NYC Y'all mite be aight after all
Zohran Mamdani’s Primary Upset and the Gaps Left to Be Filled for the Left
One of my favorite pastimes during the COVID pandemic was watching apartment tour videos on YouTube, specifically ones in New York City. I’d share them on Facebook with friends, laughing at the absurdity: people calling a $3,000/month studio a “steal,” or treating it like a dream to split a brownstone with four roommates, each paying nearly $1,000 or more. They’d gush about a sliver of sunlight through a single window, or having a cabinet under their bathroom sink instead of a pedestal, or just enough space for a full-size bed.
New York is a scam city. A giant grey theme park of struggle. People living way out on the edges, commuting hours to serve a city built for the rich. And yet they cling to it with pride. They posture that the hardship is worth it because of the ultimate melting pot of culture, like “having the world at your fingertips” makes it all OK. I guess we can just look the other way from all the homeless encampments and dangerous, mentally ill people randomly un-aliving folks on subways. At least LA doesn’t have snow! I don’t hate NYC, this is just how I see it. Very jaded, I know.
Then walks in New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old Muslim democratic socialist who recently defeated former NY governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor with a simple slogan:
“Make New York City Affordable.”
I don’t know every single policy he holds. Of the bits I do know, there are ideas I like: public grocery stores, free buses, rent freezes. Others? I’m not completely sold. Replacing some police presence with social workers? IDK. Safe injection sites? Ick! I'm sure there's more to it beneath the surface, but until I learn more that’s a hard pass for me. But what I see is someone genuine. I don't think it matters to people what he or anyone may label his ideology, he's clearly grounded in the idea that what we’ve been doing isn’t working—and that new ideas deserve a real shot. The status quo had its chance.
What really makes Zohran’s win powerful is this:
He brought new voters.
Progressives are always under pressure to prove they can grow the Democratic base. Establishment Democrats swear up and down that it’s a waste of time trying to reach disengaged people. But Zohran didn’t just reach them, he won by 12 points in an election where he was polling only at 1% 5 months ago! Half the turnout was under age 45! Huge numbers of those folks had never voted in a primary before. That’s not just impressive, it’s unheard of. Outsider candidates have to pull off miracles like this to be taken seriously.
And we need to get more people engaged. Not just because it feels right morally, but because it’s strategic. Donald Trump has made a career out of activating people who never voted before. That’s why polls consistently underestimate him, he taps into voters who don’t show up in the usual polling models.
We mock the GOP for how they blindly follow Trump, never checking him, never resisting him. But maybe there’s a lesson there. Maybe it’s OK to stand unapologetically with your movement leaders when they deliver for your base. That’s how you win. The Democratic Party should take notes.
As Bernie Sanders tweeted:
“Democratic Party Leaders: You have talked for six months about the need to create political excitement to get working class and young people involved in the political process. That’s exactly what Zohran did. Get behind him.”
Even if some Democratic leaders disagree with his policies, they should at least acknowledge that he won fair and square. Stand behind him. Stand behind his voters. Stand with the voters in your party.
That said, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There are parts of this result that give me pause.
Cuomo won neighborhoods with more African Americans and lower-income voters, while Zohran won over college-educated whites and surged among Latinos and Asians. That’s concerning. As a Black left wing populist, I’ve been saying this: we cannot transform the Democratic Party into one that actually serves people instead of corporations and lobbyists if we can’t bring Black voters with us.
We saw Bernie struggle with this in both his presidential campaigns. We saw members of the Squad lose their seats in Black districts, attacked relentlessly by AIPAC-funded ads. The establishment always knows how to exploit that gap.
And I’m not just thinking about the far-off dream of a leftist president in 2028. This is about the basics. No Democrat can win statewide or a big city district in Georgia without Atlanta, Pennsylvania without Philly, or Michigan without Detroit. Full stop. All large black voter populations.
Zohran’s platform may be pro-working class, but the numbers don’t lie. He won in relatively higher-income areas, even if they were younger and more diverse. He won in places where folks might care about tenants’ rights, but probably aren't facing eviction themselves. It reminded me of Bernie rallies I’ve been to in Detroit. They were huge, energetic and packed. But the crowd was mostly suburbanites, WSU college kids, and a few art-scene hipsters who just happened to be Black. Meanwhile, Biden’s sleepy little events were full of Black faces. Big wig church folks. Neighborhood block club leaders. Recognizable faces from the local political and media class who, like it or not, have influence over Black working-class voters.
As a people-watcher and wary progressive, I’ve always seen this dynamic as a problem to solve, not just an observation to shrug at.
That’s why this New York result matters so much.
Remember: Bernie lost New York State. Twice.
Nina Turner lost in Cleveland, even with a 30+ point lead early on once Clinton and Clyburn jumped in with endorsements and the AIPAC money jumped in.
Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush? Squad members ousted by tidal waves of pro Israel PAC money.
I need to write a whole piece about how Black districts are being targeted and manipulated by wealthy pro-Israel donors. But that’s for another day.
For now, I’ll just say: thank God for my congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a proud DSA-backed, progressive fighter. AIPAC keeps coming for her, and Detroit,"the most beautiful Blackest city in America" as she always makes sure to refer to it as—keeps sending her back to DC.
Zohran gives me hope. Hope that new ideas can break through. But let’s not get starry-eyed or worse filled with vindicated hubris. There’s still work to do. And I hope progressive organizers, strategists, and commentators keep their eyes open and don’t let this moment fall through the cracks.
—Oh, and good lookin’, NYC! Y’all might be aight after all.