Zohran Mamdani’s shocking win in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary calls to mind past progressive victories. And in one instance, it could be a cautionary tale.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson shocked Chicago politics in 2023 when he obtained a place in a two-person runoff, denying incumbent Lori Lightfoot a spot. He then narrowly beat his more conservative opponent thanks to a boost in young voter turnout and a combination of strong performances in Black and progressive wards, along with enough support in Latino ones.
But two years into Johnson’s administration, his approval rating in his best polls is still below 30 percent, and some polling has been substantially lower. Despite progress on issues like labor, crime, and housing, progressive allies on the city council are vocally criticizing him, and opponents are already gearing up to oust him in 2027.
“He’s a newcomer,” said Jaime Dominguez, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, referencing Johnson’s scant experience in city government before his election. Johnson previously was a commissioner in Cook County, which houses Chicago, but just for four years. “It’s just kind of new terrain. And he’s learning, and of course making mistakes along the way.”
His struggles have been preyed upon by national media. The Wall Street Journal’s famously conservative editorial board calls Johnson “America’s Worst Mayor.” The New York Times’ board, in their column regarding New York City’s mayoral primary, implied Johnson is contributing to his city’s decline, while encouraging Democrats not to place Mamdani on their ranked-choice ballots.
Mamdani still has to win a general election in November, though he is the favorite. If he does, some observers have advice for him: Don’t govern like Chicago’s Johnson.
Johnson’s allies acknowledge mistakes, but think he’s been unfairly attacked by national media and wealthy opponents, who have spent heavily to message against him. And Johnson’s unpopularity isn’t unusual for a big-city mayor, with the only cities larger than Chicago also home to executives with upside-down approval ratings.
But for progressives who hope to govern more of America’s largest cities, analyzing Johnson’s successes and failures may be key to making that project a reality.
JOHNSON ALLIES THINK HIS SUCCESSES have been rarely covered by national media. Johnson ended the subminimum wage for tipped workers and mandated ten days of paid leave for workers. He reopened several city-run mental health clinics and increased funding for youth summer jobs. The city council approved his $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond, and recently passed a plan to build “green social housing” through public-private partnerships.
Sarah Johnson, director of the state power division of the Working Families Party—which endorsed both Brandon Johnson and Mamdani—said local progressive policies like those described often yield powerful opposition. “You see that when folks have these really incredible policy records, there are still these really entrenched narratives against them that are quite challenging to overcome because of the force of organizing capital and sort of establishment consolidation that they reflect,” she said.
Mayor Johnson, though, has had significant struggles. One of those wasn’t unique to Chicago: the crisis caused by busloads of migrants sent primarily from Texas. The falling approval ratings of many mayors, like Eric Adams in New York City, have much to do with migrant entries two years ago.
For progressives who hope to govern more of America’s largest cities, analyzing Johnson’s successes and failures may be key to making that project a reality.
As of December, Chicago has spent more than $600 million addressing more than 50,000 migrant arrivals. Some perceived the investment as displacing other needs of struggling Chicagoans on the historically disinvested South and West Sides, neighborhoods that drove Johnson’s victory. Alderperson Andre Vasquez, co-chair of the city council’s progressive caucus and a Johnson critic, said his concerns began during the management of this humanitarian crisis. Vasquez was worried about plans to move migrants from police stations to makeshift shelters, which included a partnership with a controversial company and utilizing sites that were later found to be unsafe.
The city held public meetings as they proposed shelters, which Vasquez said he often attended as chair of the Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. “You would hear the neighbors articulating all their concerns, and asking, ‘Where’s the mayor at?’” he said. “But I think at that point … some people felt the need to protect [Johnson].”
After successfully managing the Democratic National Convention in August 2024, Johnson hit other road bumps. He reportedly asked Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to resign in September, though he has denied it. Martinez was in difficult contract negotiations with the Chicago Teachers Union, a polarizing entity. There was tension between Martinez and Johnson, a former CTU organizer, on how to handle it. The saga led to all of Johnson’s appointed Board of Education resigning in October, and new appointees terminating Martinez in December.
Like many big cities, Chicago faced financial trouble after COVID relief funds ran out, with remote work and legacy costs from past mayors providing an extra bite. In October 2024, to fill a budget deficit, Johnson proposed raising property taxes, breaking a campaign pledge. The city council rebuked him by unanimously rejecting the proposal. The budget in December was approved after many changes by a frustrated council agreeing to one-time revenue solutions, leaving the city with a more than $1 billion deficit for next year’s budget. Supporting public funds for a domed lakefront stadium for the Bears amid this budget crunch drew criticism from Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and the Bears aborted the project after it lacked support from practically anyone but Johnson.
Vasquez said the major mistake so far of Johnson’s administration is one mayors often make. “The ability to hear feedback, and to hear from people who may not agree fully, I just think that’s something that’s not valued in the way that it should,” Vasquez said. “Anything that disagrees with them they view as an attack rather than feedback.”
EVEN WITHOUT PROGRESSIVE FRUSTRATIONS, Johnson’s political opposition has been fierce. After his plan to raise $100 million to combat homelessness by increasing the real estate transfer tax on expensive sales failed at the polls in March 2024, city council progressives said that voters had no trust that the funds would have been spent effectively. Meanwhile, emboldened business leaders demonstrated their power by creating a new super PAC. Another PAC reportedly has raised more than $10 million as of May 2025 to oust Johnson and his allies in 2027. That group’s executive director has criticized Johnson’s position on the war in Gaza, the Chicago Tribune reports. Johnson cast a tiebreaking vote for a resolution to call for a cease-fire in January 2024.
In a July 2025 news conference, Johnson said these super PACs are meant “to confuse Chicagoans even more about our progressive agenda.”
His team argues that his agenda is making progress. The office in a statement pointed to violent crime falling and 4,000 units of affordable housing built, with 6,500 more in construction or set to be soon.
Dominguez acknowledged that despite the mayor’s troubles, some things are improving. But it hasn’t boosted his standing. “His message has not been able to get across,” he said. “That’s his own crisis that he’s created.” It’s an area where Johnson is changing course.
“The Mayor acknowledged the challenges we have had in communicating our accomplishments to everyday Chicagoans,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “He has responded by launching a Faith in Government tour to speak directly to Chicagoans at their places of worship, as well as establishing regular Tuesday press briefings and a monthly Ask the Mayor segment on WBEZ,” Chicago’s NPR affiliate.
Sarah Johnson, the Working Families Party organizer, said communication is key as a municipal official, but so is building allies to create a statewide movement. That’s thanks to the limited power of local governments.
“A lot of legislative power is held at the state level,” she said. “It’s why we’re so excited voters in Syracuse, Albany, and Buffalo elected Working Families Party candidates to be their Democratic nominees,” in addition to Mamdani in New York City. “Any municipal victory has to be part of a broader statewide plan.”
Vasquez said the first progressive mayor of Chicago in decades has been a learning curve for the movement, but it has come with lessons. He believes that future progressive mayors should have smaller, more attainable promises to deliver for voters quickly and gain their trust.
But he added that this lesson applied beyond Chicago. Mamdani, if elected in New York, will need to be successful to show progressives can govern.
“My hope is Zohran is elected and then is an example of what it looks like to govern differently from what we’re seeing here while getting things accomplished,” he said, “because in the absence of any example … people might not be the happiest about the results based on what they’re seeing in Chicago.”