The Mamdani Non-Miracle
The NYC mayor race wasn't a miracle. It was the result of dedicated organizing.
There have been a lot of words used to describe New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. His demeanor: “charismatic.” His political rise: “meteoric.” His victory: “a miracle.”
I’ll take the compliments (even the backhanded ones). But Zohran Mamdani is no miracle. Yes, his ascension was spectacular. But this campaign wasn’t a Hail Mary. His victory was resolute, but it wasn’t a fluke. New York City’s next mayor won’t be a socialist because of divine intervention, the popularity of TikTok, the unpopularity of Andrew Cuomo, or even the blue-surge backlash to Donald Trump. Mamdani didn’t win because of an uncontrollable political environment. He won because of the one thing that could be controlled: dedicated, focused, and impassioned political organizing. That’s it. There is no secret strategy, no magic trick, no prayer, and no lucky charm we can rub to hope a titan emerges from the midst and leads us out of the darkness of the current moment. If we want salvation, we must save ourselves. As the Mamdani campaign proves, we can.
Until recently, most Americans hadn’t heard of Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America. As his fame rose, it created the impression that he was a celebrity protest candidate —a lone wolf who rolled out of bed one morning and decided to give the New York City mayoralty the old college try. Nothing could be further from the truth. Though he began the race as a nobody, with four out of five New Yorkers not knowing enough about him to form an opinion, Mamdani’s campaign never stumbled. Support only grew as more voters heard of him.
As I’m certain Mr. Mamdani would be the first to say, this success was largely due to the New York City chapter of DSA. In recent years, NYCDSA has elected candidates to the New York State Assembly, the New York City Council, the State Senate, and the State House of Representatives. Not only did these campaigns give DSA politicians institutional power, but they also enabled them to show New Yorkers that socialists had their best interests at heart. Whether it was NYC councilwoman Tiffany Cabán protesting rent hikes in rent-stabilized apartments, the chapter’s continuous anti-genocide organizing, or Mamdani’s free bus pilot, electoral and extra-electoral action alike earn New Yorkers’ trust. By proving to their communities that socialists cared more about their well-being than any other political faction, NYC DSA grew into the largest chapter of the largest socialist organization in the country. When the election came, those trust-building efforts delivered votes.
That goodwill manifested into an army of volunteers. With over 50,000 volunteers knocking on over a million and a half doors, the Zohran campaign was able to defeat ten other Democrats (which is why his victory can’t be attributed to Cuomo’s unpopularity), survive hysterical media attacks, persevere through Islamophobic tirades from his own party, force the incumbent mayor to withdraw, and ultimately beat the Republican and Independent candidate. The media is right to label that spectacular. But calling it a miracle is malpractice.
What enthused me so much about the Zohran Mamdani campaign wasn’t the candidate himself. While the state assemblyman has everything one could want in a politician (though he did move a table in college without permission), the person wasn’t what made the Mamdani campaign successful. It was the people. Instead of following the post-Obama Democratic strategy of running as a celebrity and making the candidate’s personal story the center of the campaign, Mamdani put the focus on New Yorkers. This wasn’t Zohran’s campaign. It was your campaign. Stepping down from the podium, the DSA member campaigned alongside those he sought to represent. Treasure hunts, a march across the island, and even a soccer tournament drove excitement, support, and ultimately, victory. There was never a moment when Mamdani the person was elevated above his hopeful constituents. Whether he was commenting on a racist attack or discussing the Drake-Kendrick beef, the candidate always made clear that this race was for the people. Affordability, not Mamdani’s life story, dominated the campaign messaging.
Listening to his victory speech, the collective focus of leftist politics offers a stark contrast from how leading Democratic and Republican politicians talk about their movements.
“To Donald Trump —To get to one of us, you need to get through all of us.”
This is, in my opinion, the only way leftist politics works. We simply do not have the money or institutional support to take a handsome empty suit and ad-spend him across the finish line. Even if we could, it wouldn’t be enough to weather the inevitable counterattack from capital, Zionists, and reactionaries that would come once they were in office. Leftists don’t have the luxury of being able to skip the hard work of organizing — building unions, driving DSA membership, or even getting to know your neighbors — and expect to win positions of high power. Zohran Mamdani knows this. He seems like a nice guy, but he didn’t focus on the people because he wanted to sound sweet. He did it because he knows the power of the many beats the money of the few. Not just on Election Day, but every day over the next four years, with each one being a tougher battle than the last. Politics requires power. If you don’t have money, you need people. And if you don’t have people, well. You probably won’t be a politician for much longer. By building on NYC DSA’s long, hard slog of organizing, which was done far from the acclaim and fame of the spotlight, Zohran Mamdani gave New Yorkers something to believe in — not just someone to vote for.
I’ll have more to say about the national implications of Mamdani’s victory once all the votes are counted and demographic data is released. For now, those who find their values represented in New York City’s next mayor should take a long, deep breath. A good thing happened, and you should enjoy it! But please remember why that good thing happened. It wasn’t because one man came along and decided to save New York from villainy and exploitation. It was because the people of New York chose to save themselves.
If you want to build the next victory, join the Democratic Socialists of America.
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In Solidarity — Joe
There are wide smiles in many places. I watched until almost 4:30 AM here when with the first few minutes of Mamdani's speech, I had to give up watching. The people have spoken and it has shocked the establishment, who will try their best to undermine, disparage, twist, destort, and destroy what they have said. We, all of us, need to see that does not happen.
Thank you, Joe. And can we get all the pundits to stop saying, “Well NYC is a different kind of city so a ‘Mamdani’ (meaning the person or the policies) won’t work in other places.” That exhausts me.