Zohran Mamdani has won the race for New York City mayor, according to Decision Desk HQ, ushering in a new era of progressive politics in the city and reigniting the debate over the Democratic Party’s future.
Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist, is poised to become the first millennial and first Muslim to lead New York City, after a campaign that pulled off one of the most stunning political upsets in recent memory. He defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who mounted a long-shot independent bid after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, and Republican Curtis Sliwa in his bid to succeed Mayor Eric Adams.
Mamdani focused heavily on affordability, pledging to freeze rent, establish city-owned grocery stores and make buses free for riders. He quickly became a progressive icon as well as a polarizing figure within the party over his positions, so much so that it divided prominent New York Democratic leadership over whether to endorse him.
I agree with everything you’ve said, except that we don’t have to wait for community to be built to work on the military problem. We can do both simultaneously.
The PSL (and others, but the PSL is the most notable ML-oriented organization in the US right now) are aware of the current realities, btw. Their position is that there is a groundswell of class consciousness that is growing, but still very small. Their strategy is to nurture that growth while simultaneously creating a cadre of trained political operatives to provide leadership for the moment when that class consciousness is large enough that the idea of subverting the military isn’t so laughable. It’s a realistic strategy that is based on 200 years of revolutionary history, and successes and failures.