Mamdani wins: How a democratic socialist toppled the Empire State machine

A year after the party totally collapsed Democrats or at least their voters are getting a glimmer of hope Zohran Mamdani a previously little-known state assembly member from Astoria Queens romped to mastery on Tuesday trampling the disgraced former governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and the constellation of corporate interests billionaires Republicans and establishment Democrats that propped up his shambolic campaign At one watch party tucked away on the edge of Queens and Brooklyn a crowd of supporters erupted in cheers when the first results rolled in showing what majority had expected going into voting day Cuomo had been routed and Mamdani will be the next mayor of New York City Preliminary results demonstrated Mamdani leading Cuomo by nine points with of the vote counted AP announced that over million people voted in this electoral contest the biggest turnout in a mayoral poll since This balloting night will also see the city wave goodbye to Mayor Eric Adams Once hailed as the future of the Democratic Party the mayor leaves the stage as the only New York mayor to be indicted while in office Related Panic in the Hamptons The fight to stop Zohran Mamdani Even the state s moderate governor Kathy Hochul who was once Cuomo s handpicked number two has been able to put a finger to the wind and has supported Mamdani throughout most of of his general voting process campaign The same can t be disclosed for multiple New York Democrats including the party s highest-ranking leaders like Sen Chuck Schumer himself a soon-to-be constituent of Mamdani who has refused to endorse the mayor-elect Nonetheless questions remain about Mamdani s place in the Democratic Party after specific Democrats embraced his brand of politics as others show Mamdani the cold shoulder At one Queens watch party Mamdani voters expressed hope that the Democratic party would follow his lead even though they were skeptical there was the will or even ability to do so I was literally excited to go vote in contemporary times One Mamdani supporter Tyler narrated Salon that the campaign had nonetheless reinvigorated his interest in politics He also explained that how politicians treated Mamdani would be critical as he considers who to vote for in future Democratic primaries I begrudgingly voted for Harris because I thought Trump was worse and I think that that s been borne out by reality But I was authentically excited to go vote in the current era I waited until voting day to do it but I was very excited to go out and vote Tyler explained Requested whether he thought Democrats might learn from Mamdani s success Tyler expressed skepticism They re not willing They might get dragged But also I think no There are enough structural impediments that the sort of activity that Zohran ran on is sort of antithetical to what the Democratic Party stands for Tyler stated Sen Bernie Sanders I-Vt shared a similar sentiment in a announcement on the race saying Mamdni won on an affordability agenda that niether the entrenched political establishment or corporate media would acknowledge They ll leave out the hard truths Chuck Schumer and the Democratic establishment are losing relevance AIPAC and the pro-Israel lobby have become toxic forces in Democratic politics voters are fed up with the gerontocracy and political corruption and a united grassroots movement built on a working-class agenda can and will beat the billionaire-backed status quo Sanders noted Start your day with essential news from Salon Sign up for our free morning newsletter Crash Program At the same time Republicans are already showing just how afraid they are of Mamdani and his brand of politics The New York Post broadcasted that Republicans are considering invoking the Constitution s insurrection clause a back-room scheme cooked up to deny the will of voters and prevent Zohran Mamdani from being sworn in It s an echo of Speaker Mike Johnson s R-La refusal to swear in the representative-elect Adelita Grijalva which also conveniently prevents the House from voting to release the Epstein files Other congressional Republicans are meanwhile plotting to denaturalize and deport Mamdani with Rep Andy Ogles R-Tenn falsely accusing him of being a communist who has publicly embraced a terroristic ideology Rep Elise Stefanik R-N Y who Trump had briefly nominated to be United Nations ambassador has already outlined that calling Mamdani a jihadist terrorist sympathizer Commie will be her main tactic in next year s gubernatorial vote While Americans might expect no less than this level of racism and Islamophobia from Republicans it s been Cuomo who has shown his colors in the final stretch of this mayoral campaign Cuomo absolutely mentioned that s another difficulty as one right-wing radio host revealed that Mamdani would be cheering if another happened on his watch While a spokesman for Cuomo later denied that he was agreeing with him his campaign tells a different story We need your help to stay independent Subscribe in the present day to assistance Salon s progressive journalism Cuomo a one-time resistance hero closed his campaign on a diversity can also be a weakness message which he delivered while mixing up the two Black panelists on MSNBC s The Weekend A Cuomo spokesman later noted he was sitting in a mobile van unit with an earpiece and staring directly into the camera and couldn t tell who was talking Cuomo s campaign also had an explanation for an AI-generated ad posted and fast taken down by his campaign which depicted an AI-generated Black man in a keffiyeh shoplifting before declaring himself as a criminal in advocacy of Mamdani A Cuomo spokesman later explained that this had been inadvertently posted by a junior staffer before being taken down It s safe to say that Cuomo did not wrap up this bizarre and embarrassing coda to his political career with grace New Yorkers however may be able to find particular solace in the fact that Cuomo will still get a chance to make good on one of his campaign promises that he d move to Florida if Mamdani wins While the attacks on Mamdani are sure to continue among Republicans and conservative Democrats and though it s clear that the rich and powerful are already aligning on methods that they could undermine New York s incoming democratic socialist mayor for tonight Mamdani s win is an unabashed success for Democratic voters in New York City Read more about Tuesday s elections Spanberger becomes Virginia s first female governor Zohran Mamdani knows how to win Trump critic Sherrill elected governor of New Jersey The post Mamdani wins How a democratic socialist toppled the Empire State machine appeared first on Salon com