Zohran Mamdani’s surging mayoral campaign in New York City embodies, for many, the promise of a new wave of democratic socialists targeting mayoralties and city council seats across the United States. Unsurprisingly, the campaign has also become a lightning rod for conservative and corporate liberal efforts to not just obstruct Mamdani’s path to Gracie Mansion but to discredit socialist projects in general. Both detractors and enthusiasts share a sense of possibility: if elected, Mamdani might throw fuel on the fire of a socialist movement capable of combatting oligarchy, improving the lives of working people, and unsettling the moribund landscape of American politics.

Is this appraisal warranted?

Crucially, the horizon opened by Mamdani’s candidacy is darkened by recent federal incursions on city halls’ autonomy. This summer’s National Guard deployments in Los Angeles and the District of Columbia, federal operations in Chicago, New York, and Portland, and President Donald Trump’s sinister likening of Mamdani’s campaign to “a rebellion” all underscore the precarity of local authority confronted with forces of political reaction.