Austin, Texas – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott dropped a bombshell on the eve of New York City’s mayoral election, vowing to slap a “100% tariff” on any New Yorker fleeing to the Lone Star State should democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani triumph over Andrew Cuomo. “New Yorkers need to save their own city—not ruin ours,” Abbott posted on X Monday, his tongue-in-cheek threat underscoring conservative fears of a progressive exodus overwhelming red-state havens.
The quip, laced with Abbott’s trademark bravado, arrives as polls show Mamdani surging with 41% support—15 points ahead of Cuomo’s independent bid and Curtis Sliwa’s GOP longshot. A Daily Mail survey warns 765,000 New Yorkers eye relocation if the 34-year-old Queens assemblyman wins, potentially taxing the rich to fund rent freezes and free childcare. Abbott, a Trump ally, joins a chorus of Republicans— including the president himself—bashing Mamdani as a “communist” whose policies spell urban doom. Trump, endorsing Cuomo in a reluctant Truth Social pivot, threatened federal fund cuts to a Mamdani-led NYC, calling it “zero chance of success.”
Legal eagles dismiss the tariff as unconstitutional bluster—states can’t tax interstate migration under the Commerce Clause—but Abbott’s jest taps real anxieties. Texas has absorbed 1.2 million migrants since 2020, straining housing and schools amid Abbott’s own border crackdowns. “We’re not a dumping ground for failed blue-city experiments,” he told Fox News, hinting at residency surcharges or zoning tweaks to deter “woke refugees.”
Mamdani, unfazed, shot back: “Texas can keep its walls—New York’s building bridges.” Cuomo, trailing badly, warned a Mamdani win invites Trump takeovers, while Sliwa decried the race as a “socialist spoiler.” As ballots drop Tuesday, Abbott’s levy looms like a Lone Star lightning rod: Humorous hyperbole or harbinger of inter-state spite? In America’s migration maze, one governor’s jest could reroute the exodus.
