Zohran Mamdani’s Fight to Build a Better Life for New Yorkers

Rebecca Rashkoff explores an emerging voice for the average New Yorker.

For the past decade a sentiment has been growing among left-leaning Americans in the US: the Democratic Party is failing to successfully win elections and bring about the systemic change that is desperately needed. Even as Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are drawing crowds as big as 30,000 on their Fighting Oligarchy tour, there seems to be a growing sense of frustration among the American Left . Many left-of-center voters see Trump’s win as a failure on the part of the Democrats and are seeking an alternative. 

Countless articles have been written in the past decade, and especially since the 2024 presidential election, about how the American Left has ‘lost its way’. Whether  or not these takes accurately represent the current political situation, there is no doubt that there is an overwhelming sense of frustration among voters across the political spectrum. With growing resentment towards ‘establishment’ politics and disenchantment with the two-party system, people have redirected their energy towards winning local elections. The upcoming New York City Mayoral election primary, on June 24th, and the general election on November 4th are playing out to be the most anticipated local elections of the year.

Mamdani at a campaign rally in Brooklyn on May 4th / Rebecca Rashkoff

Nine candidates will run in Democratic primary in June, many running on platforms focused on affordability, but one candidate has quickly risen in prominence. Since announcing his bid for mayor, Zohran Mamdani’s campaign has gained momentum and public support rarely seen in local city elections. Mamdani, representative for the 36th district of the New York State Assembly in Queens, is running on a simple platform: to lower the cost of living for working class New Yorkers. His different vision, as he described it in a recent campaign video shared on social   media, is to make housing, childcare, and public transportation affordable. Grounded in Socialist politics, Mamdani’s progressive policy platform aspires to enable New Yorkers to live dignified lives. In a country that has long characterized socialism as a dangerous political ideology, Mamdani is a proud Democratic Socialist and a part of the Democratic Socialists of America (the largest national Socialist organization in the country). The viability of leftist candidates in American politics, especially those who claim the title of Socialist, has long been overlooked by mainstream politicians and media outlets.

Local politicians and the media have been vocally critical of Mamdani’s campaign platform, claiming that it is unrealistic to believe that Mamdani can promise to freeze rents, establish free childcare, and make public buses free. These policies make up just part of his platform, which aims to ensure that working class New Yorkers are not forced to relocate due to the rising cost of living. He is focused on addressing the material wellbeing – the struggles and concerns — of New Yorkers. His campaign also strongly differs from other candidates in his media presence:  Mamdani’s social media team’s strategy has garnered him more attention than the average mayoral candidate. They have captured something unique: that he seems likeable and genuine, a combination of characteristics that is hard to come by in politicians. At every rally, in every interview, and in every campaign video he stays on issue, keeping his message clear and accessible: “In every interview, every interaction, every speech, he talks about the cost of living and what he will do to fix it”, explained Liza Featherstone in a recent Jacobin piece. 

Barely more than a week after the 2024 presidential election, Mamdani went to two areas in Queens and the Bronx that saw the biggest shift towards Trump and interviewed residents on the street. The video titled ‘Why did so many New Yorkers vote for Donald Trump?’ is what first brought Mamdani and his campaign to my attention. Liberal media and the Democratic party tends to characterize Trump voters as either ignorant or bigoted, and the assumption that all of his supporters are a monolith is part of why Democrats continue to lose elections. The party can not seem to wrap its head around the fact that Trump’s simple messaging, what some would argue constitutes economic populism, is effective and helped win him the election. Some have compared Mamdani’s progressive policy platform and focus on economic issues as “reminiscent of 2016 Bernie Sanders and 2008 Barack Obama" if he is successful, the many different groups uniting behind him will have challenged the rules about which political coalitions wield power in the city”, said Sahalie Donaldson in recently published City & State New York article.

Based on recent polls, former governor Cuomo is currently leading with 39% while Mamdani is at 16%. No matter the outcome of the primary, the momentum behind Mamdani’s campaign is undeniable and demonstrates that the ideas he is fighting for are, in fact, popular.