Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.
My only concern is that hes not corrupt/corruptable enough to scratch the backs of and get scratched by the sleezy power brokers in the city (cops, sanitation…). I feel like a lot of people will work to make him fail at the expense of the city. Hoping he can stomp them all out though.
Here’s the thing. Mamdani’s a good man, the mayor has some levers like rent control, but he doesn’t have the power to fix everything about the city completely alone. He will need every New Yorker who was moved by his campaign to help him accomplish his promises.
There are already a lot of good people in NYC to reach this point. He can do this.
They are absolutely going to fight tooth and nail to prevent him from doing things.
But this is the biggest city in the country. It makes so much room for people to embrace a more progressive brand of politics our nation hasn’t seen for decades and decades.
And the inevitable push back on Zohran will further drive home the growing contradictions in our society such that more people wake up.
Zohran will surely deliver some good results for the people of New York and the rest we will weaponize to further drive home the need for mass systemic change from the top to bottom.