With Election Day drawing to a close in New York City, veteran Democratic operative Hank Sheinkopf warned that a victory by socialist frontrunner Zohran Mamdani would mark not only the end of Jewish New York but the hijacking of the Democratic Party’s remains by radical forces determined to export their revolution nationwide.
In an exclusive Election Day interview, Sheinkopf said Mamdani’s rise to City Hall would mark an inflection point for New York — and for America. “What it portends is the end of Jewish New York as we know it,” he warned, adding that Mamdani intends to carry out exactly the radical agenda he has promised. “The culture will change dramatically,” he said, noting that the socialist’s victory “will not be an isolated phenomenon.” Once Mamdani and his DSA allies win in New York, Sheinkopf cautioned, “they will export this model of radical politics across the country.”
Sheinkopf — a veteran Democratic strategist who has advised more than 700 campaigns worldwide, from President Bill Clinton to Mayor Michael Bloomberg — said Mamdani’s repeated calls to “globalize the intifada” must be understood in full context, as such rhetoric can lead to deadly consequences.
He warned that Mamdani’s slogan, “globalize the intifada,” encapsulates a radical worldview that poses real danger if brought into City Hall. Sheinkopf said the kind of extreme rhetoric Mamdani has embraced is something New York’s Jewish community has been paying very close attention to, noting that his words and radical associations have caused deep alarm and anxiety across the community. He predicted a major exodus of Jews who can afford to leave the city should Mamdani be elected mayor.
Sheinkopf cautioned that Jewish institutions could face mounting pressure if voters elevate Mamdani to City Hall. “He has the capacity to do serious damage,” he said, warning that even long-standing events like the Israel Day Parade could come under threat. “He’s spoken about the ‘appropriateness’ of demonstrations — but what kind? Against Israel, against Jews, against Jewish institutions.”
Sheinkopf warned that Mamdani’s agenda would not face much resistance beyond City Hall, predicting the state’s progressive bloc would help advance his far-left vision. “He’s going to have a legislature that’s more like him than not — far to the left and less in the center,” he said. “They’ll likely help him carry out the kind of governance he believes is appropriate.”
Turning to public safety, the Democratic political veteran pointed to Mamdani’s record and rhetoric toward law enforcement as deeply troubling. “He’s put the NYPD and the IDF in the same place — as being jack-booted institutions,” Sheinkopf said, referencing the socialist’s 2023 remark, “When the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” The longtime strategist said such rhetoric revealed “outright contempt for law enforcement,” adding that Mamdani “is not pro-police; he is anti-police, and he is anti-jails — he said this publicly.”
Sheinkopf said Mamdani’s thin record in Albany underscores how little real-world experience he brings to the race. “He’s got, what, two and a half terms — five years in the State Assembly — and he was not showing up very often because he was too busy running for office,” the veteran Democratic operative said. “He represents what I call the political-industrial complex — people whose only experience is politics and government. That’s their life; they’ve never done anything else.”
Sheinkopf said the DSA’s national ambitions — and Mamdani’s campaign as their latest vehicle — threaten to reshape the Democratic Party far beyond New York. He cautioned that if Mamdani wins, “this project will reverberate well beyond the five boroughs.” The operative said the socialist’s victory would embolden left-wing networks in other states to pursue similar takeovers of local Democratic parties, using the New York model as their blueprint. “Anybody who thinks this is a one-state or one-city phenomenon is foolish,” he said.
The consultant described the Democratic Party’s transformation in stark terms. “The Democrat Party died a long time ago — we just haven’t buried the carcass,” Sheinkopf said. “And the carcass contains … let’s go back. If you have a body that’s dead, right? What happens to it? It turns into something else. There’s nothing in the world that doesn’t have some other use, something that happens to it.”
“So this carcass is there,” he continued. “And in most states in the country, you cannot get on the ballot as a third party. But if you’re able to take over the body of the Democrat Party — and you’re a Democratic Socialist — what happens? You now have the capacity to run. In most states, you cannot get on the ballot as a third party. But now you can.”
The Democratic strategist warned that Mamdani’s economic promises betray a dangerous ignorance of fiscal reality. “The things he’s talking about — free busing, city-run groceries — are going to be very costly,” Sheinkopf said. “The city’s in a precarious financial condition. The state has a significant deficit. Where’s the money going to come from? You can’t run a deficit under the statutes put in place after the 1975 fiscal crisis.”
He cited Mamdani’s stated opposition to projects like the Technion–Cornell initiative — a partnership between Cornell University and Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology — as an example of ideology overriding common sense. “When you talk about shutting that down, why don’t you just tell people it’s okay not to fight cancer?” Sheinkopf said. “That’s what they’re really saying — you don’t have to fight disease.”
The Democratic operative warned that a Mamdani administration would hasten the erosion of pluralism itself. “It shows a complete lack of understanding — or a deliberate desire to destroy the United States of America,” he said. “They’re isolating communities, pitting groups against each other, and dismantling what makes this country work.”
Sheinkopf warned that a Mamdani victory would deepen America’s political divisions. “It will strengthen Republicans wherever it can,” he said. “And it will reignite one of the oldest conflicts in U.S. politics — between cities, suburbs, and exurbs. Every time Mamdani opens his mouth, he’ll likely create another suburban Republican.”
He said the damage would not be accidental. “Destroy major cities — why? Because that’s the plan,” Sheinkopf said. “This isn’t an accident; it’s a strategy. Mamdani is the perfect candidate for it — he’s done nothing, but his ideology makes him ideal for those who want to dismantle what’s left of the old order.”
The Democratic operative blamed the broader cultural decay on a generation “so pampered and prosperous” that it turned against its own inheritance. “They’ve eaten more regularly, been better educated, and had more wealth than any generation in human history,” he said. “And yet they’ve been indoctrinated to despise the very country that gave them all this privilege. That’s our failure. We didn’t teach them civics, we didn’t teach them gratitude. They see the American experiment as a flaw — and they’re determined to destroy it.”
As Election Day neared its end, Sheinkopf offered a final warning: “If Mamdani wins tonight, it won’t just be a New York story,” he said. “It’ll be a signal — that the radicals have captured the future, and the rest of America is next.”
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
