Zohran Mamdani Proves That Power Belongs to the People

In mid-June, the New York Times editorial board starkly dismissed Zohran Mamdani’s inspired bid to become the next mayor of New York City. “We do not believe that Mr. Mamdani deserves a spot on New Yorkers’ ballots,” the board declared. The editorial page of the newspaper of record, which for decades has influenced the direction of the Democratic Party in New York and nationally, was literally trying to write Mamdani out of the debate over the future of the city and the party. But Mamdani, the democratic socialist who ran with the support of proudly dissident figures such as US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), rejected the establishment’s assessment of the race. Instead, he invoked the power of the people. With the confidence that defined his rule-breaking campaign, Mamdani said, “These are the opinions of only about a dozen New Yorkers. A democracy will be decided by close to a million New Yorkers.”

In so doing, the 33-year-old, Ugandan-born, Muslim state legislator from Queens, who entered the 2025 mayoral race calling for the Democratic Party to be dramatically bolder in speaking to frustrated voters, set up a key political test for the city and the country. Would Democratic primary voters in one of the highest-profile political contests of 2025 choose more pulled punches? More lowered expectations? More narrow agendas with limited appeal? Or would they embrace the promise Mamdani outlined on the morning of one of the hottest election days in the city’s history: “We are approaching the dawn of a new era in New York City. We are turning the page on the corrupt politics of the past that made this the most expensive city in the United States of America”?

The voters decisively chose to turn the page, delivering Mamdani a stunning first-place finish in the initial round of vote counting for the Democratic nomination for mayor of the nation’s largest city. Though the final tally won’t be known for days, thanks to New York’s complex ranked-choice system, Mamdani’s 43.5 percent–36.5 percent lead over former governor Andrew Cuomo—the candidate of conventional wisdom, who resigned four years ago in the face of scandals over nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic and sexual harassment—was big enough for Cuomo to concede defeat.

“Tonight, we made history,” Mamdani announced shortly after midnight, as he named a slew of diverse neighborhoods across the city where his campaign had finished first in its pursuit of an upset that shook the political world. “In the words of Nelson Mandela, it always seems impossible until it is done. My friends, we have done it. I will be your Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City.”

Ironically, it was Cuomo—the candidate with the most money and the most endorsements from consummate political insiders such as former president Bill Clinton—who summed up why and how Mamdani prevailed. “Tonight was not our night,” Cuomo told a crowd of supporters in his surprise concession speech. “Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night. He put together a great campaign, and he touched young people and inspired them and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign.”

So impactful that Mamdani was declared the victor even before the ranked-choice voting process, under which votes cast for losing contenders in the 11-contender field will be redistributed next week, was finished. That made sense because the third-place finisher in the contest was New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who won 11.3 percent of the total vote. In one of the most significant and stirring developments of the primary campaign, Mamdani and Lander had cross-endorsed one another and toured the city together on a unity ticket. Most of Lander’s votes, along with the votes of several other candidates endorsed by progressive groups like the Working Families Party, are thus expected to be redistributed to Mamdani, making him the Democratic nominee.

Lander, at the Mamdani victory party, declared the result a victory for “a hopeful vision of the future” over “the dark sour politics of the past.” But that victory is only the first step toward the mayoralty. Mamdani still faces a tough, expensive general election contest against sitting Mayor Eric Adams, a scandal-plagued Democrat who is running as an independent, Republican Curtis Sliwa, and, potentially, Cuomo himself. And the Stop Mamdani campaigners will have plenty of money because, as US Representative Nydia Velázquez, an early and enthusiastic Mamdani backer, said on election night, Mamdani “threatens business as usual.”

But the strength of Mamdani’s primary finish—following a campaign in which billionaire-funded, Cuomo-aligned super PACs viciously attacked him for his support of Palestinian rights, his ties to the Democratic Socialists of America, and his advocacy of an affordability agenda that includes a rent freeze, free buses, and city-run grocery stores—had the candidate and his aides saying they are ready to unite the party. And political figures who had once kept their distance, such as New York Governor Kathy Hochul, were suddenly praising Mamdani’s “formidable grassroots coalition…to ensure a safe, affordable, and livable New York City.”

“The primary is now over,” declared New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had supported a Mamdani rival, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, in the election but hustled over to Mamdani’s victory rally to stand with him and promote party unity. “Tonight represents a resounding win,” she said.