Democratic state lawmakers are already opening up to Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s goal of hiking taxes — as supporters say politicians who oppose his socialist agenda should face primary challenges.
Mamdani wants higher taxes on millionaires and corporations to generate $9 billion to fulfill his ambitious campaign promises, but it’ll be up to Gov. Kathy Hochul and the state government whether the hikes ever become reality.
Hochul — who is up for re-election in 2026 — has said she doesn’t favor the plan, but two influential state Democrats already appeared ready to consider the hikes on Wednesday — a day after Mamdani’s win in the mayoral election.
“So long as some of the new revenue would be applied to tax relief for working class families New Yorkers, I’m open to very modest increases on millionaires,” said state Sen. James Skoufis, a Hudson Valley Democrat.
He did not comment specifically on the proposed tax increase on corporations.
Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), who chairs the powerful finance committee and endorsed Mamdani in September, said she’s keeping an open mind.
“New York State and New York City are both facing many new challenges in the coming years. I am always open to exploring the best options for nearly 20 million New Yorkers,” Krueger said.
Hochul is already under pressure from the liberal wing of the party and Mamdani supporters to move left on the issue. When she spoke at a pre-election rally for Mamdani at Forest Hills Stadium last month, his supporters chanted, “Tax the Rich!“
Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, who represents a heavily populated South Asian and Indo-Caribbean district in Queens, was non-committal on the mayor-elect’s tax agenda.
Mamdani carried her district with 53% of the vote.
“I am committed to working with Mayor Mamdani to explore different ways to fund these priorities without hurting New York’s competitiveness or driving jobs away,” Rajkumar said.
“Mamdani won my district but with only 53% of the vote even though my district is overwhelmingly Democratic. He needs to unify New Yorkers who are clearly divided.”
A former top aide to democratic socialist “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mamdani and his team should threaten Democrats with primaries if they don’t fall in line with his affordability agenda.
“Maybe AOC should run for governor if Hochul doesn’t do what needs to be done,” Corbyn Trent said.
“The power that politicians understand is the ballot box. Getting one or two scalps sends a message about what happens when you don’t play ball.”
