New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani declared victory in the Democratic primary on Tuesday night, while his chief rival, disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded. The final results will be determined after a ranked-choice count of the votes, with results expected next Tuesday, but the race has nevertheless been a major upset against not only the Democratic establishment but also the right-wing media empire of billionaire Rupert Murdoch.
Mamdani’s path to the Democratic nomination appears to be secure, and he will likely be the party’s nominee in November’s general election, where the Democratic nominee is traditionally a heavy favorite to win.
Cuomo had the support of former President Bill Clinton, Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina, and many influential figures in New York City’s Democratic establishment, despite Cuomo resigning the governorship in disgrace over allegations of serial sexual misconduct and his alleged cover-up of nursing home deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic. A super PAC tied to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire, also spent over $25 million to bolster Cuomo.
Fox News, which is owned by Murdoch, added in to the headwinds facing Mamdani, a leftist who ran on a platform of fixing the city’s unaffordability crisis. The right-wing network barraged Mamdani with bigoted attacks over his Muslim faith—a frequent move for Murdoch’s media empire.
For instance, on the June 17 edition of “The Five” panel discussion show, co-host Greg Gutfeld described Mamdani as a “social justice suicide bomber.” He added, “If this guy even gets close to being elected, dude, you’re going to see this go to hell.”
On Tuesday night, Fox host Sean Hannity, a confidante of President Donald Trump, said Mamdani was an “anti-Israel radical who truly believes in globalizing the intifada.”
The New York Post, which Murdoch also owns, was also openly bigoted in its opposition to Mamdani.
On Monday, the paper whined that Mamdani supports providing funds for gender-affirming care for transgender people, a topic the right has tried to demonize to motivate socially conservative voters.
That story was accompanied by an op-ed by the Post’s editorial board, in which it instructed New York voters to “vote against the menace that is Zohran Mamdani.”
While not a part of Murdoch’s empire, The New York Times was also hostile to Mamdani’s candidacy. While the outlet recently claimed it would no longer make local endorsements, a June 16 op-ed offered “advice to voters,” calling Mamdani’s progressive platform “worrisome” and “damaging to city life.”
“We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots,” The Times concluded.
However, Democratic voters appear to have rejected the Murdoch media machine and the Times’ handwringing. They rewarded Mamdani with their support after he repeatedly hammered his plans to tackle the city’s steep cost of living, including with a program of free buses, city-owned grocery stores, and rent freezes for many tenants, among numerous other policies. Additionally, he received the backing of progressive icons like New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Despite the ugliest smears of Trump’s strongest media ally, Mamdani won the night by standing up for what he believes in—and he is well on his way to becoming mayor of New York City.
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