Democratic socialist David Morales’ victory in Rhode Island’s mayoral primary Wednesday night got the attention of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who says it is evidence of where the party as a whole is headed as November’s midterm elections draw near.
“I think it comes back to what I’ve said before, which is what is the Democratic Party, if not its voters?” Mamdani asked during a Thursday morning news conference on the first day of school in his city.
“We’re seeing that the voters across this country are eager for not only a change, but also for a vision of something that we are fighting for,” Mamdani added. “And, you know, I’ve spoken a lot about childcare this morning. I’ve often couched it as the second driver of the cost of living crisis. The first driver is housing.”
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Mamdani was hailing a new free education program for 2,000 needy families, as Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled a pledge for $425 million more in next year’s state budget to expand early childhood programs, including services for families with disabilities.
At the end of Thursday’s news conference, Mamdani responded to a question about Morales, a 27-year-old state representative and Democratic socialist who defeated one-term Providence Mayor Brett Smiley, 47, in the Democratic primary.
Republicans hold no seats on the Providence City Council, and Democrats make up a majority of registered voters in the city. Former Vice President Kamala Harris beat President Donald Trump in the city by 51 points in 2024.
Mamdani hailed Morales’ campaign for rent stabilization and affordability in the deep-blue city.
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“The little that I do know about this soon-to-be new mayor is that one of the central issues in his race was around rent stabilization and around the importance of delivering on affordability, not just as a goal, but as a result,” Mamdani concluded. “And what we’ve seen is that his constituents agreed with exactly that.”
Morales, who was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., won roughly 54% of the vote to Smiley’s 46%, ousting the incumbent after one term. If he wins the November general election, Morales would become Providence’s youngest mayor.
“Few believed that a 27-year-old democratic socialist could ever, few believed that we could ever take on big money, corporate real estate interests and endless attack ads — and we took them on and we won,” Morales said in his victory speech.
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The Providence contest unfolded amid a broader debate within the Democratic Party over the influence of democratic socialists and progressive candidates. Housing costs and rent control were key issues in the primary, with Morales backing rent control while Smiley argued that the policy could discourage development.
Providence rents have risen sharply since 2020 and the race centered on how to address the city’s housing affordability crisis.
Republicans, particularly Vice President JD Vance, argue that former President Joe Biden’s open border policies and blue-state sanctuary for illegal migrants brought exploding demand for a finite supply of housing in Democratic-run sanctuary cities like Providence.
“The city of Providence must use every tool that we have at our disposal to defend our immigrant community and protect us from the fascist ICE agents,” Morales said in his primary victory speech.
