By Peter Lucas
They are suddenly the Bogie and Bacall of national politics.
They鈥檝e got it all, which has stunned the Democratic Party.
And while they may not be headed to Key Largo, like iconic Hollywood stars Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, they just might end up in Gracie Mansion.
Bogie & Bacall do New York, and the Republicans love it.
Democrats not so much.
It could even be worse for Democrats, though, in that the left-wing lunatics, if elected, could become the Bonnie & Clyde of New York and not Bogie & Bacall.
Gracie Mansion is the home of the mayor of New York, currently occupied by Eric Adams, who left the Democratic Party to run for re-election as an Independent.
Now Adams could be replaced by radical socialist Zohran Mamdani, 33, the upstart Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, who is playing Bogie, to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez鈥檚 Bacall.
Like Bacall, who supplied mystery and magic to help make Bogart a movie star, AOC supplied the energy and magic to make Mamdani a political star.
The two campaigned as though they were made for each other, even though Mamdani is married, but not to AOC, 35, who is single. It worked.
They not only shocked former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who campaigned as though election was a mere formality, but shocked the regular left-wing Democratic Party establishment as well.
Mamdani and AOC dazzled. Her endorsement and physical campaign contribution pushed Mamdani over the top. He probably could not have won the primary without her.
They simply ran circles around Cuomo and everybody else with a spirited and vigorous campaign that attracted the votes of young people.
These voters seemed oblivious to the fact that his campaign promises, if fulfilled, would turn the country鈥檚 biggest city into Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle or even Kampala, Uganda, where Mamdani was born.
If elected, Mamdani, who does not look kindly on Jews鈥攖o say the least鈥搘ould become the first Muslim mayor of New York, which has the biggest Jewish population in the country.
As mayor, Mamdani has promised to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if Netanyahu dares visit New York. (Maybe Netanyahu could vow to arrest Mamdani if he came to Tel Aviv to go surfing.)
Mamdani came to the U.S. at age seven with his parents and became a naturalized citizen in 2018. His father Mahmood is a pro Hamas, anti-Israel professor at (naturally) Columbia, where the younger Mamdani participated in anti-Israeli protests.
His mother Mira Nair is a filmmaker, which probably accounts for Mamdani鈥檚 successful interaction鈥攍ike AOC鈥搘ith cameras of all makes and sizes.
In fact, he and AOC campaigning together were treated like movie stars in a Hollywood script. They were so good on the stage that the nonsense they espoused, like government grocery stores and taxing white people more, did not matter. It just looked and sounded good. They had vibes.
Despite all the socialist gibberish he and AOC babble about, Mamdani has a good chance of becoming mayor and AOC of becoming a U.S. senator.
Mamdani will be the only Democrat running in the final election as both Mayor Eric Adams and Cuomo will be running as independents and guaranteed to split the vote. The fourth candidate is Republican Curtis Silwa, the veteran creator of the Guardian Angels Foundation.
At the same time, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who rose from obscurity to become a national political leader, has veteran New York U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer concerned.
When he seeks re-election in 2026 to the U.S. Senate, where he has served since 1999 after 18 years in the House, he will be 76 years old.
AOC in her third term in the House, will be 37.
Schumer will be running with the wind in his face against a candidate who has the wind, and more, at her back.
Bogie & Bacall, or Bonnie & Clyde, if you prefer, are now the leaders of the Democratic Party鈥攐r what鈥檚 left of it.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at peter.lucas@bostonherald.com.