Zohran Mamdani’s socialist policies and extreme views on the NYPD and the city’s robust Jewish population will destroy the city they call home. It may drive some to actually leave.
NYC mayoral hopefuls rally voters ahead of election day
Zohran Mamdani, Andrew Cuomo and Curtis Sliwa make their final efforts to connect with voters ahead of NYC election day.
Every time I pull into New York City, I blast Taylor Swift’s “Welcome to New York.” Prosaic, perhaps, but the thumping bass and lyrics painting New York as a city of bright lights and possibilities seem appropriate, inspiring and true.
In New York City, as the song goes, “the lights are so bright but they never blind me.” But after the Nov. 4 New York mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani’s policies may open the eyes of Gen Z so blindingly enthralled with democratic socialism, they seem poised to give the Democratic nominee the reins of one of the most dazzling cities in America. It would be a devastating loss for common sense and New York City.
More than 735,000 New Yorkers cast ballots during the early-voting period, and 16% were Generation Z voters.
Mamdani’s socialist policies and extreme views on the New York Police Department and the city’s robust Jewish population will destroy − or at least dim the lights of − the city they call home. It might drive some to actually leave.
Some New Yorkers say they’ll leave if Zohran Mamdani wins
We are seeing hints of this already. A survey done by J.L. Partners for the Daily Mail found that, despite Mamdani’s incredible popularity with the youth vote, not everyone is excited that the state legislator will institute his socialist agenda on New Yorkers.
The poll found that 9%, approximately 765,000 New Yorkers, would “definitely” leave the city if Mamdani was elected. And 25%, or nearly 2.13 million people, would “consider” leaving. New York City has a population of 8.5 million.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether Mamdani is elected and whether residents will actually leave in droves. But even the fact that so many have expressed a desire to leave shows some people are anxious about Mamdani’s candidacy.
Sometimes, residents do leave a state because of a poor leader. There’s been an exodus in California since Gavin Newsom became governor in 2019. He’s not quite a socialist but a progressive Democrat now rebranding himself for a possible presidential run.
Mamdani’s views would be harmful to New York
Mamdani’s socialist policies are going to be a problem, but I’m also concerned about his worldview on crime and antisemitism.
He’s waffled on how to handle crime, sometimes saying he would disband the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group. He’s also smeared the NYPD, calling them “racist” and a “rogue agency,” then backtracked with an apology.
Sometimes, Mamdani has even coupled his anti-police stance with antisemitism (how inclusive!).
He recently had to give CNN’s Anderson Cooper an explanation of a comment that had resurfaced on social media. The man who wants to be mayor of New York tried to walk back his comment and redirect to his focus on safety, but the damage is done.
“We have to make clear that when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF,” Mamdani said in a clip from a Democratic Socialists of America convention held in 2023. The IDF is a reference to the Israel Defense Forces.
On Oct. 31, Mamdani told Cooper that the comment was a reference to training exercises between the NYPD and the IDF, but his explanation beyond that made little sense.
Gen Z’s embrace of Mamdani was inevitable
It might seem contradictory that Mamdani is wildly popular with Gen Z while promoting extreme views that could drive people out of New York City. But it’s not a contradiction at all. Younger voters have increasingly gravitated toward progressive agendas.
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A 2025 Cato/YouGov survey found that 62% of Americans ages 18-29 had a “favorable view” of socialism. As socialism has grown in popularity, views on capitalism have declined. The appeal of socialism has slowly increased among younger generations over the years.
A 2020 Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation poll found that, from 2019 to 2020, Gen Z increasingly favored socialism by 9 percentage points.
If residents, especially wealthier, innovative, business-owning New Yorkers, flee because they don’t want to see their taxes raised and an increase in crime and antisemitism, New York City will start to falter.
Most New Yorkers love the city so much they wouldn’t change anything. Well, now, one man seems on the verge of being elected to change everything. Get ready for Mamdani’s New York.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.