Minneapolis progressives swoon over Zohran Mamdani's NYC win

Left-wing challengers to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are giddy over the stunning results of this week's New York City Democratic mayoral primary.

Why it matters: In state lawmaker and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani's upset victory over a towering establishment figure — former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — they see a roadmap for unseating Frey in Minneapolis' upcoming election.

The big picture: Progressive critics have had mixed success in checking Frey, a Democrat whom they see as too cozy with police and big business.

• The mayor's critics secured a City Council majority in 2023, but they failed to unseat him in 2021 despite unease in the city after George Floyd's murder and the violence that ensued.

What happened: Mamdani's viral charisma and populist platform — which included a plank calling for opening city-owned grocery stores to lower food prices — resonated with young New Yorkers in the ranked-choice primary.

• Cuomo conceded the race for the Democratic nomination earlier this week, though CNN reported Thursday that he may still run as an independent in the general election.

What they're saying: "People discounted Zohran because he was young, Muslim, progressive, 'unelectable,' and a socialist," Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez, a Frey critic, wrote on X. "He proved the world wrong."

Like Mamdani, a leading Frey challenger is a 30-something Muslim democratic socialist: state Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Minneapolis).

• The parallels extend to policy, too. Fateh has supported rent control since before "freeze the rent" became a Mamdani campaign slogan.

"Minneapolis next!" Fateh wrote in a congratulatory Bluesky post following Mamdani's win.

Reality check: The flaw in the comparison is Cuomo — a deeply vulnerable, "uniquely weak" candidate, Frey campaign manager Sam Schulenberg said in a statement to Axios.

• Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 amid allegations of sexual assault and swirling questions about whether New York undercounted COVID deaths in nursing homes.
• Mamdani also won a primary in which only registered Democrats can vote. Minneapolis mayoral races are decided in a single general election.

Plus: Cuomo and Frey both run in a center-left lane, but Frey leans further left than Cuomo on issues like housing development.

• Center-left mayoral candidates have also prevailed in recent elections in Pittsburgh and St. Louis.

The intrigue: While a "Don't Rank Frey" campaign failed in 2021, Mamdani and several like-minded candidates formed a similar, sometimes-uneasy alliance under the banner "Don't Rank Cuomo."

• A similar alliance appears to be forming again in Minneapolis among Frey challengers Rev. DeWayne Davis, Jazz Hampton and Fateh.