The election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City has breathed new life into leftist politics in America. Whether the mayor-elect will prove to be the next Fiorello La Guardia, as his supporters hope, or the next John Lindsay, as his critics allege, remains to be seen. What is clear is that his election signals a resurgence of left-wing politics in the Big Apple.
While opponents went out of their way to portray Mamdani as a political outsider, New York City has a long history of radical politicians. One of the most famous, and an inspiration for Mamdani, was a Catholic socialist who carried his rosary everywhere he went: Vito Marcantonio.
