New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday he believes a progressive could win the 2028 presidential election, pointing to recent Democratic victories as evidence.
In an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Mamdani cited Texas Sen.-elect James Talarico, Georgia governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms and South Carolina Sen.-elect Annie Andrews. Welker asked whether he saw a viable path for a progressive presidential candidate in 2028. “Absolutely,” he replied.
Mamdani said the midterm results showed that people in New York City and elsewhere are facing similar challenges, and argued Democrats have been given a mandate to respond. He said voters in Atlanta and Allentown were dealing with many of the same concerns as residents of Astoria, a neighborhood in Queens.
He added that dignity should be central to the country’s political vision. After years of debate, he said, Democrats now need to act with the urgency voters expect.
Y. David Scharf, chairman of Morrison Cohen LLP and head of its Government Strategies & Controversies practice, pushed back on Mamdani’s assessment. One successful election night, he said, does not by itself amount to a mandate for progressives—or anyone else.
Scharf said voters were focused on everyday costs, including rent, food and gas, as well as whether their children could afford to build a future. In his view, voters were asking politicians to take those concerns seriously, not necessarily endorsing democratic socialism. He said both parties would need to address those issues convincingly to win in 2028.
Claire Valdez, a congressional candidate backed by Mamdani, was projected to defeat Republican challenger Melvin Rivera, a community activist, on Tuesday. The district is strongly Democratic, and Valdez’s win added to the Democratic Socialists of America’s successes in the 2026 midterms. New York’s 7th District had also been viewed as a test of the party’s direction ahead of June’s primaries.
Welker also asked Mamdani whether he would back congressional Democrats seeking to impeach President Donald Trump. Mamdani said he would support congressional action that brings tangible economic relief and addresses corruption in Washington. He argued that lawmakers should not limit themselves to a single kind of response.
Asked whether impeachment could backfire, Mamdani said he did not know if it was part of the Democrats’ plans. He returned to what he described as voters’ demand for urgent action, citing data centers, tariffs and U.S. support for what he called violations of international law in several parts of the world, including Palestine and Iran. He said he welcomed the chance for lawmakers to address those issues.
