Socialist candidates Mamdani and Wilson win mayoral elections in New York and Seattle

Socialism was on the ballot in 2025, and Democratic Socialists of America scored their biggest electoral victory yet when New Yorkers elected Zohran Mamdani as leader of the nation’s largest city.

The year began with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., firing up Democrats on the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour after bruising losses last year. It ends with two decisive victories for the socialist movement, with Mamdani in New York and self-proclaimed socialist Katie Wilson in Seattle, Washington.

“With Zohran’s victory, the people defeated the oligarchy; the working class defeated big business; democratic socialism defeated the status quo of the Democratic Party,” the DSA asserts. said in a statement as Mamdani declared victory.

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell conceded to Wilson on Thursday after a tight race that took more than a week to determine the winner, handing power to the party’s left flank in the West Coast city.

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Zohran Mamdani delivers a victory speech during an election watch party for the mayoral election, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)

Mamdani congratulated his fellow socialist in a message Friday morning.

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“Seattle voters have made their voices heard: They want a new type of politics, one that rejects corporate PAC money and stands up to working people. From one mayor-elect to another, they wish you the best. Seattle is in good hands,” Mamdani said.

Both candidates made history as the first millennial mayors of their cities. Relying on affordability agendas, they built their campaigns around bold progressive ideas, from universal child care to city-run grocery stores funded by higher taxes on the wealthy.

“I want everyone in our great city to have a roof over their head,” Wilson said Thursday. “I want universal child care and free summer care for grades K-8. I want world-class public transportation…great, safe public spaces where kids can run around without abandonment, stable, affordable housing for renters, public housing, and much more land and wealth that is owned and managed by communities rather than corporations.”

President Donald Trump addresses a gathering of top U.S. military commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Virginia. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The two socialists pledged to “Trump-proof” their cities as President Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda for his second term loomed large over the 2025 mayoral and gubernatorial elections.

Trump has already deployed the National Guard to a handful of U.S. cities to combat crime and enforce efforts to deport illegal immigrants, and he has pledged to cut federal funding for New York City if Mamdani wins.

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“New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants and, starting tonight, led by an immigrant,” Mamdani said during his victory speech last week. “So listen to me, President Trump, when I say this: To defeat one of us, you will have to defeat all of us.”

At Mamdani’s election night party at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn, supporters chanted “DSA” all night. DSA leaders also joined Mamdani’s high-profile “New York is Not for Sale” rally with Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez ahead of Election Day.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., a more moderate Democrat, met a colder reception at Forest Hills Stadium as Mamdani supporters began chanting “Tax the rich!” as she spoke.

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul hold hands on stage as they attend a “New York is Not for Sale” rally at Forest Hills Stadium in the Queens borough of New York on October 26, 2025. (Reuters/Eduardo Munoz)

Mamdani cannot fulfill his campaign promises without Hochul’s approval to raise taxes.

While Mamdani and Wilson seek to realize their ambitious policy agendas in two coastal cities, a socialist candidate from the Midwest has not had as much success this election cycle.

Jacob Frey was re-elected mayor of Minneapolis last week, securing his third term.

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The election was officially nonpartisan, although Frey chose to include the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party label on his ballot. He defeated a large group that included Senator Omar Fateh, a DSA-backed socialist.

Fatah has made waves on the national political scene this year, drawing comparisons to Mamdani’s New York mayoral campaign after The Minnesota Star Tribune nicknamed him the “Mamdani of Minneapolis.”

Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh takes a phone call at the University of Minnesota, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)

The 35-year-old son of Somali immigrants who became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota state Senate in 2020 challenged incumbent Frey head-on this year, criticizing the relatively moderate Democrat for failing to “meet the needs of our evolving society.”

While socialist slogans resonated in Seattle and New York, Fateh’s message of change was not enough to get it across the finish line.

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While a new wave of progressive candidates is already eyeing the 2026 midterm elections, the verdict is not yet in on the sustainability of the socialist momentum.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the DSA for clarification on its support of Wilson’s campaign.