Politics

The internet is loving Wall Street's freakout over 'Zaddy Zohran'

A composite image of tweets reacting to Zohran Mamdani's surprise performance in the Democratic New York Mayoral primary
Wall Street is struggling to accept the reality that Zohran Mamdan may be the next mayor of New York. Composite of screenshots/X
Read in app

Wall Street is posting through it.

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani shocked New York on Tuesday night by becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, ran on a platform that has terrified some in the business community. Of particular concern to finance types, he wants to raise corporate taxes to 11.5% and add a 2% income tax on New Yorkers making more than $1 million.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the previous frontrunner, conceded to Mamdani, though an official outcome for the primary won't come until July 1, after ranked-choice results are tabulated and announced.

Here are some of the notable reactions so far

A tweet discussing Zohran Mamdani's surprise showing
X/Boring_Business

Tuesday's results aren't the final word.

Cuomo could still run as a third-party candidate in November. New York Mayor Eric Adams is already running as an independent. And Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, is once again the Republican Party's nominee.

But for now, Mamdani is celebrating — and much of Wall Street is fuming.

Read next

Brent D. Griffiths
Brent Griffiths is a senior reporter at Business Insider who covers AI and tech.Previously, he worked at the Washington Post as a researcher on Power Up and the Finance 202. He started his career at Politico where he worked on the web production team and covered breaking news. His passion for covering politics has only grown since he cut his teeth covering the presidential campaign as a student journalist. He's also contributed to the Almanac of American Politics.