That Momentum We're Feeling
In the first big post-2024 political litmus test, the Democratic Party showed it hasn't learned much from their failures
A year ago, you just might’ve heard the name Zohran. Not necessarily as a familiar name running for political office, but maybe as a savvy, suited content creator discussing economic issues plaguing New Yorkers. Today, he’s become one of the most talked-about (and likely Substacked-about) people in America.
To preface my comments on what feels like the most shockingly-great election outcome since Bernie’s 2020 Nevada win: I do not live in New York and have never before lived in New York. That surely that limits my perspective on the Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo mayoral campaigns, yes. But it might speak to how important Mamdani’s win was.
Zohran celebration posts have littered my timeline since Tuesday night. People who I’ve never known to be interested in politics have posted about him. People who I know are not interested in politics have posted about him. And most posts I’ve seen have indeed been from people like myself who don’t live in New York — is it hopping on an exciting bandwagon? Maybe! But there are certainly worse bandwagons out there!
A Big Test
Almost everyone walked away from the 2024 presidential election with biggest lesson being 1. the Democrats do not have a vision for their own future beyond the bounds of anti-Trumpism and 2. they are uninterested in accepting ideas from outside their consultancy sphere.
In other words, they’re hopeless and they hate us.
So — all that considered — it isn’t terribly telling that the DNC didn’t throw support behind Zohran Mamdani’s campaign, which began (and continued up until election night) as a longshot. He’s not a household name and he’s a self-identified socialist.
What’s most telling is that Democratic leaders did toss millions and millions of dollars toward Andrew Cuomo, a loathsome vampire without much ability convince anyone he’s even remotely passionate about becoming mayor. He’s much like Joe Biden: angry yet apathetic, senile yet deeply hateful of his doubters.
On paper, Cuomo is also almost identical to Donald Trump. Over a dozen women have brought sexual harassment allegations to his desk, many of whom were his employees. His defense of the allegations began with the insane quote “I’m not perverted I’m Italian” and has since been followed with increasing vitriol to the point of suing his accusers for their medical records (which Mamdani made a point of highlighting during their first debate).
For the Democratic Party to support such a man is indicative of just how far the Democratic Party has shifted to the right since Donald Trump’s first election, when millions descended on the National Mall on the heels of the #MeToo movement to chiefly protest Trump’s sexism, among other things.
This is also not to forget Cuomo’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic where he forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 patients without consulting the CDC or CMS (Center for Medicaid Services) and then drastically misled the public about the resulting death toll. Good type of guy to get behind!
Underestimating
This election may not be a national office, but the mayor of New York has almost always been a heavily influential figure, right? It’s not the type of office that people walk into. That’s what the DNC treated it as — this was a huge opportunity to show their millions of disillusioned voters that they got back in the film room after November. And yet, the DNC went right back to the drawing board, thinking they could rely on name recognition and fear-mongering.
On top of a lot of poor decisions the DNC has made in selecting their candidates is an inability to articulate a clear vision of their priorities. It’s why Kamala Harris’ campaign failed so terribly: she was bound from developing a personal identity and spoke about critical issues like her voters were petulant children not deserving of an adult conversation.
There’s so much to say about the type of hope that Mamdani’s campaign inspires in a time where almost all political news is horribly indigestible — but his biggest strength is his refusal to underestimate people. Without fear, he spent months hammering home the reality that New Yorkers were struggling to afford everyday goods and housing and found creative ways to highlight specific policies that were behind those challenges.
My favorite was his January video focused on why Halal carts are charging $10 instead of $8 for chicken over rice: because food cart owners are being gouged for tens of thousands of dollars to obtain food service permits owned by private individuals, as opposed to the city. It’s a simple story that rewards viewers with knowledge.
It’s miraculous: yes, Zohran is charismatic and young, but he has dedicated his existence to making folks better understand who is responsible for their financial strain. His opponents at the DNC have an interest only in vague language and policy that fails to inform or empower voters.
Do It Again — Steely Dan
Yes, Zohran is a self-prescribed democratic socialist, but why does that word matter? Various labels placed on him don’t just seek to diminish his credibility and ability, rather they seek to disarm a larger voting populace that might otherwise be interested in what he has to say.
There is still months to go until Zohran’s second act in the general election, and there’s even longer until the 2026 midterms. But given this success in America’s largest city, there’s sure to be momentum to follow here. Expect to see lots of anti-Zohran rhetoric these next few days and weeks — there will be racist questions of his family and his loved ones, criticisms of his political affiliations, distortions and misrepresentations of his policy aims and plenty more attempted takedowns.
But remember, in Mamdani’s own words, “the future of the Democratic Party won’t be determined by someone who’s already in office.” Let’s keep pushing and reject the box our party seeks to keep us in, whether that’s with Mamdani himself or with the idea that what he’s done in New York can be done where you live, too.
