Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is forecasting a dramatic spike in Palm Beach property prices following Zohran Mamdani’s surprising victory in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary—an outcome that DeSantis believes will drive residents to flee the city.
Mamdani, originally from Uganda and affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, emerged victorious Tuesday night in the Democratic mayoral primary, defeating former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who had widely been considered the frontrunner. Mamdani ran on a platform of expansive government services and progressive reforms. His win has prompted strong reactions from both sides of the political aisle, with growing fears that his leadership could trigger an exodus from New York City.
“Just when you thought Palm Beach real estate couldn’t go any higher…” DeSantis remarked on X, alluding to South Florida’s ongoing trend as a preferred destination for former New Yorkers.
Speaking ahead of the primary results, DeSantis had warned, “if this socialist mayor candidate wins in New York City, you’re going to see real estate values skyrocket in Palm Beach because people are going to get out of that city.”
DeSantis didn’t hold back in comparing Mamdani to prior leadership. “As bad as De Blasio was,” he said, “this guy is going to be way, way worse.”
Critiquing Mamdani’s views on policing, DeSantis added, “He doesn’t think that we should have law enforcement in dangerous parts of the city, that you should send in social workers. See how that works out for you, it ain’t going to work out well. So, they’ve made a lot of dumb decisions, and we’ve benefited from it,” he said with a touch of sarcasm.
Florida’s Voice also quoted DeSantis as saying, “if this guy gets in, we may need to up our police recruitment bonuses” due to the expected surge in relocation from New York. He continued, “you’re going to see a flood of people.”
Emphasizing his concerns, DeSantis said, “when you have a candidate who wants to abolish the NYPD,” that “ain’t going to end well.”
A review of Mamdani’s proposals, published on his campaign site, reflects his socialist ideology and support from figures like Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Among his pledges: an immediate rent freeze for more than two million residents in rent-stabilized housing, free public transportation, city-operated grocery stores focused on affordability rather than profits, and universal childcare for children aged six weeks to five years.
He also promises to create a new city agency called the Department of Community Safety, which would assign outreach workers to 100 subway stations, expand anti-gun violence programs, and boost funding for “hate violence prevention programs” by 800%.
Another ambitious item on his agenda is a plan to raise New York City’s minimum wage to $30 per hour by the year 2030.
To fund his sweeping proposals, Mamdani’s website outlines a series of tax initiatives: increasing the corporate tax rate to 11.5%, which he claims will generate $5 billion in revenue, and enacting a 2% flat tax on those earning over $1 million annually, which he estimates will bring in $4 billion more. Additional funds, he says, would come from hiring more tax auditors, eliminating no-bid contracts, and aggressively pursuing fines from what he calls “corrupt landlords,” which he says could yield another $1 billion.
Criticism of Mamdani has come from both Republicans and Democrats, including from President Trump, who slammed the Democratic Party’s choice in a post on Truth Social.
“This is a big moment in the History of our Country” and “the Democrats have crossed the line,” Trump said regarding Mamdani’s nomination.
“Zohran Mamdani, a 100% Communist Lunatic, has just won the Dem Primary, and is on his way to becoming Mayor,” Trump wrote. “We’ve had Radical Lefties before, but this is getting a little ridiculous. He looks TERRIBLE, his voice is grating, he’s not very smart, he’s got AOC+3, Dummies ALL, backing him, and even our Great Palestinian Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, is groveling over him.”
{Matzav.com}