Colette Potter ‘26
Opinions Editor
If you haven’t been living under a political rock, you likely know about the New York City mayoral race. The drama has been unfolding for months, with Zohran Mandani winning the primary, Andrew Cuomo running as an independent, and Eric Adams dropping out. Other discourse topics include the mayoral debates, where everything from Rikers Island to breakfast sandwiches to buses to parades has been discussed. The candidates include former governor Andrew Cuomo, NYC assemblyman Zohran Mandani, and Curtis Silwa, CEO of the Guardian Angels. The discussions, jokes, and fears around the campaigns have been featured in headlines for months, but questions remain: does this race actually matter? Furthermore, should you care?
I think yes. I am not a New Yorker, yet I am highly fascinated by this election. I predict that the result of this election will shape the 2028 presidential election, as well as define the 2026 midterms. No matter what happens, the next presidential election will be influenced by this mayoral election. If Mandani wins, people will blame Democratic losses in the midterms on fears of socialism and rising taxes, and if Cuomo wins, there will be increased discussion about if Democrats should trust the younger, possibly more energized, yet inexperienced candidates.
To me, that is the question. Experience or energy? The voters will decide, and this race will very likely shape the Democratic midterms and presidential nominee. Do they go for the energetic youngster or the product of the Democratic establishment?
If that is too binary, I do believe the Democrats should take a few lessons from Mandani. The youth is the future; I think we too often forget that. The political events of today and in the past few years will help mold our lifelong political outlooks. I often find that the sentiment of young people is that they are sick of the “establishment.”
Like it or not, President Trump is a product of this. Donald Trump won in 2016 against an experienced Democrat, and again in 2020. He’s the “non-politican” candidate that emerges every so often. It happened with Reagan, and it will happen again. I firmly believe that the election of President Trump again was a byproduct of people becoming sick of mainstream political candidates. They are tired of feeling like their quality of life and opportunities have decreased from their parents’ generations, and elect the “change” candidate as a result.
Mandani is another “change” candidate. He is a Muslim, a millennial, a self-identifying democratic socialist with a knack for social media. Cuomo is an establishment Democrat with skeletons in his closet and a certified “nepo baby” (he has “my-father-was-governor” syndrome). Mandani is the Democratic spring chicken with energy, a defined political agenda and ideas, and the ability to connect with younger generations. And if he does succeed and become elected as mayor, he will have managed to circumvent big business leaders and billionaires’ influence against him and his tax increases, as well as be elected as a Muslim mayor in a very Jewish city. This would be especially pertinent considering the fraught and tense atmosphere over the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Personally, I don’t agree with Mandani on many of his policies. However, I am excited by his energy and political ideas. I think that Democrats have a lot to learn from him. You should care about this race. It’s indicative of the wider conflict of political ideologies across America, and a huge test of faith in the Democratic establishment versus Democratic change candidates. What happens–no matter the result–this mayoral race will shape the Democratic party. It will determine what truly matters: energy or experience.
Featured image courtesy of Google Images
Copy Edited by Lauren Zerella ’29
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