Zohran Mania Is Here
An uplifting victory
No one saw this coming. They might have hoped. They might have believed it could happen, but no one seriously thought it would turn out this way.
Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced yet establishment embraced former New York governor, was ahead in most Democratic primary polls for mayor. There was even talk of “shy Cuomo voters,” who wouldn’t openly admit that they were supporting a documented sex pest but would do so freely in the privacy of the voting booth. The most optimistic outcome for state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani involved overtaking Cuomo in the last rounds of ranked-choice voting — a slow-going process that likely wouldn’t finalize results until July.
Instead, just a few hours after polls closed on Tuesday, Cuomo conceded defeat to Mamdani. “Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo said to supporters, and it was only half past 10. There was a lot more night to go.
New York Comptroller Brad Lander put it best: “Andrew Cuomo is in the past. He is not the present or future of New York City. Good fucking riddance.”
The Democratic establishment, including former President Bill Clinton, tried to prop up Cuomo. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg personally contributed more than $8 million from his couch cushions (much of that used for extreme anti-Mamdani ads). The New York Times even gave Cuomo a backdoor endorsement while urging voters not to rank Mamdani, who is admittedly young and lacks the experience gained from multiple sexual misconduct charges. Yet, Mamdani prevailed.
Going into Election Day, the conventional wisdom was that a far-left candidate like Mamdani could only perform well with low turnout and that most of his support would come from young, mostly white liberals who drink craft cocktails and probably saw Oh, Mary! at least twice. However, pollster Adam Carlson broke down the specifics of Mamdani’s victory on social media, revealing the breadth of Mamdani’s appeal. Here are some highlights:
Mamdani is winning majority Asian precincts by 15 points.
And not just South Asian bastions like Jackson Heights.
East Asian bastions like Sunset Park & Chinatown.
Mamdani is winning majority Latino precincts by 6.5 points.
Outside of the Bronx, he cleaned up almost everywhere, including Sunset Park West & Bushwick in Brooklyn, and Corona & Woodhaven in Queens.
He won most of Bay Ridge in South Brooklyn (my neighborhood!), and not just the Middle Eastern parts to the east.
He dominated the “Commie Corridor” of western Queens, Brooklyn west and northwest of Prospect Park, and Morningside Heights in Manhattan.
Cuomo only won majority Black precincts by 19 points. Polls had him with a much larger lead among Black voters.
Mamdani did well in gentrifying areas with more younger Black voters, including Harlem, Bed Stuy, Lefferts Gardens, and Flatbush.
Republicans will predictably claim that Mamdani’s win means the Democratic Party has been co-opted by commies, but Mamdani has already received more votes in the first round than Eric Adams received after the final round of ranked choice voting. Centrist pundits were declaring Adams the future of the Democratic Party.
Mamdani ran a masterful campaign, filled with energy and optimism. He had a clear message — making New York more affordable for everyone. I don’t personally agree with some of his proposals, but I applaud his vision.
Critics sneered at Mamdani’s relative experience, but his organizational skills should have calmed anyone legitimately concerned about his ability to manage a city the size of New York. The tight message discipline and tremendous outreach efforts that delivered an expansive coalition to the polls are objectively impressive. Unlike current disgraced Mayor Eric Adams, Mamdani has already demonstrated he is more than just swagger. It’s so revealing that although Mamdani clearly worked harder and smarter than Cuomo, mainstream Democrats kept insisting Cuomo was the most qualified to lead.
Lindsey Boylan also deserves a lot of praise. A former Cuomo aide, Boylan was the first woman to come forward and accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. She fought hard against Cuomo’s enraging comeback attempt, even as elected Democrats either did nothing or actively supported him. Through it all, Boylan stood firm and never gave up.
As Liz Cheney famously told members of her own party who she said were defending the indefensible, “There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonor will remain.” That’s equally true of the Democrats who knew better but supported Cuomo anyway, either for political expedience or just plain fear. (State Sen. Jessica Ramos claimed she endorsed Cuomo because she was afraid Donald Trump would pick on New York if Mamdani’s the mayor. That’s hardly a profile in courage.) Once again, though, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez showed us what actual leadership looks like.
Unfortunately, we possibly haven’t seen the last of Cuomo. He hasn’t ruled out running in the general election as an independent — perhaps even fully awake this time.
“I said he won the primary election,” Cuomo told the Times. “I said I wanted to look at the numbers and the ranked-choice voting to decide about what to do in the future, because I’m also on an independent line.”
Apparently, when you’re a centrist, you don’t have to respect Democratic primary results. It’s the Joe Lieberman rule. Eric Adams also plans to stink up the ballot. That might normally concern me, but while I’m no longer a New Yorker, Zohran Mamdani has won my vote of confidence.
This is great news! As for anyone afraid that TACO would pick on NYC if Mamdani is the mayor, where have they been? He already picks on NYC because NYC hates him. More accurately, he TRIES to pick on NYC, but NYC doesn't care. State Senator Ramos is clearly a coward, which is sad, because we need all elected officials to be courageous at this time.
2 thoughts arise:
1) Ranked choice voting is a good method for neutralizing the dominating effect of big money and political favoritism and cronyism.
2) A charismatic campaigner can transcend political labels.