NYC’s New Mayor Drives Discussions on American Socialism Among Loyola Students

Students gathered Jan. 28 for a lecture on New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent electoral success and how it’s placed within the longer tradition of American socialist organizing. The talk was hosted by the university’s history department in its latest installment of its new Past and Present speaker series.

The lecture was delivered by Assistant Professor of Digital Public History Chris Cantwell, who framed Mamdani’s unprecedented rise as a recurring pattern in the history of American socialism. Despite being the first African-born and South Asian mayor of New York City, Cantwell reflected on the ability of Mamdani’s charismatic campaign backed by immigrant working-class communities to translate socialist ideas to a wider audience. 

Zohran Mamdani was elected as New York City’s youngest mayor for more than a century on Nov. 4, 2025, the Associated Press reported. The self-described democratic socialist defeated former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican nominee Andrew Sliwa. 

The Past and Present series was proposed last year by history professor Alice Weinreb as a way to provide students with relevant information as they navigate current events, according to Cantwell. The department hosted a series of lectures during the fall semester on Gaza, “anti-woke” rhetoric and American conspiracy theories. 

Cantwell said the lectures were successful enough for the department to establish the official series of lectures this spring. 

“Everything seems to be so new, and students want to understand where this is all coming from,” Cantwell said. “That’s what history provides you.”

Cantwell further discussed how certain aspects of Mamdani’s campaign were characterized by the previous efforts of early American socialists like Eugene Debs.

Debs was one of the founding members of the Socialist Party of America and ran for president five times. He argued socialism was the way to protect American’s democratic promise by publicly owning and expanding access to essential industries and services, according to Cantwell. 

Cantwell said he noted the contextual differences in Mamdani’s and Deb’s activity, such as the current absence of a vibrant contemporary Socialist Party due to the legacy of the Red Scare. 

Political representatives like Mamdani, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez work with the Democratic Party since there’s no vibrant Socialist Party like what once existed in the early 20th century, Cantwell said.

Second-year history major Jakshua Valur said the talk built upon his understanding of American socialism rather than challenging any ideas outright. He said one of the lecture’s most compelling ideas was how non-socialist modern alternative candidates can still run on the platform of furthering the efforts of 20th century socialists. 

“It’s interesting, the idea that that may be the winning formula for modern socialism is restoration and a furthering of public goods,” Valur said. “As socialists, you sort of have to work more within the system, it seems. The question really is if Mamdani challenges that, or is he evidence of socialism working?”

Whether socialist movements should work within or outside existing political systems sparked debate during the lecture’s question-and answer portion.  

Fourth-year anthropology major Jupiter Beck said they’re a member of a Socialist Party and interested to see socialism discussed by a faculty member, as its ideas may conflict with for-profit institutions such as universities. 

Beck framed the lecture through their own voting experiences and growing disillusionment with the Democratic Party’s national strategy on combatting the current Trump administration’s policies rather than focusing on supporting more socialist policies. 

While they said Mamdani’s election was ultimately a win, the sustainability of his strategy has left them skeptical since he must work within the Democratic Party. 

“For now, I understand why working with the Democratic Party is necessary in order to have a base and a party where average voters can understand generally what a person’s policies could be,” Beck said. “Working with trying to reform the Democrats will improve the party, but it’s going to be a futile task.”

The group also discussed Mamdani’s relevance to Chicago. Cantwell explained how Chicago offers a useful contrast to New York when considering the different forms of socialist movements across American cities. According to Cantwell, Chicago’s vibrant labor movement has existed in tension with socialist efforts, whereas in other places the two have worked more closely together. 

Cantwell explained how the two cities experience structural differences which impact how contemporary socialist movements are organized. 

“The Democratic Socialists of America has a presence in Chicago, but it’s obviously just not as pervasive and as organized as it is in New York,” Cantwell said. “[Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson] has struggled in ways that Mamdani may not. Mamdani has this huge organization that can spread his message quickly, and Johnson just maybe doesn’t have that infrastructure.”

Valur also acknowledged how Chicago’s history complicates assumptions about socialism’s relationship to urban politics, as the city’s deep labor history has not tended to align itself with socialist ideologies.

“There’s a lot of questions among not even just socialists, but progressives in general,” Valur said. “Have classic Democratic candidates really been succeeding in Chicago? Can socialist candidates successfully run on traditional Democratic tickets or platforms and see success? Does that taint the movement?”

The debate positions itself as a broader purity question for the political identity of progressives in Chicago, according to Valur. He also said he believes the conversation is particularly relevant in the city, where public services play a large role in everyday life. 

“I think it’s super interesting to have this kind of talk in a city like Chicago, where the idea of a public good is always so front and center,” Valur said. “Cities are big and complex, and it takes a lot of organization to make this whole thing go around.

For Ph.D. candidate in American and Public History and instructor Connor Barnes, such historical context plays an important role for such debates, especially for students still figuring out where they politically fit. 

Barnes said he especially enjoyed how many of the attendees were undergraduates. 

“These sort of one hour lectures are a really great sort of bite-sized way to understand how the world around us came to be,” Barnes said. “That makes it easier for our students or very busy people to understand where they think they should be on certain issues. And a lot of them were undergraduates, which was amazing.”

The Past and Present speaker series will continue throughout the semester, according to Cantwell.