Zaid Jilani, journalist and political commentator based in Atlanta, joined Chicago’s Morning Answer to discuss the upcoming New York City mayoral race and the rise of self-identified Democratic socialist Zoran Mandani, who is poised to defeat former governor Andrew Cuomo. Jilani said the race reflects both the collapse of establishment Democrats in deep-blue cities and a broader demographic realignment within the American left.
Jilani noted that Cuomo’s political downfall—despite his famous name, donor base, and party connections—represents a stunning failure of establishment politics. “Cuomo should not have lost on paper,” Jilani said. “It speaks to his weakness and his inability to recognize when his time is up.” He credited Mandani’s energy and charisma but emphasized that the outcome says more about New York’s changing electorate than about Mandani’s own appeal.
New York’s demographics have shifted sharply over the last two decades, Jilani explained. Nearly 40 percent of adults are not working, over half receive some form of public assistance, and roughly a third of residents are foreign-born—groups that have tended to favor progressive candidates. “New York’s political base has changed,” he said. “Gentrification, immigration, and generational turnover have all produced a more left-leaning electorate.”
Jilani warned, however, that Democrats risk alienating moderate and working-class voters nationwide if they allow the ideological excesses of big-city leadership to define the party. He pointed to tightening gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia as evidence of voter backlash against mismanagement in deep-blue areas. “If Democrats get distracted by culture wars and social engineering instead of focusing on cost of living, housing, and safety, they’re going to keep losing ground,” he said.
On the normalization of the term “Democratic socialist,” Jilani said the label has become a form of intra-party branding for progressives in deep-blue districts. “In places like Georgia, no Democrat would run as a socialist,” he said. “But in New York or Portland, it’s a way of saying, ‘We’re not part of the old establishment.’” Still, he cautioned that overusing ideological labels—on both sides—risks desensitizing voters. “Republicans call everyone a socialist, just like the left calls everything racist. When you do that, the words lose meaning.”
The discussion turned to the growing tolerance for political violence, particularly among fringe groups on the left. Citing polling data and recent high-profile attacks, Jilani described a dangerous climate of animosity and contempt that encourages copycat incidents. “Violence spreads like a contagion,” he said. “When one person commits a political attack, others are inspired to follow.”
He called for a return to open debate and civil discourse, contrasting recent assassinations and violent protests with the traditions of democratic argument. “Politics is supposed to be about persuasion,” he said. “Once you stop talking, the only thing left to do is fight—and that’s not democracy, that’s anarchy.”
Jilani concluded that both political parties need to re-center public conversation around bread-and-butter concerns and reject leaders who glorify extremism. “We’ve got to get back to talking, not fighting,” he said. “That’s the only way this country moves forward.”