Zohran Mamdani’s unlikely victory on June 24 in New York’s Democratic primary for mayor shell-shocked the nation’s political establishment, forcing pundits and party officials to entertain the possible reality that there are sizable numbers of Democratic voters eager for radical and dramatic change. Mamdani is the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for mayor and, if elected, will instantly challenge the incremental and milquetoast Republican approaches to issues of crucial importance to the Democratic Party’s base  -  childcare, affordable housing, rent control, health care, etc.

Mamdani’s victory resulted in fraught bipartisan meltdowns across the political spectrum as pockets of Democratic donors, party leaders, and others went into panic mode, frantically lamenting how such an outcome could have occurred. Some insisted on challenging and defeating Mamdani in November. Time will tell which outcome occurs.

Much of the vitriol reserved for the 33-year-old socialist, who hails from an upscale pedigree, has emerged from the political right. Immediately following his political triumph over perennial rabble-rouser Andrew Cuomo, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) this week posted an image of the Statue of Liberty clothed in a burqa with the message, “This hits hard.” Her equally menacing fellow conservative, Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) shared a photo of Mamdani and wrote, “After 9/11 we said ‘Never Forget.’ I think we sadly have forgotten.” Elise Stefanik (R-New York), who is weighing a gubernatorial bid, called Mamdani an “antisemitic, jihadist, Communist candidate.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) declined to comment on or address fellow GOP lawmakers’ attacks. Mamdani has denounced such attacks, saying earlier this month that they demonstrate the “very sad burden of what it means to be the first Muslim candidate to run for mayor, is to deal with dehumanizing language.” Growing emotional, he explained the verbal barrage made him feel “as if I am a beast.” He said he has received death threats and “messages that say the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim.” The New York Young Republican Club urged the Trump administration to deport him.

Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-Tennessee) referred to Mamdani as “little muhammad” and wrote on social media this week that he “needs to be DEPORTED.” On Thursday, June 26, Ogles distributed a letter he forwarded to Attorney General Pam Bondi encouraging the Justice Department to investigate Mamdani, claiming that “he may have procured U.S. citizenship through willful misrepresentation or concealment of material support for terrorism.” Mamdani is Muslim and a naturalized citizen born in Uganda who moved to New York at seven years old and became a U.S. citizen in 2018. Far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer spread the unproven allegation to her followers that Mamdani was a jihadist and that “Sharia Law is coming.”

Rapaciously bigoted Charlie Kirk, cofounder of the conservative group Turning Point USA, posted on primary night that “24 years ago a group of Muslims killed 2,753 people on 9/11. Now a Muslim Socialist is on pace to run New York City.” Then on a podcast he posted on June 25th, he called Mamdani an “anti-Western manifestation” of forces that want to destabilize the United States. Many Democrats, including those who took issue with his campaign, such as Ritchie Torres (D-New York), quickly denounced such scurrilous attacks toward Mamdani. His own campaign refused to allow such acerbic commentary directed toward their candidate go unchallenged.

Lekha Sunder, a spokesperson for the Mamdani campaign, echoed those comments on Friday. “In typical MAGA fashion, lawmakers like Congressman Ogles and Mace have responded to our historic victory in New York City with hatred, division, and a desire to suppress the will of the people. Our movement will not cower in response. In the coming months, we will continue our efforts to listen to every New Yorker, usher in a new generation of leadership, and build a city that is affordable for everyone.”

Such malicious rhetoric should hardly come as a surprise given the reality that the current Republican Party is led by a commander-in-chief who has referred to immigrants as “animals,” claimed that “they’re poisoning the blood of our country,” and remarked to a radio host that they commit murder because “it’s in their genes.” He avidly embraces the “Great Replacement” theory, which posits that Democrats have deliberately encouraged mass illegal immigration in order to transform the electorate. Indeed, such blatantly raw, racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic, and xenophobic comments and rhetoric from today’s Republican Party dominate its fabric, from party blogs, podcasts, and websites to newscasts and national conventions.

As it related to more inspirational messages, David Freedlander of The Intelligencer commented that Mamdani told him on the phone that “We won College Point, Brighton Beach, Bensonhurst, Bath Beach,” ticking through neighborhoods known to be among the most right-leaning zohran-mamdani-on-why-he-beat-andrew-cuomo in the city. Although Mamdani’s victory is a signal of an undeniable shift happening in the Democratic Party with younger, more motivated, and more active voters, party leadership elites seemingly are not willing to share equitable power. Such impervious resistance could prove to be problematic. If the recent election outcome is any indication, the party had better get prepared to listen to, embrace, and recruit a wider swath of voters, in particular, younger and disenfranchised voters.