On Sunday, thousands of New Yorkers gathered at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens for the "New York is Not for Sale" rally, in support of the mayoral front-runner, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani. He was flanked by two of his closest political allies, and representatives of the ideological future of the Democratic Party, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
The message, as early voting in the city opened, was nothing but excitement and support for the prospect of socialism.
From Zohran Mamdani, AOC, and Bernie Sanders; thank you, New York.
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) October 27, 2025
Tonight wasn’t just a rally. It was a statement.
The people are louder than the billionaires and this city made that clear. pic.twitter.com/tseKC67Gcv
While there were many speakers at the rally, the first notable speaker was New York Governor Kathy Hochul, then AOC, then Senator Sanders, before Mamdani himself closed the rally.
Governor Hochul was the obvious outsider, as she identifies as more of an establishment Democrat, and her remarks were often drowned out by chants from the crowd to "tax the rich." While she first attempted to ignore them, she finally caved, at one point smiling and telling the crowd, "I hear you." The stadium, which had almost reached its 13,000-seat limit, erupted in cheers.
For those who believe that even Democrats aren't crazy enough to embrace socialism at its face, Hochul's comments and her willingness to join Mamdani, alongside the endorsement of Mamdani by mainstream Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, should serve as a chilling warning of where conservative opposition is headed. Even more concerning should be its popularity, and the passion and effectiveness of those who lead its movement.
AOC went on next, telling the packed stadium that "We must remember in a time such as this, we are not the crazy ones, New York City. We are not the outlandish ones. They want us to think we are crazy. We are sane to demand affordable and decent housing, a decent wage, the right to health care, that we pay to care for our people instead of the flattening of Palestinians and oppressed people abroad.”
"That we are all here, in this moment, during this time is not a coincidence, and it is also not a coincidence that both of the visionary forces that Zohran is up against in this race mirrors what we are up against nationally, both an authoritarian criminal presidency, fueled by corruption and bigotry and an ascendant right-wing extremist movement," Ocasio-Cortez continued.
AOC in New York AT Mamdani rally:
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 27, 2025
"This city was built by the Irish escaping famine, Italians fleeing fascism, Jews escaping Holocaust, black Americans fleeing slavery and Jim Crow, Latinos seeking a better life, native people standing for themselves."
pic.twitter.com/H929W6yrN2
Senator Sanders followed, saying that "As mayor, [Mamdani] will not run a top-down, billionaire-funded, consultant-driven administration. Instead, Zohran will be a champion for the working people of New York."
"In a moment when Americans are extremely distressed about where we are as a nation, economically and politically, a victory here in New York will give hope and inspiration to people throughout our country, across the world. That is what this election is about, and that is why Donald Trump is paying attention to this election," he went on.
While President Trump was able to pull significant support from working-class Americans, the specter of socialism will threaten to pull them back to the Democratic Party, especially if Mamdani is only the first of a new wave of Democratic leaders.
Mamdani came out to close the nearly three-hour-long rally and began by thanking Senator Sanders: “I stand before you tonight only because the senator dared to stand alone for so long. I speak the language of democratic socialism, only because he spoke it first.”
“Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams, and Curtis Sliwa do not have an agenda for the future,” Mamdani continued. “All they possess is the playbook of the past. They have sought to make this election a referendum not on the affordability crisis that consumes New Yorkers' lives, but on the faith I belong to.”
He went on to discuss his plan to make NYC more affordable, one that includes government overreach, greater control, and the reduction of individual freedom.
A new age of Democrats is rising, with a “new” vision of the future, one we can all agree we do not want to see in the United States. A strategy of dismissiveness will not suffice. What should Republicans and conservatives be doing to ensure that this disease does not spread? We may need to reinforce our support of the free market and embrace it further than we ever have. Because if the right does not learn to fight for abundance, freedom, and prosperity with the same conviction the left fights for control, we will lose not just elections, but the American idea itself.