ran as an independent after losing the Democratic primaries) and the Republican Curtis Sliwa. Mamdani will be the first Muslim to lead the metropolis, which he intends to govern with a left-wing program: rent freezing, free buses, a minimum wage of $30 an hour by 2030, more taxes for the super rich.
“I am young, despite my efforts to age. I am Muslim. I am a democratic socialist. And, worst of all, I refuse to apologize for any of this,” Mamdsani said in his victory speech.
In the front page headline of the tabloid The New York Postaligned against Mamdani, the new mayor is presented as a Marxist armed with a hammer and sickle and the “Big Apple” (the nickname of New York) becomes “The Red Apple”. The New York Times writes that “more than 2 million New Yorkers cast their votes. This figure is almost double the 1,100,000 people who voted for the mayor four years ago. In some areas of Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, participation approached presidential election levels.” According to the newspaper, Mamdani, who will also be the youngest mayor in New York’s history, has managed to unite “younger voters with working-class immigrant enclaves in Queens. But he has also performed better than in the primaries in working-class African-American and Latino communities.”
Mamdani’s victory represents a challenge for the Democratic Party, demoralized by Trump’s return to the White House. In fact, Mamdani could inspire other candidates from the left wing of the party, seen by the majority of his voters as too lukewarm towards Trump. While waiting to find a coherent political identity and a clear electoral strategy, the Democratic Party is enjoying other positive results. Two Democratic candidates become governors in New Jersey and Virginia, while in California the majority of voters voted to redraw the electoral districts in order to favor Democratic candidates. The result is notable Abigail Spanbergerfirst woman (after 74 male predecessors) elected governor of Virginia. The State of New Jersey will instead be led by Mikie Sherrill. Democrats also performed well in local elections in Pennsylvania, Georgia and elsewhere.
“According to pollsters,” the fact that “Trump wasn’t on the ballot and the shutdown were the two reasons why Republicans lost the election.” Thus President Trump in a post on Truth.
The next electoral challenge between Trump and the Democratic Party is set for November 3, 2026, the day of the mid-term elections, in which voters will elect 435 deputies and 35 senators.
