As an anarchist, I have absolutely ZERO interest in whipping up recipes to save the Democratic or any.other party, and history has also shown me time and time again what empowered socialists do to anarchists (spoiler: we're the first to go!). However, as a student of polítical science I can't help watch Zohran's rise with fascination. The interesting thing is that he is mostly not proposing many things that are too radical. In fact, a lot of what he has in mind is *already happening* or has at the very least been explored by smaller pilots within the city. Zohran is just better at communicating about the WHY of these things.
The biggest revelation for me, thus far, has been the fact that the naked pandering so many candidates do to get the Jewish vote MIGHT NOT BE NECESSARY. I think people have been following a prescribed talk track for decades conflating Jewish people here in NYC with Israel and its policies, and now we are seeing that it is more nuanced. Of course, no one wants a mayor that is biased against their group, but the attempts to paint Mamdani as a dangerous Muslim radical simply because he is Muslim and supports Palestine did not really work. I've heard dyed in the wool Zionists say, "I don't need the mayor of New York to have any opinion on Israel or to travel there." HALLELUJAH! I agree that the NYC mayor (to the extent that I can accept that people still believe we "need" a mayor) should understand that we are a major global city, but as an immigrant of Indian descent born and partly raised in Africa, the dude understands. However, I am grateful that he is pointing at this longstanding unquestioned alliance with Israel. The job is to serve New York to the best of his ability. The best way to do it is by staying here and continuing to engage the people here about the problems and challenges HERE.
The hatred for Mamdani is off the charts. In a one-dollar-one-vote world, he would be massacred.
The question is, do we (New Yorkers, first and foremost) live in that world? We didn't, not in the primaries, at least, and Cuomo's aloof, haughty style that signaled either entitlement or fear helped Mamdani. Now we are playing for much higher stakes, and the odds of victory are short, but they will slowly increase.
Consider who he has arrayed for and against him? I mean the different interests in this most cosmopolitan of cities. With him, he has the young Bernie crowd, updated to the mid 2020s, which is no small thing; he has first-generation immigrants in all the boroughs; he has the Muslim population, and he has slices -- but only slices -- of the Hispanic and Black voter base.
And he has nearly everyone else against him. He has the hugely powerful Jewish demographic (wealthy, middle-aged) that didn't know what to make of him, and was certain Cuomo would win. He is Muslim and has not hesitated to criticize Israel. Sanders could get away with it because he is Jewish. Can a Muslim? Perhaps in London or Sydney or Toronto, but in New York?
Then, the ethnic whites in the outer boroughs. They leaned for Trump in the presidential and will turn out for Adams (on Trump's orders) or even that red-hatted thug, Curtis Sliwa.
And finally you have the "conservative" Black and Latino demographic, conservative in the sense of an idea of "Americanness" that does not include a 33-year old South Asian Muslim as worthy of high office. The world has moved ahead too quickly for these people. They look to Obama or Clyburn or "Big Dog" Bill Clinton to guide them. We saw what the last two tried to do for Cuomo, but it was too late.
I know this is a rather pessimistic view of things. I hope I'm wrong and that we don't live in a one-dollar-one-vote world.
Truly, this is right. Voters had their pick of any flavor of moderate they wanted in this election! And Zohran cut into Cuomo’s margins and even in the most conservative neighborhoods —I’ve got the data to prove it.
I hoped it would of resolved the dem civil war, but instead it has just drawn battle lines, with the center throwing a tempter tantrum trying to hold onto the idea dems should moderate with no evidence to support it… I have no doubt that this is a reckoning that will keep coming, and only grow stronger as the center tries to repress it…
You are correct, and we are finally at the moment of the dem base being willing to do thankfully, just annoying how much the establishment does not want us to help them...
‘We’re looking at building codes with the hopes more private development will decrease your rent three years from now.’ - Zohran very much did say this though! I think his willingness to talk about an All of the Above strategy that traditional leftists have not made his focus on cost of living issues much more credible to people outside of the traditional Leftist lane.
Mamdani: It is absolutely a story of interest to me. In New York City we're building around four homes per thousand people. In Jersey City it's about seven. In Tokyo it's about 10. I clearly have ideas and politics. But ultimately beyond all of those things, I care most about outcomes. And what I'm very passionate about is making this a more affordable city, also making it a more efficient city.
We have allowed for this reverse exceptionalism to flourish in New York City. We see examples of things that have been successful elsewhere in the country or the world and we tell ourselves it could never happen here. We’ve seen this in bike infrastructure, or outdoor dining, and especially around housing. We have to bring that kind of politics to an end.
When we're talking about the need to build more housing, we need to build different types of housing. It’s a shame that we've made it functionally illegal to build SROs [single-room occupancy units] in New York City, for example. I think that we have to have conversations around even the minutia of single stairwell versus dual stairwell. These are examples that have stuck with me. They show that [sometimes] it's not innovation and competence that is driving the creation of these regulations.
The most substantial "line of defense" Mamdani could have against the MASSIVE amount of centrist + reactionary forces + resources soon to be deployed against him is:
left-wing progressive people in several places outside of New York visibly preparing to form a new, unapologetically left political party in the lead-up to the Mayoral runoff election, + towards 2026.
Right now, the centrist Democrats cannot see the cost to sabotaging Mamdani the way they did India Walton in Buffalo; they believe that they cannot lose the left-wing of their party no matter what they do to it.
A new left party will cast a shadow on their illusion of unassailable security; + force them to be far more circumspect in their opposition to Mamdani, + the left in general.
If they refuse that path, then they'll deserve to pay the price for it.
The Democratic establishment really face planted on this one, and it’s nice to see someone young people are excited about overcome them
That said, I’m hopeful Mamdani will show the capacity of leading lefty politicians like AOC to evolve on policy. Things like “freeze the rents” sound good, but he actually needs to lower development costs and enable more housing to create longterm stability and mobility for New Yorkers—otherwise housing is still a game of cruel musical chairs no matter how frozen the rents may be. Some of the *abundance* policies don’t fall neatly on the moderate-progressive spectrum. The ones that help achieve progressive goals will be important for any successful mayor https://jeremyl.substack.com/p/the-democratic-civil-war-is-here?r=74nn5
It’s so exciting to see this. Ever since I moved out of the US 6 years ago (albeit to very similar Australia), I had lost hope that an actual left-leaning (centre-left over progressive) candidate like Mamdani could garner this level of support.
As much as I don’t want to read into anything too much until November, I’m very curious to further understand numbers the NYT published. I found it notable that “Lower income” voters leaned towards Cuomo; while “Middle” and “Higher income” towards Mamdani; as well as the Mamdani’s dominance amongst college-educated voters.
I guess it somewhat aligns with Bernie demo 10 years ago, but I can’t help but fear an obstacle to a Mamdani win is educated folks polarising the actual working class?? I’m literally stranded on an island, so have no idea if this is a valid concern?
For context, in Australia it’s a bit more straightforward on the surface since the Labour party (historically pro-workers, pro-union) and left-preferences (e.g. Green and Socialist parties) have generally greater support across working-middle-upper middle class in metro areas.
It will be an issue. A lot of lower income folks appreciate experience and name recognition. That said, Mamdani has a growing ARMY of volunteers to blanket across the city to persuade and educate voters. He is the ONLY candidate (out of 11) whose group left flyers at my door. My biggest worry is a backlash against him because people just get tired of seeing his face.
Also, for what its worth, if Australian politics is anything like UK or Germany in terms of political spread, I'd say the Democrats are the Conservatives and the Republicans are the far right like AfD or UKIP. We have a few people in the Democratic Party who would ideologically more Labour or Green types but the Left in this country (at least as a governmental political party) has never truly existed. The level of entanglement with corporate interests that is required even to launch a campaign means that most Leftist agendas must be cut in order to be palatable to rich backers.
Really interesting - what I'm hearing from this is there's plenty of Mamdani volunteers to "do the work", but that work has mainly been increasing visibility over appealing to what the demo appreciates. To be fair, from my time in the US I'm not sure how much time lower income folks would give to the "Army". Does that check out? I'd hope that being sick and tired of seeing someone's face doesn't deter folks from voting him.
Your assessment is accurate. Compared to even our centre-left Labour party, the Dems are centre-right and the Republicans are more like our "Trumpet of Patriots", "One Nation", "United Australia", etc. far right-wing parties.
As an anarchist, I have absolutely ZERO interest in whipping up recipes to save the Democratic or any.other party, and history has also shown me time and time again what empowered socialists do to anarchists (spoiler: we're the first to go!). However, as a student of polítical science I can't help watch Zohran's rise with fascination. The interesting thing is that he is mostly not proposing many things that are too radical. In fact, a lot of what he has in mind is *already happening* or has at the very least been explored by smaller pilots within the city. Zohran is just better at communicating about the WHY of these things.
The biggest revelation for me, thus far, has been the fact that the naked pandering so many candidates do to get the Jewish vote MIGHT NOT BE NECESSARY. I think people have been following a prescribed talk track for decades conflating Jewish people here in NYC with Israel and its policies, and now we are seeing that it is more nuanced. Of course, no one wants a mayor that is biased against their group, but the attempts to paint Mamdani as a dangerous Muslim radical simply because he is Muslim and supports Palestine did not really work. I've heard dyed in the wool Zionists say, "I don't need the mayor of New York to have any opinion on Israel or to travel there." HALLELUJAH! I agree that the NYC mayor (to the extent that I can accept that people still believe we "need" a mayor) should understand that we are a major global city, but as an immigrant of Indian descent born and partly raised in Africa, the dude understands. However, I am grateful that he is pointing at this longstanding unquestioned alliance with Israel. The job is to serve New York to the best of his ability. The best way to do it is by staying here and continuing to engage the people here about the problems and challenges HERE.
The hatred for Mamdani is off the charts. In a one-dollar-one-vote world, he would be massacred.
The question is, do we (New Yorkers, first and foremost) live in that world? We didn't, not in the primaries, at least, and Cuomo's aloof, haughty style that signaled either entitlement or fear helped Mamdani. Now we are playing for much higher stakes, and the odds of victory are short, but they will slowly increase.
Consider who he has arrayed for and against him? I mean the different interests in this most cosmopolitan of cities. With him, he has the young Bernie crowd, updated to the mid 2020s, which is no small thing; he has first-generation immigrants in all the boroughs; he has the Muslim population, and he has slices -- but only slices -- of the Hispanic and Black voter base.
And he has nearly everyone else against him. He has the hugely powerful Jewish demographic (wealthy, middle-aged) that didn't know what to make of him, and was certain Cuomo would win. He is Muslim and has not hesitated to criticize Israel. Sanders could get away with it because he is Jewish. Can a Muslim? Perhaps in London or Sydney or Toronto, but in New York?
Then, the ethnic whites in the outer boroughs. They leaned for Trump in the presidential and will turn out for Adams (on Trump's orders) or even that red-hatted thug, Curtis Sliwa.
And finally you have the "conservative" Black and Latino demographic, conservative in the sense of an idea of "Americanness" that does not include a 33-year old South Asian Muslim as worthy of high office. The world has moved ahead too quickly for these people. They look to Obama or Clyburn or "Big Dog" Bill Clinton to guide them. We saw what the last two tried to do for Cuomo, but it was too late.
I know this is a rather pessimistic view of things. I hope I'm wrong and that we don't live in a one-dollar-one-vote world.
Even the white ethnics will vote for him so we can start calling him Mayah already 😎
Truly, this is right. Voters had their pick of any flavor of moderate they wanted in this election! And Zohran cut into Cuomo’s margins and even in the most conservative neighborhoods —I’ve got the data to prove it.
Great article Joe, though you almost lost me at "Joe Rogan..." Sorry, but that guy is a meat head.
I hoped it would of resolved the dem civil war, but instead it has just drawn battle lines, with the center throwing a tempter tantrum trying to hold onto the idea dems should moderate with no evidence to support it… I have no doubt that this is a reckoning that will keep coming, and only grow stronger as the center tries to repress it…
The Democratic party is designed to stifle the left and defend capitalism. It cannot be convinced, it must be fully taken over, or destroyed.
You are correct, and we are finally at the moment of the dem base being willing to do thankfully, just annoying how much the establishment does not want us to help them...
‘We’re looking at building codes with the hopes more private development will decrease your rent three years from now.’ - Zohran very much did say this though! I think his willingness to talk about an All of the Above strategy that traditional leftists have not made his focus on cost of living issues much more credible to people outside of the traditional Leftist lane.
Mamdani: It is absolutely a story of interest to me. In New York City we're building around four homes per thousand people. In Jersey City it's about seven. In Tokyo it's about 10. I clearly have ideas and politics. But ultimately beyond all of those things, I care most about outcomes. And what I'm very passionate about is making this a more affordable city, also making it a more efficient city.
We have allowed for this reverse exceptionalism to flourish in New York City. We see examples of things that have been successful elsewhere in the country or the world and we tell ourselves it could never happen here. We’ve seen this in bike infrastructure, or outdoor dining, and especially around housing. We have to bring that kind of politics to an end.
When we're talking about the need to build more housing, we need to build different types of housing. It’s a shame that we've made it functionally illegal to build SROs [single-room occupancy units] in New York City, for example. I think that we have to have conversations around even the minutia of single stairwell versus dual stairwell. These are examples that have stuck with me. They show that [sometimes] it's not innovation and competence that is driving the creation of these regulations.
https://substack.com/@derekthompson/p-166531610
The most substantial "line of defense" Mamdani could have against the MASSIVE amount of centrist + reactionary forces + resources soon to be deployed against him is:
left-wing progressive people in several places outside of New York visibly preparing to form a new, unapologetically left political party in the lead-up to the Mayoral runoff election, + towards 2026.
Right now, the centrist Democrats cannot see the cost to sabotaging Mamdani the way they did India Walton in Buffalo; they believe that they cannot lose the left-wing of their party no matter what they do to it.
A new left party will cast a shadow on their illusion of unassailable security; + force them to be far more circumspect in their opposition to Mamdani, + the left in general.
If they refuse that path, then they'll deserve to pay the price for it.
The Democratic establishment really face planted on this one, and it’s nice to see someone young people are excited about overcome them
That said, I’m hopeful Mamdani will show the capacity of leading lefty politicians like AOC to evolve on policy. Things like “freeze the rents” sound good, but he actually needs to lower development costs and enable more housing to create longterm stability and mobility for New Yorkers—otherwise housing is still a game of cruel musical chairs no matter how frozen the rents may be. Some of the *abundance* policies don’t fall neatly on the moderate-progressive spectrum. The ones that help achieve progressive goals will be important for any successful mayor https://jeremyl.substack.com/p/the-democratic-civil-war-is-here?r=74nn5
It’s so exciting to see this. Ever since I moved out of the US 6 years ago (albeit to very similar Australia), I had lost hope that an actual left-leaning (centre-left over progressive) candidate like Mamdani could garner this level of support.
As much as I don’t want to read into anything too much until November, I’m very curious to further understand numbers the NYT published. I found it notable that “Lower income” voters leaned towards Cuomo; while “Middle” and “Higher income” towards Mamdani; as well as the Mamdani’s dominance amongst college-educated voters.
I guess it somewhat aligns with Bernie demo 10 years ago, but I can’t help but fear an obstacle to a Mamdani win is educated folks polarising the actual working class?? I’m literally stranded on an island, so have no idea if this is a valid concern?
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/06/25/nyregion/nyc-mayor-election-results-map-mamdani-cuomo.html
For context, in Australia it’s a bit more straightforward on the surface since the Labour party (historically pro-workers, pro-union) and left-preferences (e.g. Green and Socialist parties) have generally greater support across working-middle-upper middle class in metro areas.
It will be an issue. A lot of lower income folks appreciate experience and name recognition. That said, Mamdani has a growing ARMY of volunteers to blanket across the city to persuade and educate voters. He is the ONLY candidate (out of 11) whose group left flyers at my door. My biggest worry is a backlash against him because people just get tired of seeing his face.
Also, for what its worth, if Australian politics is anything like UK or Germany in terms of political spread, I'd say the Democrats are the Conservatives and the Republicans are the far right like AfD or UKIP. We have a few people in the Democratic Party who would ideologically more Labour or Green types but the Left in this country (at least as a governmental political party) has never truly existed. The level of entanglement with corporate interests that is required even to launch a campaign means that most Leftist agendas must be cut in order to be palatable to rich backers.
Really interesting - what I'm hearing from this is there's plenty of Mamdani volunteers to "do the work", but that work has mainly been increasing visibility over appealing to what the demo appreciates. To be fair, from my time in the US I'm not sure how much time lower income folks would give to the "Army". Does that check out? I'd hope that being sick and tired of seeing someone's face doesn't deter folks from voting him.
Your assessment is accurate. Compared to even our centre-left Labour party, the Dems are centre-right and the Republicans are more like our "Trumpet of Patriots", "One Nation", "United Australia", etc. far right-wing parties.
Zohran Mamdani is the Canary in the Coal Mine:
https://torrancestephensphd.substack.com/p/the-canary-in-the-coal-mine-zohran
Embarrassing all around.