It’s already been a hellish summer in New York City by any standard. They’ve been in the middle of an oppressive heat wave that has temperatures and humidity well into the nineties, and both the Mets and Yankees have been in extended slumps; the Mets’ already costing them first place. And that’s on top of the usual difficulties that being a Noo Yawkah usually entail.
But all of that pales in comparison to the stunning news that emerged at about 10 pm last night, as the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS’ Josephine Stratman ,Chris Sommerfeldt and Téa Kvetenadze gnashed their rings together to report:
Zohran Mamdani declared victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday night’s Democratic mayoral primary — a stunning upset that puts the socialist lawmaker within striking distance of becoming the youngest man in modern New York history to run City Hall. With more than 95% of ballots counted, returns from the city Board of Elections showed Mamdani leading Cuomo by a margin of roughly 44%-36%, prompting the former governor to concede the race.
That breakdown gives Mamdani, a 33-year-old Queens Assembly member, more than enough of a margin to reach the 50% threshold required to win once the ranked choices on voters’ ballots are added to the mix. In recognition of that, Mamdani announced victory at his campaign’s jubilant election night party in Long Island City, where hundreds of supporters danced, cheered and wept.
It’s arguably one of the most seismic moments in the history of a city where being its mayor virtually guarantees national recognition. In the years that I lived there, I witnessed the rise of Ken Howard look-alike John V. Lindsay and the closeted but blunt Ed Koch to multiple terms. Back when he was arguably sane, “America’s Mayor”, Rudy Giuliani, successfully turned Times Square from a seedy cauldron of semen-crusted peep show parlors into a centrally located haven for franchises otherwise popping up in Disney World or the mall adjacent to Caesar’s Palace. Michael Bloomberg’s billions literally bought him the city during an era where one couldn’t go anywhere when making the cover of BUSINESS WEEK was practically a bigger deal than being on the cover of TIME–well, perhaps with the exception of one part-time resident with a penchant for cascading down escalators.
And while Mamdani didn’t utilize that kind of showmanship to descend into the political world, his playbook of populist issues that attempt to tape into a disenfranchised working class that has increasingly felt like they no longer matter bears a striking resemblance to the catnip-like allure that suddently turned a many-times bankrupt reality show host into someone capable of galvanizing enough votes to be given the reins of the country.
Mainstream media has been doing its best to unpack these latest results in yet another classic display of Wednesday morning quarterbacking not seen since the Trump campaign, as exemplified by CNN’s
Mamdani…sold his ideas as making life in the city easier to afford, building his campaign around an issue that ranks among the biggest reasons Democrats lost in the 2024 election. He sat for interviews with people that disagreed with him. He engaged in cross-endorsements with rivals, encouraging supporters to rank them highly as well on their ranked-choice ballots. He campaigned aggressively, including walking the length of Manhattan on Friday.
TIME’s Rebecca Schneid added some additional details to what vaunted him so dramatically:
His platform focuses on affordability, and includes proposals to freeze rent in New York City, make buses fare-free, create a “network” of city-owned grocery stores that focuses on “keeping prices low, not making a profit,” and implement free childcare for any New Yorker between the ages of 6 weeks to 5 years old.
On paper, Mamdani’s resume seems to emulate the background of his fellow Gen Z upstart Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and he outwardly projects similar charisma and appeal. Unlike AOC, he comes from well-heeled parents, including a mother who is one of the world’s more prominent Indian filmmakers, and that talent carried over into one of his more prominent line items on said resume–his career as a rap artist known as “Mr. Cardamom”. And those creative talents have been evident in how he has reached and connected to his largely under age 45 base, as Schneid added:
Mamdani’s momentum in the race has been bolstered by his virality online. He has grown his following to over a million across Instagram and TikTok, on which he posts himself visiting beloved restaurants; appearing on popular social media shows like “Subway Takes;” and with other politicians, including fellow mayoral candidate Comptroller Brad Lander and City Council Member Chi Osse.
Which may explain why I was both intrigued and stunned by the degree of enthusiasm eminating from the Ed Sullivan Theatre audience Monday night when Mamdani and Lander, himself catapulted into national prominence by being detained by ICE officials earlier in the month, sat down for a chit-chat with Stephen Colbert on Election Eve. Colbert, an unapologetic Democrat, attempted to justify their presence on the CBS network because of these newsworthy notes, but it also gave folks in his demographic cell (hand raised) one of their first true looks at someone who largely went under the radar of many of the other guests that typically sit across from him–a point our ever-observant friend Rick Ellis of TOO MUCH TV made particular note of in last night’s later-than-usual newsletter:
(W)atching Mamdani’s campaign play out, I was struck by the fact it was the kind of campaign that was built for 2025. And it was also the type of campaign that insider-centric cable TV news doesn’t cover particularly well. Most of his donors gave small amounts, and he appeared on a wide range of podcasts and other interviews – many of them unfriendly. And while those appearances sometimes garnered bad press from the traditional press outlets, the net impact seemed to be that many younger voters appreciated his candor and honesty – even if they didn’t agree with him.
And in a thinly veiled way, there was also the hope that perhaps Mamdani is exactly what the Democratic party as a whole has been seeking–a young, combative, seemingly genuine fresh voice who in a short period of time has been able to make a loser out of an established brand name that party affiliation aside carries much of the same tarnished reputation as Trump–points that he unashamedly drove home in debates which Schneid yet again chronicled:
Mamdani responded to Cuomo’s remarks on his relative lack of experience with cutting critiques of the former Governor. “I have never had to resign in disgrace. I have never cut Medicaid, I have never stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA, I have never hounded the 13 women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment, I have never sued for their gynecological records, and I have never done those things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo,” he said.
And he did that without cackling or needing extensive editing, either.
All this said, Mamdani’s got a long way to go before even thinking that he might the Great Non-White Hope of 2028. For one thing, he’s gotta win the general election. Despite his ODing on crow, Cuomo still enjoyed a sizable advantage in the Bronx and Staten Island, the two boroughs that reflected the most amount of movement toward embracing Trump in last year’s election. Some of their neighbors may very well support Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the subway vigilante group The Guardian Angels that rose to prominence during the Koch administration. And Cuomo himself appears to be on a path to staying in the race as an independent/minority party candidate, as current mayor Eric Adams also intends. It’s a potentially crowded and complicated field that will be anything but a binary choice. And I’m seasoned enough to recall how that played out once before.
In 1969, Lindsay was shockingly upset in the Republican primary for a second term by Staten Island upstart John Marchi, with particularly weak results in Brooklyn and Queens, outer boroughs severly impacted by a massive snowstorm that winter that left many areas paralyzed for weeks (my neighborhood included). But Lindsay chose to run on the Libetarian ticket, a decision made all the more viable after the Democratic primary saw its own upset with Lindsay’s otherwise obscure comptroller Mario Prochacchino knocking off former mayor Robert F. Wagner. And as Wikipedia documents, Lindsay found a way once the Summer of ’69 unfolded to make nice with a sizable percentage of those who felt ignored in the winter:
During the campaign, Lindsay made a conscious effort to appeal to Jewish New Yorkers through symbolic gestures. In late September, he gave an extraordinary reception to Prime Minister of Israel Golda Meir in a sukkah, emphasizing his support for the State of Israel in the Arab–Israeli conflict.[12]
And that’s perhaps the biggest elephant in this room. Despite the fact that there’s been a 40 per cent decline in the size of the Jewish population of New York City since that 1969 election, it’s still home to the largest such group outside of Tel Aviv. And suffice to say, they ain’t thrilled. AS POLITICO’s Jason Beeferman explained earlier this week:
Zohran Mamdani has come under fire for his defiant stance against Israel, which critics say crosses into antisemitism. The criticism, plastered across mailers funded by a super PAC backing Andrew Cuomo, took on a new life this week when Mamdani opted to do a lengthy podcast interview with The Bulwark during which he defended the use of the phrase “Globalize the Intifada.” Cuomo has tried to center antisemitism in the race, all but labeling Mamdani and his opponents as antisemitic in a synagogue speech and at other times when it’s seemingly irrelevant to the subject at hand: real estate laws, public safety and taxpayer-funded legal fees to defend him in scandals that forced his ouster as governor.
This is what an otherwise normal longtime Brooklyn resident on my Facebook feed has been posting non-stop since last night. Other G-d-fearing Jews I know personally have shared similar sentiments. They’re truly mad as hell and are willing to embrace anyone–at any cost–who is not named Mamdani. It would not shock me if protests larger than any No Kings revolt in that area took place. And were I Cuomo or Sliwa, I’d make damn sure I was in attendance.
Lindsay made an astounding comeback in 1969. So did the Mets, 9 1/2 games out of first place in mid-August and baseball’s world champions just about two months later. Those challenging Mamdani have those precedents to glom onto. And those perhaps hoping to anoint him for even more prominent offices will simply have to wait and see if can meet those challenges in just the city. To his credit, unlike AOC he does seem to have traction in at least three boroughs (she’s only got two, and Queens ain’t seen much of her lately). Let’s see if can get five, and then worry about whether he can actually effectively convey how he actually plans to pay for all of the change he envisions. Wanting and demanding change is noble, but it’s another thing to be able to show how it can be done. $80 donations and grassroots support will only take one so far. It’s a long way to Albany or Washington, let alone November.
Play ball.
Until next time…