New York City is run by a Democratic Socialist who campaigned on free buses, rent freezes, and a policing philosophy that had the city's business community reaching for antacids. The most credible alternative being floated right now is a man who reviews pizza on camera.
That man is Dave Portnoy. He went on Jesse Watters Primetime and announced he's considering running for mayor of New York City after what he's seen happening in NYC.
His opponent would be Zohran Mamdani. This is where we are.
Portnoy posted a video statement on June 29 laying out his case — or at least his frustration. "I'm losing my mind on what's happening right now, especially in New York," he said. His pitch isn't really about policy platforms or party infrastructure. It's simpler than that.
"I've had a real job. I've done real things, unlike these clown politicians who have never had a job," Portnoy said during his FOX News appearance.
He's not wrong about the résumé gap. Portnoy built Barstool Sports from a free newspaper in Boston into one of the largest independent media companies in the country. During COVID, he created the Barstool Fund, which raised millions for struggling small businesses — including NYC pizza shops, the very places the city's own government was regulating into the ground.
The DSA's track record in New York, meanwhile, has been the kind of experiment that works great in a faculty lounge and nowhere else. Mamdani and his allies have pushed the city further left on policing, housing, and spending. They didn't build anything. They governed it.
Portnoy acknowledged the obvious question. "Can I win here? I have no idea," he said. "There's a lot of people who like me in New York City."
That's underselling it. The New York Knicks just won their first NBA title in 53 years, and Portnoy — one of the city's most visible sports media figures — was in the middle of it. You don't have a name recognition problem when 8 million people associate you with the city's biggest moment in half a century.
The reaction to his trial balloon has been notably warm, which tells you less about Portnoy's political viability and more about how badly New Yorkers want an alternative to what they've got.
A city of 8 million people, the financial capital of the world, governed by democratic socialists — and the most credible challenge comes from a guy who eats pizza on camera for a living.
That's not a commentary on Portnoy. That's a commentary on everyone else who was supposed to step up and didn't.
