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The GOP finds its perfect foil in Mayor Mamdani
By
Jimmy Vielkind
Published Jul 9, 2026
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By
Jimmy Vielkind
Published Jul 9, 2026
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This column originally appeared in The Politics Brief, our weekly newsletter on the people, power and policies that shape New Yorkers' lives.
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New York Republicans are likely sticking with Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
To be their bogeyman, that is.
While the recent New York primary brought to the fore a slate of other democratic socialists for Republicans to use to rile up voters, party leaders and strategists say Mamdani is likely still their best target.
John McLaughlin, a Republican pollster whose clients include GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman and President Donald Trump, said some of the new victors, like Claire Valdez and Darlializa Avila Chevalier, weren’t the best bogeymen because they aren’t familiar figures.
“They’re not as well-known as the political class thinks — so it’s going to take time to educate voters,” he said. “Right now, Mamdani is definitely a threat to homeowners and taxpayers in New York state.”
He added that Mamdani’s mayoral candidacy last year motivated Nassau County voters to back Republicans.
Avila Chevalier and Valdez, along with the democratic socialists who won a half-dozen state legislative challenges, will still play a role in the GOP strategy. Their collective victories make the GOP case an easier sell, operatives and officials say.
“It seems that the Democratic establishment has lost control and the socialists have taken over,” said Erie County Republican Chair Michael Kracker. “I believe it’s going to pull the Democratic Party in Albany and Washington even more to the left, and that’s going to put them more out of sync with common-sense New Yorkers.”
But Vince Casale, an adviser to GOP congressional candidate Peter Oberacker, said it was more effective to run against socialist policies than individuals. Mamdani works as a target because he actually has power.
“There’s a lot of focus on New York City,” Casale said. “If these socialist ideas don’t work there, then the whole thing just implodes even worse.”
A Siena University poll released last month found Mamdani had a slightly higher favorability rating than Gov. Kathy Hochul among voters surveyed around the state. Kracker and McLaughlin said they believed the mayor was more of an albatross in suburban and rural areas.
State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs, who has clashed with the DSA, said associating the group with establishment figures wouldn’t work.
“This is the standard Republican playbook. Before Mamdani, voters will remember, it was de Blasio. And then it was AOC,” he said. “Republicans always try to find a bogeyman to attempt to paint all Democrats as extremists, because that distracts from their actual record.”
Speaking Monday on Long Island, Hochul said Republican attacks about Mamdani were inaccurate. NYPD statistics show crime has decreased this year in New York City, and the governor blamed higher costs on Donald Trump.
“Bruce Blakeman has said he's 100% MAGA and will never disagree with the president,” she said, noting Blakeman’s public comments.
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This week in New York politics
- The near collapse of a Midtown building this week raises questions about New York’s incentivization to turn office buildings into apartment complexes. Here’s what that could mean.
- Mayor Mamdani and the MTA released a new plan to speed up buses for 2 million New Yorkers along some of the most sluggish routes in the city. Here’s what’s in the plan.
- As the city deals with an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, Mayor Mamdani also vowed to release the addresses of all buildings whose water-cooling towers test positive for the bacteria that cause the disease.
- New York’s transgender students will remain protected even after a Supreme Court decision ruling allowing states to ban trans student athletes. Local officials and civil rights groups sharply criticized the ruling.
- The Jersey City Council rejected a 15% property tax hike, but local leaders warn the move almost certainly sets the stage for a tax increase later this year.
- New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean, who revealed he was hospitalized for depression during his monthslong absence from Congress, has a mixed record on supporting mental health and sick leave legislation. Here’s what he’s voted for and against.
- A group called Unite NY submitted petitions in support of a ballot question that would allow voters to decide whether to open New York’s closed primary system for municipal elections. The move allows the group to circumvent the city’s commission process.
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Jimmy Vielkind
Jimmy Vielkind covers how state government and politics affect people throughout New York. He has covered Albany since 2008, most recently as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Jimmy led a team of reporters that won a New York Press Club award for coverage of Andrew Cuomo’s downfall and was on a team that won a Gerald Loeb Award for coverage of Amazon’s HQ2 process. A native of the Capitol Region, Jimmy has two degrees in urban planning. His position is funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Reach Jimmy at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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