Zohran Mamdani

No hot takes, but a few thoughts on political realignment.

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Everyone has an opinion on Zohran Mamdani’s primary win and what it means for the future of electoral politics and for the Democratic Party. I can’t tell you why Mamdani won and wouldn’t trust the snap take of anyone who claims they can. What I can say is that Mamdani’s win and the coalitions that formed to support and oppose him are yet another data point for my theory that the era of partisan politics as we’ve known it is ending.

I knew Mamdani had a good shot of winning because a few weeks ago, when I reached out to friends who know NY politics, all but one believed it was possible. Most of these same folks had told me months ago that when Cuomo entered the race, he would win the primary, and no one would be able to mount a coalition to stop him. So it was notable how many of them now had a wildly different view of the race. However, I don’t think anyone I spoke to thought it'd be this big of a win or that we’d know the results as quickly as we did. Even friends who were bullish on an upset wouldn’t have predicted it would be a rout.

The final week of the race was wild. As establishment politicians like Jim Clyburn and Bill Clinton endorsed Andrew Cuomo, and far-right figures like Laura Loomer and Charlie Kirk opted to troll with their own faux endorsements of Cuomo, characterizing a potential Zohran win as a sign that civilization as we knew it was ending. Today, the same groups aligned with the MAGA Right are melting down over Mamdani’s win, and Cuomo’s donors aren’t accepting the win much better, reportedly encouraging him to stay in the race as an independent. Several prominent NY elected officials, including Senators Schumer and Gillibrand and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have so far declined to endorse Mamdani.

Both responses were predictable. MAGA was always going to try and use a Mamdani win to spread as much hate, fear, and Islamaphobia as possible. Pitting Mamdani against Cuomo is only useful to them as something to exploit for their own ends. As for those who supported Cuomo, it’s disappointing and yet predictable. That coalition has generally done very little to oppose Trump and the harm his regime causes, and is clearly more upset over the prospect of yet another Democratic socialist holding elected office. Mamdani was attacked by both factions for allegedly being antisemitic, an accusation he and his supporters, many of them Jewish, reject.

To be clear, the candidate they preferred over Mamdani is a predator. The Department of Justice found that Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women in his office as governor of New York. Cuomo resigned as governor over the same allegations just a few years ago. Political views aside, it’s vile just how many people and groups were willing to back a predator, and strongly prefer him over a Democratic Socialist. Thankfully, voters disagreed.

I also want to highlight an act of solidarity from fellow candidate Brad Lander, current NYC Comptroller and the highest-ranked Jewish elected official in the city. Lander and Mamdani cross-endorsed one another after the final debate, adding fuel to an already robust movement of New Yorkers urging voters not to rank Cuomo on their ballots. Despite losing the primary, Lander seemed happy with his role in Cuomo’s loss, telling supporters in his concession speech that: “Andrew Cuomo is in the past. He is not the present or future of New York City. Good fucking riddance.”

Mamdani’s victory was incredible, but the road ahead is tough. The smear campaign against him is ongoing and will only ramp up with attacks from the MAGA Right and establishment figures who refuse to get on board. If Cuomo drops out, there’s a good chance the coalition that backed him moves their support to Eric Adams, who himself was charged with bribery and campaign finance offenses before receiving a pardon from Trump. Anyone who goes this route should be asked to explain what exactly about Mamdani would be worse than having a predator or someone charged with bribery, who now owes fealty to Donald Trump as mayor.