“Mamdani’s got to get his ideas realized in policy, and New York is notoriously difficult to govern. It’s arguably the second hardest political job in the United States, after the president. So whatever he’s able to accomplish, it won’t be easy,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“There is no way to disentangle red and blue America without tremendous violence. Additionally, a large and increasingly ignored percentage of Americans hold moderate views,” says Ryan Griffiths, professor of political science. “There is no doubt that polarization in America is a problem that is getting worse, but a national divorce is simply not the solution.”

“As a person who has lived on three continents and traveled extensively through three more, and as someone who has thought deeply about the implications of gospel values for both church and world, Leo is well aware that all that he says and does will be examined and parsed for their repercussions,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, professor of history and political science.