After Stunning Upset in NYC Mayoral Primary, Who Will Zohran Mamdani Run Against?

On June 24, 2025, New York City residents took to the polls for the Democratic primary to determine who their candidate for mayor would be in the city's elections on Nov. 4, 2025.

It was a tense and, at times, combative race, with several candidates taking their shot at getting the party nod, including former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, Whitney Tilson, Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander, and Michael Blake.

Zohran Mamdani won the party nomination with an impressive nearly 10-point lead over Cuomo. That means that Zohran, as the city's first Democratic Socialist candidate for mayor, will face off against a Republican and others in the November city-wide race. Here's what we know about who he will run against.

When the primary results started trickling in, it became clear that New Yorkers were sending a strong message, picking the candidate who has a chance to be the first Muslim mayor of New York, the first Democratic Socialist, and the first Indian-American (per Fox 5 NYC).

But who are his opponents in the big race in November?

According to Fox 5, Zohran's opponents will include the embattled incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, who left the Democratic party to run as an Independent; Republican, Curtis Sliwa; and independent, Jim Walden.

It's not often that the world reacts to the primary results ahead of a mayoral race. Even in one of the biggest cities on earth. So why are people so laser-focused on Zohran's win?

There are a number of reasons, but the primary one may be because he's an open Democratic Socialist, like Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. The New York Times defines a Democratic Socialist as being in "opposition to capitalism and wanting to shift power from corporations to workers."

The Democratic Party has been somewhat resistant to shifting too far to the left, fearing that they'd lose moderate and independent voters. But Zohran's win may prove that voters are ready for big change, even if it means a significant deviation from the current state of things.

Many progressives and leftists on the internet are pointing to Zohran's win as proof that the party needs to start being bolder in leadership choices, suggesting that former Vice President Kamala Harris's loss in the 2024 presidential race is proof that centrist leaders no longer interest Democrat voters.

Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, told USA Today that Zohran's win was a "wake-up call" to Democratic leadership. She added, "It's voters saying very clearly what they want and offering a direction for how the Democratic Party can start to win again."

Because Zohran's win was by a large enough margin to send a message, many like Stephanie claim.

Republicans, on the other hand, are pointing to Zohran's relatively far-left platform of "$30 minimum wage" and "rent freezes" as "socialist ideology gone too far," and are looking to pit themselves as the traditionalist alternative to radical change.

While New York City traditionally elects Democrats, the mayor's race in November 2025 may tell the world one of two things: either people are ready for radical change, or they're not.